Quiz Number 3
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Had the pleasure of playing this in the presence of the composer in Aldeburgh. I guess some consider this as a bit of a 'novelty' piece - but it is brilliantly put together and great fun to play.
Do have to make a confession - after the fugue when the horns come in with the theme again at the end of the work I always found it impossible to work out (in a sort of mathematical sense) how the notes that the horns had to play fitted to the rhythms that came beforehand - so I resorted to "gut feel" - there have been a few other pieces of music since that offered similar problems - but even today nothing quite like the 'unknown' of that particular entry.
I think it had something to do with the fact that having been rollicking along in 2/4 the tune returns when the time signature turns to 3/4 - or 6/8 for the horns and some others and there is little chance to figure out how the cross-rhythm duplets fit in the fourth bar.
Enjoy it when it comes
