Game of Attrition
Arlene Sierra
About this work: A game of attrition gradually reduces the strengths of the opponents through sustained attack or pressure; in game theory it is when two contestants compete for a resource while accumulating costs and losses over time. Natural selection as described by Charles Darwin in the Origin of Species was probably the first description of this game in nature: When two species share the same place in the same environment, they will compete all the more to survive. Similar species compete more vigorously with each other to edge out competition, while the more unusual variants will tend to find a protected niche.
In the work Game of Attrition, certain formal and textural aspects arise from these concepts that are worked out in musical ways. An important feature of the piece is the competitive duo, where two solo instruments of similar tessitura compete for dominance or territory within the overall sound. The piece features extended duo passages where bassoon competes with trombone, viola competes with cello, and trumpet competes with horn for precedence within the 'environment' of the ensemble. In a final struggle for dominance, all the brass instruments compete with the mass of the strings for the last statement of the piece.
The musical 'environment' in which these competitions take place is made up of small cellular figurations that replicate, grow, and evolve throughout the body of the piece. Sometimes this happens imperceptibly, while at other times motifs accumulate, leading to inexorable, radical shifts. The relationship between localized figurations and the overall form hints at the complex and subtle equilibrium of natural processes, seemingly inevitable yet, in reality, delicately balanced.
Commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, Game of Attrition was premiered at Symphony Space with Magnus Lindberg conducting in December 2009.
Year composed: 2009
Duration: 00:13:00
Ensemble type: Orchestra:Chamber Orchestra
Instrumentation: