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Marimbist Vida Chenoweth met Guatemalan
composer Jorge Alvaro Sarmientos while she was a Fulbright
scholar studying indigenous marimbas there in 1957.
He wrote his "Concertino" for Chenoweth during November
and December of that year, then entered it in a concerto
composition contest that Chenoweth sponsored and financed
in early 1958. This prize-winning concerto was first
performed in Guatemala at an informal concert in early
1960, with August Ardenois conducting, Sarmientos playing
timpani, and Chenoweth as soloist. The formal premiere
occurred on September 16, 1960 as part of the celebrations
of National Day (September 15), with Chenoweth as soloist
and Jose Maria Gill conducting the Sinfonica Nacional.
The United States premiere was presented with the Tulsa
(Oklahoma) Philharmonic Orchestra in 1964. The concerto
is in three movements: 1. Moderato Allegro Moderato;
2. Andante Cantabile (II-- Movimiento Canzone India);
3. Rondo Allegro (III--Movimiento Rondo). It is scored
for strings, piccolo, flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet,
bassoon, horn, trumpet, timpani, and solo marimba. The
conductor's score consists of 38 numbered pages including
a 12-bar insert five measures from the end of the final
movement. Each orchestra part includes the 12-bar insert
taped to its last page. The scores are marked in pencil
with performance notations by Chenoweth and by various
conductors and orchestra personnel in Guatemala, New
Zealand, and the United States.
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