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Camerata gave the premiere of this work in 2013 and has performed it on many of its regional tours over the years.
Love to Love Your Strings, Baby! is an affectionate homage to disco strings. I’ve taken inspiration from Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra, from the New York, Philadelphia and many other symphony orchestras, and the many great arrangers who had a role in developing the disco sound.
My piece takes motifs and fragments from the golden era of disco and weaves them together with my own original themes to present a fantasy montage.
The title refers, of course, to the 1975 Donna Summer hit Love to love you, baby.
Erik Griswald on Love to Love Your Strings, Baby! (2013)
“Erik Griswold’s Love to Love Your Strings, Baby!, a simultaneous homage to Donna Summer and the Love Unlimited Orchestra, has the most exciting opening imaginable, and continues with stop-start brilliance from there.” Martin Buzacott, The Australian
Learn more about Love to Love Your Strings, Baby! and Erik's creative process and challenges.
- What inspired you to compose your piece specifically on?
I’ve always been a fan of disco strings…the soaring melodies, rhythmic stabs and colourful filigree found on classic recordings of the Love Unlimited Orchestra and others. I love these musical crossover moments, when one style merges into another, and I wanted to celebrate this period of musical history in a free-wheeling homage.
- How would you describe your creative process?
I’m a very hands-on composer, I often start by improvising at the piano, working out ideas and then either transcribing or recording them. From there I brainstorm, using free association and trying lots of variations, pulling tools out the figurative composer toolbox, to find things that excite me. “Love To Love Your Strings, Baby!” is very much a stream of consciousness, in which one musical idea flows directly into the next.
- What would you consider the most challenging aspect of creating your piece?
Certainly there is a lot of tricky rhythmic work in there, and some quick passage work, but I think connecting all the disparate ideas requires a lot of musicality. Camerata do an incredible job of reflecting the whole range of colours and moods.
- What would you like your listeners to take away from your piece?
I hope listeners will be energized by the fast-paced ride and will be tickled to hear some familiar motifs reimagined in new and unexpected ways.
