Title: Loki

Instrumentation: Symphony Orchestra (3/3/3/3 4/3/3/1 Timp, 2 perc., Strings)

Program Note:
Loki was the trickster god in Norse Mythology. There is a story about his capture and imprisonment underneath the dripping poisonous fangs of a snake. Usually his wife would catch the poison in a bowl and save him from the pain that it caused, but when the bowl was full, she left to empty it, and Loki’s tormented writhing caused the earth to shake.

While this piece is not a literal representation of that myth, elements of it, and Loki’s other exploits and personality traits, may have crept in.

First Read: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, 2010