Walkabout: Concerto for Orchestra is an orchestral composition written in 2016 by the American composer Gabriela Lena Frank. The work was commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, where Frank was serving as composer-in-residence. Its world premiere was given by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michelle Merrill at Orchestra Hall, Detroit, on February 17, 2017.
Composition Walkabout has a duration of roughly 30 minutes and is cast in four movements:
The work was inspired by Frank's travels in Peru, her mother's homeland. In the score program note, the composer wrote, "Born in the States, I did not begin these fateful trips until my time as a graduate student at the University of Michigan where my teachers encouraged me to answer questions of identity that long persisted for me: What does it mean to be American born yet with such a motley crew of forbearers hailing from Lithuania, China, and Andean South America? For more than twenty years, I've been answering this question, with each piece raising yet more to address."
The music thus contains several references to Peruvian culture. The first movement "Soliloquio Serrano" serves as a "mountain soliloquy" to the Andes; the second movement "Huaracas" refers to the eponymous slingshot weapons used by the Incas during the 16th century; the third movement "Haillí" is the Quechua word for "prayer;" and the final movement "Tarqueada" refers to a traditional Peruvian parade involving numerous "tarka" flutists.
Instrumentation The work is scored for a large orchestra consisting of three flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), two oboes, Cor anglais, three clarinets (2nd doubling E-flat clarinet; 3rd doubling bass clarinet), three bassoons, two horns, three trumpets, two trombone, timpani, three percussionists, piano, harp, and strings.
Reception Reviewing the world premiere, Colin Anderson of Classical Source gave the piece a fairly mixed review. He wrote:
After its premiere in 2017, subsequent reviews have been unanimously favorable. Reviews for its May, 2023 performances, the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Yannick Nezét-Seguin, where Frank served as composer-in-residence, include a review from Cameron Kelsall of BachTrack, who writes,
Linda Holt of the Broad Street Review also praised the work as performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra:
In reviewing a performance by the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra in August 2023, Joseph Dalton writes:
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is slated to perform Walkabout: Concerto for orchestra in its 2023–24 season on April 25–26, 2024 under the baton of Lina Gonzalez-Granados.
References