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Indigo Concerto came about as a shared search for new levels in the complex and global language of contemporary music. My two previous pieces for flute and piano: Dúo Ami and Malagigi the Sorcerer, both written for Alberto Almarza, resulted in a series of exciting and successful presentations. Alberto's unique gifts for the flute and his virtuoso abilities, especially in the use of extended techniques, brought those to life and infused in them a maturity and a full-blown expression of color and emotion. Once again, Alberto asked me to write a flute concerto for him; thus was Indigo Concerto created.

In this piece, many sounds and rhythms from my past come into play freely and openly. These include joropo, salsa and the Venezuelan merengue, which appear intermixed as short occurrences in the context of the piece. Extended techniques for the flute, such as circular breathing and whistle tones, are included as an intrinsic part of the music.

The concerto has three movements. The first movement follows a somewhat standard sonata form (exposition, development, recapitulation, and cadenza). A third theme appears before the development, but this theme appears again only in the cadenza and at the end of the last movement.

The second and third movements are played without a break, and both are connected thematically to the first movement. The context of how the material appears is starkly different in each, however-the second movement is slow and introverted; the third is dance-like.

Indigo is a full-bodied dark blue color. Its versatility when mixed with other colors gives it the potential for a vast variety of subtle transitions and radiations. Its warmth allows us to reach inner senses of perception.

Efraín Amaya