Cocktail List (2022) for two guitars Stephen Goss
Iron Lady - Nobilmente
Piña Colada - Cha cha cha
The Last Word - Fast Funk
Negroni - Aria nostalgica
Caipirinha - Choro
Vieux Carré - Blues
Bloody Mary - Hungover
Alabama Slammer - Song
Mojito - Son
Boulevardier - Hot
Vodka Martini - Agitato, non mescolato
Manhattan - Stomp
Cocktail List is a collection of twelve miniatures for two guitars commissioned by Zoran Dukić and Aniello Desiderio. The cocktails vary in length from just a few seconds to around three minutes. They take in a broad range of musical styles from Italian opera to Brazilian choro, from Berlin cabaret to Detroit funk.
Many of the cocktails parody or pay homage to specific musical genres, while others are adaptations or distortions of existing music. For instance, Iron Lady draws on the style of Elgar’s ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ marches, while Negroni evokes the film scores of Ennio Morricone. Alabama Slammer is an arrangement of Kurt Weill’s ‘Alabama Song’, whereas Caipirinha and Vieux Carré rework pieces by Nazareth and Gershwin respectively. Manhattan, written in collaboration with pianist Graham Caskie, draws on several sources, including music by Rachmaninoff, Chopin, and Gershwin (again).
In concert, any number of cocktails can be performed in any order. However, if Manhattan is selected, it should end the set.
Zoran Dukić and Aniello Desiderio gave the first performance of Cocktail List at the Kurfürstliches Schloss, Koblenz, Germany, on 2nd June 2022, as part of the 30th Koblenz International Guitar Festival. The piece was funded by invited individuals who each chose a cocktail to be characterised in music, either for themselves or as a gift for someone else.
