Norman: Switch

Andrew Norman's Switch (not to be confused with the upcoming Nintendo Switch) is quite the juggernaut to get into but it's a piece I would like more people to enjoy. It also provided me with an experience I will likely never again repeat in my life.

The official premier was on Nov 6, 2015 but the Utah Symphony held an open rehearsal the day before, which I was able to attend, where they ran through the piece twice. I was then able to hear the piece again the next day while I was doing some volunteer work for the symphony, and then the day after that I attended the performance for real. Not only that, but I even got to meet Andrew Norman and discuss the piece with him briefly.

I enjoyed the piece immensely on first listen, partially because it plays to my interests and partially because I'd already been addicted to Christopher Rouse's Der Gerettete Alberich since the Utah Symphony preformed it a few years earlier. (There is also an interesting story behind my attendance of that performance, but we can save that for later.) But having the opportunity to hear it so many times (4) over that weekend as well as being able to digest and discus it with others made it so that by the time I sat down and heard it in concert for real I was able to appreciate it on a surprisingly deep level. Though there were still many secrets to be discovered once I got my hands on the recording which I eagerly purchased the weekend it went on sale.

So, I'd like to share with you my interpretation of the piece so that when you listen to it you can perhaps find a glimmer of understanding as well. Just be forewarned that I am exceedingly under qualified to do so and am going to deviate from the composers own interpretation. However, being an avid gamer and a passionate lover of classical music I hope to be able to at least provide something of an easy jumping off point for this piece.

Let's start off with some things you should know before listening. Switch is absolutely program music. (you should laugh because that was funny... 😅) The idea is that the soloist is playing a game (likely a rather difficult execution heavy game.) and that each percussion instrument they play does something to the orchestra like turns an instrument or section on and off. You will occasionally hear this:

Which indicates a fail state. When that happens the soloist must start over from the beginning again. You will also hear this a few times: (it's quiet so you have to listen closely)

Which is something like a sigh of resignation, or perhaps a deep breath to regain resolve. There is also a fun little Ester Egg when the soloist finally wins! (uh... spoilers?)

It's meant to sound very similar to the musical cue you get when you beat a level in Super Mario Bros.

With those things out of the way let's get down to my breakdown of Switch.

0:00~1:17

This seems like an arcade game in attract mode we hear parts of most of the 'melodic' materiel that will be in the piece but the 'real thing' hasn't really started yet. The soloist hasn't even come on stage yet. Remember what the vibraphone is up to for later though.

1:17~9:18

Here the soloist (the player) runs out on stage and begins to play the game. They start off fairly strong but before long finds out that they're not actually super great at this game. There are a couple sections where you can hear the player experimenting with the with the controls a bit (the switches 😋).

At 2:23~2:38 there is a small section (which comes back in the next section) which I can only assume is the player taking a small break or something.

9:18~11:47

At this point it would seam the player has become frustrated and has stepped away from the game to calm down for a bit. You even hear them take a deep breath towards the end as they resolve to get back to the game.

11:47~14:19

While the player has come back to the game at this point they still don't seem to be ready to really try again so instead they start up a different game mode and mess around with that for a while. They begin to become somewhat proficient at this game mode but either stubbornness or pride compels them to return to the first game mode again before they can complete this.

14:19~20:28

The player comes back with full gusto and while still dealing with failure they push through to finally achieve success!

20:28~21:58

At this point the player returns to the second game mode again. This is my favorite section of the whole piece! I love how the different things all come together to make something new.

21:58~25:59

This section calls back to the very beginning of the piece again. Two vibraphones do a kind of call and response thing and it seems to me as if the player is doing something of a puzzle game. They kind of half remember how things went from seeing it before they started but it still requires some trial and error to get it right.

25:59~End

The players final game is to now get the orchestra to be quiet. You can hear different instruments coming on and off and getting louder and softer as the player tries to figure out this final puzzle. Just before the final note of the piece there is that breathing sound one last time, almost as if to imply that if the player messed this up they'd have to start the whole piece all over again.