Nico
Muhly,

Order of Operations is an orchestra piece in three large sections: fast, medium, and slow; structurally, it resists traditional symphonic structure. The first section is essentially a perpetual motion machine with hiccoughs and interruptions. The second section is an obsessive harmonic process, creeping slowly up from lower instruments to higher, but never exploring the extremes. The third section is a slow series of drones with a melody in the flute and lowest instruments: a displaced tune. The piece ends when the drones abruptly stop amidst clouds of brass and trilling strings.