The Open Field was commissioned by the Schenectady Symphony Orchestra, with funds provided by the New York State Council on the Arts. Tann was already at work on the fanfare-like figures of the opening and closing sections when news came of the events in Tiananmen Square, June 1989. The freedom of mind which had been celebrated in the opening of the piece was called into question and this is reflected in the darker inner sections of the work. Tann's original intention was not to write any kind of `documentary'. However, it was inevitable that the piece became caught up in that unbelievable year which ultimately led to the breaking down of the Berlin Wall. It is for this reason, with deep respect, that the piece is subtitled In memoriam Tiananmen Square, June 1989.
