SOLO INSTRUMENTS:
Here are two solo piano pieces, a work for unaccompanied cello, and one for alto saxophone and piano. You’ll find a work for four-hand piano under Chamber Music. Concertos are found with “Large Ensembles,” and under the tab “Other” you will find pedagogical piano pieces.
Peterborough Sonata, for solo piano
was written in 1983 at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire. It is in three movements, each titled with a poetic couplet from Robert Browning’s One Word More.
I. Dante, who loved well because he hated, Hated wickedness that hinders loving.
Its fiery opening is characterized by abruptness and angularity, and as the movement progresses, space is made for lingering sonority and lyricism.
II. Silent silver lights and darks undreamed of, where I hush and bless myself with silence.
A nocturne of intense repose and reflection.
III. Does he paint? he fain would write a poem — Does he write? he fain would paint a picture.
The final movement is a passacaglia with a bass line that undergoes mutations and eventual disintegration. Above it are jazz-like chords and a right hand that demands the freedom of improvisation. The movement ends introspectively, opposite of how the piece began.
Duration: 7:04
Of Two Minds, for unaccompanied cello
was written in 1978. It uses extreme range and exacting rhythmic specificity, and is completely atonal; in fact, the second movement is the only purely 12-tone work among all of my compositions. The expressive piece has been successfully performed several times, but MIDI serves best in this case. I have provided video so that the score can be followed, should that be useful.
Parallax, for solo piano
was written in 1990 for the modern dance company Room to Move. I chose to avoid complex phrases and rhythms to give the choreographer a freer backdrop, using instead a minimalist aesthetic and an abundance of quartal harmonies in a tonal framework. Over the arch of the whole, musical parameters receive full exploration. The piece is in three movements — called “views”. Each movement is based on the same material, experienced uniquely.
Three Affections, for alto saxophone and piano
was written in 1982 for Brad Foley. It is cast in three movements entitled Grandeur, Reflection, and Heroism. I was fresh out of grad school and eager to work on my musical language with independence. In this work, I allowed a fair amount of jazz timbre, texture and rhythm to mix in, and I remember feeling “brave” in doing so. I may have liked the result, because in the works that followed during the next decade, the experimentation continued.