Originally conceived for string orchestra, Night Drive was inspired by the repetitious 16^th-note string rhythms of the baroque and classical repertoire—think Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

I completed the opening section first: a melody in repeated 16^ths over a driving, metronomic accompaniment. Harmonically the piece began to remind me of a noir film, maybe mobsters cruising through the bad part of town. The following “B” section evoking love themes from a bygone era of Hollywood and seemed to be a natural next step.

Along the way I reduced the orchestration to a quartet—the more intimate textures seemed well suited to the piece’s nighttime setting.