Sonata 2020

for Viola and Piano

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Notes

The Sonata for Viola and Piano was my “pandemic project”, written over the course of 2020. Set in three movements, the sonata depicts a journey from youth to adolescence to adulthood, as life’s pace seems to accelerate.

Crawling Music is based on a descending motif in the viola, passing through many unstable tonal centers. An ever-ascending central passage builds to a moody climax before returning for a calm conclusion.

Walking Music, the most substantial of the movements, was the first of the three I imagined. On my morning walks I’m often writing music in my head – typically involving heavy syncopation over the metronomic beat of my footsteps. This process itself led to the name of the movement and the concept for the sonata.

These syncopated figures over 16ths and a punchy bass line in the piano comprise the main material. This dies down to a serene passage of pizzicato over light accompaniment. A beautiful cantabile melody leads to a development section I am particularly fond of. The movement returns to the opening material and eventually ends in an unexpected key.

Running Music is a relentless barrage of fast scalar passages based on a motif of alternating whole and half steps. Near the end there is one moment of resolution as material from the 1st movement is recalled. The sonata ends abruptly, with a sense that anything could happen next.

Duration

19′

Score

Audio

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