Changes
for alto sax, violin, and cello - 2010, ca 8 minutes - commissioned by the Etchings Festival
(version for clarinet, violin & cello)
Premiere by the East Coast Contemporary Ensemble:
excerpt 2: chaotic
excerpt 1: agitato, calm
Instrumentation - Chamber Trio
Alto Saxophone, Violin & Cello
Preview Score
Program Note
A certain spectral composer described this piece as “changing” too often, hence the title. I imagine my trio as a musical set of mood swings, beginning with a fiery angst and moving between other emotions at a moment’s notice: joy, longing, humor etc.. Thematic and motivic materials keep things coherent, with the pitch of C sharp providing an effective anchor while ideas bounce off one another. The conversation between the musicians constantly moves between arguments and agreements, until eventually a resolution is reached.