Fantasy and Nocturne
Nocturne and Fantasy (2009)
Duration: circa 10 minutes
Premiered by Mark Robson at Piano Spheres 2008-09 concert season, Zipper Hall, Los Angeles, April 28th, 2009.
Program Notes:
Two movements contrasting in character: the Nocturne, a moment of reflexion, where gentle lines are combined in delicate and nostalgic gestures, and the Fantasia, fiery, extravagant, and relentless.
Both movements identify the idea of self-reference as the creative engine. Self-reference allows for objects that refer back to themselves, as in Magritte’s “‘This is not a pipe” or Velázquez' “Las Menina’s”. The process of ” looking back to itself” was infused, for example, in the Nocturne in fractal-like counterpoint where an object combines, simultaneously, multiple scaled-down versions of itself, as if a melodic and temporal “Russian doll”
Dedicated to Mark Robson.
----
copyright@2009
Registered with BMI
Duration: circa 10 minutes
Premiered by Mark Robson at Piano Spheres 2008-09 concert season, Zipper Hall, Los Angeles, April 28th, 2009.
Program Notes:
Two movements contrasting in character: the Nocturne, a moment of reflexion, where gentle lines are combined in delicate and nostalgic gestures, and the Fantasia, fiery, extravagant, and relentless.
Both movements identify the idea of self-reference as the creative engine. Self-reference allows for objects that refer back to themselves, as in Magritte’s “‘This is not a pipe” or Velázquez' “Las Menina’s”. The process of ” looking back to itself” was infused, for example, in the Nocturne in fractal-like counterpoint where an object combines, simultaneously, multiple scaled-down versions of itself, as if a melodic and temporal “Russian doll”
Dedicated to Mark Robson.
----
copyright@2009
Registered with BMI
Three Pieces for Orchestra
// Filed in: orchestral music
Three Pieces for Orchestra (2008)
Instrumentation: 2(2nd dbl. Picc).2(2nd dbl. E.H.).2(2nd dbl. B.Cl.).2/4.2.0.0/Timp./1 Perc./Strings/
Duration: circa 15 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Mov I, The Headless Horsemen’s Dream
premiered by Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Paul Haas; live recording.
Mov II, How To Make a Coup D´État in Three Easy Steps
premiered by Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Joana Carneiro; live recording
Mov. III, Iberian Crossfade
premiered by Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, conducted William Eddins;
live recording by Memphis Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Loebel
Program Notes:
The Headless Horsemen's Dream - A movement composed as if a short theater-play. After an introduction (the opening of the curtains), the musical character shifts from wild and exuberant to introspective and idyllic states, followed then, by the final drop of the curtain.
The middle section, the actual play itself, has a dream-like character, a sound metaphor for making the impossible possible.
How to Make a Coup D'Etat in Three Easy Steps - A piece where the fast succession of sections is accompanied by the mutation of stylistic traits: the ruling principles of a given section are deposed upon the arrival of a new set of materials. Within the trajectory of each section, the listener can perceive a curve of stylistic change. Furthermore, the overall trajectory of the movement is in itself a larger example of the same idea, driving the concept of style mutation from the beginning (figurative) to the end (geometric/abstract gestures). Transition between musical scenes represent “transfer of powers” between the ruling procedures in use and by the actual orchestration. These transitions of power range from rather smooth to rather abrupt - the coup d´état.
Iberian Crossfade - Iberian Crossfade assumes story-telling as a polyphony of narratives, i.e., not just one story line, but several. The perception of these narratives changes according to their function and surroundings. Similar class-objects are to be heard thorughout the movement shifting in function as they evolve from foreground to background elements, or vice-versa.
Parts available for rental. Contact us.
Instrumentation: 2(2nd dbl. Picc).2(2nd dbl. E.H.).2(2nd dbl. B.Cl.).2/4.2.0.0/Timp./1 Perc./Strings/
Duration: circa 15 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Mov I, The Headless Horsemen’s Dream
premiered by Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Paul Haas; live recording.
Mov II, How To Make a Coup D´État in Three Easy Steps
premiered by Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Joana Carneiro; live recording
Mov. III, Iberian Crossfade
premiered by Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, conducted William Eddins;
live recording by Memphis Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Loebel
Program Notes:
The Headless Horsemen's Dream - A movement composed as if a short theater-play. After an introduction (the opening of the curtains), the musical character shifts from wild and exuberant to introspective and idyllic states, followed then, by the final drop of the curtain.
The middle section, the actual play itself, has a dream-like character, a sound metaphor for making the impossible possible.
How to Make a Coup D'Etat in Three Easy Steps - A piece where the fast succession of sections is accompanied by the mutation of stylistic traits: the ruling principles of a given section are deposed upon the arrival of a new set of materials. Within the trajectory of each section, the listener can perceive a curve of stylistic change. Furthermore, the overall trajectory of the movement is in itself a larger example of the same idea, driving the concept of style mutation from the beginning (figurative) to the end (geometric/abstract gestures). Transition between musical scenes represent “transfer of powers” between the ruling procedures in use and by the actual orchestration. These transitions of power range from rather smooth to rather abrupt - the coup d´état.
Iberian Crossfade - Iberian Crossfade assumes story-telling as a polyphony of narratives, i.e., not just one story line, but several. The perception of these narratives changes according to their function and surroundings. Similar class-objects are to be heard thorughout the movement shifting in function as they evolve from foreground to background elements, or vice-versa.
Parts available for rental. Contact us.
Three Movements for Solo Piano
Three Movements for Solo Piano (2007)
Instrumentation: piano
Duration: circa 12 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Premiered by Tzimon Barto on March 16th, 2008, Eustis Florida.
Awarded the II International Barto Prize (2008).
Excerpts: Mov. I, Mov. II, Mov. III
Program Notes:
In this work, the opening of the first movement starts with the illusion of a classical sounding gesture. Such illusion is soon dissolved, dropping the listener into an energetic world of colorful, crossed arches, where musical time is perceived at certain moments as compressing, and at others, as distending. In contrast with the horizontal kinetics that traverse the first part of this movement, the second part starts by focusing on restricted areas of the keyboard; the repetition of blocks is progressively extended to larger, and larger keyboard ranges, until the block-type of material gets suddenly pulverized into single, spaced-out notes in a descending gesture. As time progresses, the single-note gesture crystalizes back into the original arched gestures, as heard earlier in this movement.
The second movement, nostalgic in character portrays, as Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935) wrote, "A sad melody with no weeping (...)", "(...) a morning to sense the soul as a song (...)", an introspective remembrance of past cycles as new cycles in life begin, colored with the use off simple, "(...) old fashioned (...) " melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic elements. His poem is published under "Poesias Inéditas".
The third movement surges as an eruption, a definite break from the mood set by the previous movement, setting an uncompromising drive, full of resilience, and with an unstoppable inner force until the end of the work. The different sections are outlined by contrasting keyboard demands, and the transitions between sections happen progressively as slow cross-fades between distinct contrapuntal gestures/materials.
Instrumentation: piano
Duration: circa 12 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Premiered by Tzimon Barto on March 16th, 2008, Eustis Florida.
Awarded the II International Barto Prize (2008).
Excerpts: Mov. I, Mov. II, Mov. III
Program Notes:
In this work, the opening of the first movement starts with the illusion of a classical sounding gesture. Such illusion is soon dissolved, dropping the listener into an energetic world of colorful, crossed arches, where musical time is perceived at certain moments as compressing, and at others, as distending. In contrast with the horizontal kinetics that traverse the first part of this movement, the second part starts by focusing on restricted areas of the keyboard; the repetition of blocks is progressively extended to larger, and larger keyboard ranges, until the block-type of material gets suddenly pulverized into single, spaced-out notes in a descending gesture. As time progresses, the single-note gesture crystalizes back into the original arched gestures, as heard earlier in this movement.
The second movement, nostalgic in character portrays, as Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935) wrote, "A sad melody with no weeping (...)", "(...) a morning to sense the soul as a song (...)", an introspective remembrance of past cycles as new cycles in life begin, colored with the use off simple, "(...) old fashioned (...) " melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic elements. His poem is published under "Poesias Inéditas".
The third movement surges as an eruption, a definite break from the mood set by the previous movement, setting an uncompromising drive, full of resilience, and with an unstoppable inner force until the end of the work. The different sections are outlined by contrasting keyboard demands, and the transitions between sections happen progressively as slow cross-fades between distinct contrapuntal gestures/materials.
The Fact of the Matter as a Matter of Fact
// Filed in: orchestral music
The Fact of the Matter as a Matter of Fact (2007)
Instrumentation: 2(2nd dbl. Picc).2(2nd dbl. E.H.).2(2nd dbl. B.Cl.).2/4.2.0.0/Timp./1 Perc./Strings
Duration: circa 12 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Premiered by Orquestra do Algarve, conducted by José Rodilla, Feb. 1, 2008 (Sagres, Portugal)
Excerpts:
Recorded live at Culturgest, Lisbon (Portugal), June 7th, 2009.
Performance by Orquestra do Algarve, conducted by Cesário Costa.
Movement I, Movement II, Movement III
Instrumentation: 2(2nd dbl. Picc).2(2nd dbl. E.H.).2(2nd dbl. B.Cl.).2/4.2.0.0/Timp./1 Perc./Strings
Duration: circa 12 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Premiered by Orquestra do Algarve, conducted by José Rodilla, Feb. 1, 2008 (Sagres, Portugal)
Excerpts:
Recorded live at Culturgest, Lisbon (Portugal), June 7th, 2009.
Performance by Orquestra do Algarve, conducted by Cesário Costa.
Movement I, Movement II, Movement III
Program Notes:
The Fact of the Matter as a Matter of Fact, a work written between July and December of 2007, has as point of departure the use of the harmonic series - properties common to physical and biological systems (ex., the human voice, strings of a violin, etc) - as source for both melodic and harmonic materials.
In the first movement, the woodwinds have a predominant role imposing their waving melodic gestures over the pizzicatos of the lower strings. The flow of events as presented since the beginning is, at a given moment, gradually replaced by a texture of high polyphonic density, as a sound metaphor to a temporary opening of a window with view to a very contrasting musical reality. Just as this other sound reality emerged from the original waving gestures, so it will disappear, closing that imaginary window, and so returning the listener to materials presented earlier in the movement.
The second movement begins under a calm but tense mood, a little like the calm felt before a storm. The flute and viola share the idea of a melodic line (a simple gesture downward, interweaved between the two instruments). The background texture that supports the lines of the flute and viola is initially stable until a tense cello line pulls the entire orchestra into several explosions of colorful sounds. The next section is a calm, warm chorale, returning the melodic material to the woodwinds, supported by long notes in the strings. The chorale is then followed by a new orchestral explosion, this time, dropping the listener into the opening material of the movement.
To conclude, the third movement is a dance for the whole orchestra of great rhythmic vitality, and playful character.
This piece is dedicated to Maestro Cesário Costa.
Parts available for rental. Contact us.
The Situation is Dramatic but not Hopeless
The Situation is Dramatic but not Hopeless (2008)
Duration: circa 8 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Premiered on October 19, by Ming Tsu and Lorenz Gamma, at the Boston Court Performing Arts Complex in Pasadena, CA.
Excerpt from live recording.
Program Notes:
Three main concetps were carried out composing "The Situation is Dramatic but not Hopeless".
The first concept seeks one-direction motives. By this, I mean that the use of returning materials is pretty much left absent, where motives develop but don't come back to the story line.
Meanwhile, the three main sections of the piece, within a framework of introduction, development, and conclusion, enclose their unique narratives. From beginning to end, the listener will follow a mutation in styles. Within each section, the listener will follow the definition and implosion of the objects in use. Each section starts very orderly, and as time passes, their grammar evolves.
Dedicated to Ming Tsu, and Lorenz Gamma.
Duration: circa 8 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Premiered on October 19, by Ming Tsu and Lorenz Gamma, at the Boston Court Performing Arts Complex in Pasadena, CA.
Excerpt from live recording.
Program Notes:
Three main concetps were carried out composing "The Situation is Dramatic but not Hopeless".
The first concept seeks one-direction motives. By this, I mean that the use of returning materials is pretty much left absent, where motives develop but don't come back to the story line.
Meanwhile, the three main sections of the piece, within a framework of introduction, development, and conclusion, enclose their unique narratives. From beginning to end, the listener will follow a mutation in styles. Within each section, the listener will follow the definition and implosion of the objects in use. Each section starts very orderly, and as time passes, their grammar evolves.
Dedicated to Ming Tsu, and Lorenz Gamma.
Piano Quartet
Piano Quartet (2004)
Instrumentation: Violin, Viola, Cello, Piano.
Duration: circa 10 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Commissioned by Cistermúsica (Portugal).
Premiered on May 22 of 2004 by the Moscow Piano Quartet at the XII Cistermúsica (2004) .
Excerpts from live recording by New Fromm Players, Tanglewood Music Center, August 2006:
Movement I, Movement II, Movement III
Program notes:
This work comprises three movements, where the two outer movements project great rhythmical energy with short motives, sparkled with different colors and sonic qualities, and fragmented through the ensemble. The second movement draws languid, introspective lines of a melancholic lyricism, featuring melodic transitions between the piano and the violin, and short episode where the string trio abandons the omnipresence of the piano.
Instrumentation: Violin, Viola, Cello, Piano.
Duration: circa 10 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Commissioned by Cistermúsica (Portugal).
Premiered on May 22 of 2004 by the Moscow Piano Quartet at the XII Cistermúsica (2004) .
Excerpts from live recording by New Fromm Players, Tanglewood Music Center, August 2006:
Movement I, Movement II, Movement III
Program notes:
This work comprises three movements, where the two outer movements project great rhythmical energy with short motives, sparkled with different colors and sonic qualities, and fragmented through the ensemble. The second movement draws languid, introspective lines of a melancholic lyricism, featuring melodic transitions between the piano and the violin, and short episode where the string trio abandons the omnipresence of the piano.
Clarinet Quintet
Clarinet Quintet (2006, rev. 2008)
Instrumentation: Clarinet (Bb), Violin (2), Viola, Cello
Duration: circa 10 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Premiered in October 2008, by Lontano, at the Second London Festival of American Music.
Excerpt recorded live by New Fromm Players.
Program Notes:
The introduction delivers fluid melodic lines by the clarinet with a string accompaniment where objects are replicated in different time-scales. As the combined register of the ensemble expands, a new object, more angular in design, unfolds on a harmonically stable background of crossed archs.
The second section re-takes the previously heard background design, this time at a slower tempo, providing the grounds for new melodic material in an expressive, intimate clarinet solo. The third section imposes a uncompromisingly energetic mood setting the clarinet in a vibrant rhythmic dialogue with the strings. The fourth section, again on a slow tempo, is contemplative in nature and the darkest in character, one last moment of introspection before the following section. In the fifth section each member of the ensemble will weave at different times the melodic path through a competitive heterophonic discourse. The closing section returns the listener to the original motive heard during the introduction.
Instrumentation: Clarinet (Bb), Violin (2), Viola, Cello
Duration: circa 10 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Premiered in October 2008, by Lontano, at the Second London Festival of American Music.
Excerpt recorded live by New Fromm Players.
Program Notes:
The introduction delivers fluid melodic lines by the clarinet with a string accompaniment where objects are replicated in different time-scales. As the combined register of the ensemble expands, a new object, more angular in design, unfolds on a harmonically stable background of crossed archs.
The second section re-takes the previously heard background design, this time at a slower tempo, providing the grounds for new melodic material in an expressive, intimate clarinet solo. The third section imposes a uncompromisingly energetic mood setting the clarinet in a vibrant rhythmic dialogue with the strings. The fourth section, again on a slow tempo, is contemplative in nature and the darkest in character, one last moment of introspection before the following section. In the fifth section each member of the ensemble will weave at different times the melodic path through a competitive heterophonic discourse. The closing section returns the listener to the original motive heard during the introduction.
Imaginary Folk-Tunes
Imaginary Folk-Tunes, for flute and guitar (2007)
Duration: circa 20 minutes
Instrumentation: flute and guitar
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Dedicated to David Gutkin.
Premiered by David Gutkin (guitar) and Eve Essex (flute) on Sept. 9th, 2007, New England Conservatory, Boston, MA.
Youtube recording by Tara Schwab - flute, and Michael Kudirka - guitar
Duration: circa 20 minutes
Instrumentation: flute and guitar
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Dedicated to David Gutkin.
Premiered by David Gutkin (guitar) and Eve Essex (flute) on Sept. 9th, 2007, New England Conservatory, Boston, MA.
Youtube recording by Tara Schwab - flute, and Michael Kudirka - guitar
Three Pieces for Clarinet and Piano
Three Pieces for Clarinet and Piano (2006)
Instrumentation: clarinet (Bb), piano
Duration: circa 9 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Commissioned by Center for Portuguse Studies University of California Santa Barbara. Premiered on February 9, 2007, at the Hatlen Theater at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Premiere performance with clarinetist William Powell and pianist Bryan Pezzone.
Program Notes:
Three Pieces for Clarinet and Piano draws many different shades of musical character. The first movement irradiates a vibrant interplay between the two instruments with an almost endless rhythmic energy, with gestures scattered between the players and full use of each instrument’s note-range. The second movement takes the listener to a contemplative space of long, soothing lines, and fluid gestures. The last movement drops the listener in a perpetual movement of fast, interwoven, mysterious lines that come to a rest when the last note is finally reached.
This piece was commissioned by the Center for Portuguese Studies of the University of California Santa Barbara as a tribute to Dr. José Blanco.
Instrumentation: clarinet (Bb), piano
Duration: circa 9 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Commissioned by Center for Portuguse Studies University of California Santa Barbara. Premiered on February 9, 2007, at the Hatlen Theater at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Premiere performance with clarinetist William Powell and pianist Bryan Pezzone.
Program Notes:
Three Pieces for Clarinet and Piano draws many different shades of musical character. The first movement irradiates a vibrant interplay between the two instruments with an almost endless rhythmic energy, with gestures scattered between the players and full use of each instrument’s note-range. The second movement takes the listener to a contemplative space of long, soothing lines, and fluid gestures. The last movement drops the listener in a perpetual movement of fast, interwoven, mysterious lines that come to a rest when the last note is finally reached.
This piece was commissioned by the Center for Portuguese Studies of the University of California Santa Barbara as a tribute to Dr. José Blanco.
What Happens When Nobody's Watching
What Happens When Nobody's Watching (2006)
What Happens When Everybody's Watching (2006)
Instrumentation: tenor trombone (2), bass trombone
Duration: circa 7 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Premiered Aug 12, 2006, Tanglewood Music Center
Excerpt from live recording.
Program Notes:
Two Fanfares scored for two tenor and one bass trombones. The preposition is simple, what sort of thing happens when three trombones get together, and nobody is watching, and its counter-part movement: What Happens When Everybody’s Watching.
What Happens When Everybody's Watching (2006)
Instrumentation: tenor trombone (2), bass trombone
Duration: circa 7 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Premiered Aug 12, 2006, Tanglewood Music Center
Excerpt from live recording.
Program Notes:
Two Fanfares scored for two tenor and one bass trombones. The preposition is simple, what sort of thing happens when three trombones get together, and nobody is watching, and its counter-part movement: What Happens When Everybody’s Watching.
Cellular Variations
Cellular Variations (2005)
Instrumentation: piano or any other keyboard with suitable range.
Duration: circa 10 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Premiered by Jennifer Logan in Los Angeles, August 2006.
Excerpt
Program notes:
A set of four variations on J. S. Bach’s Invention IV (in d minor).
Dedicated to Jennifer Logan.
Instrumentation: piano or any other keyboard with suitable range.
Duration: circa 10 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Premiered by Jennifer Logan in Los Angeles, August 2006.
Excerpt
Program notes:
A set of four variations on J. S. Bach’s Invention IV (in d minor).
Dedicated to Jennifer Logan.
Solos
Solos I-IV (2003-05)
Instrumentation: piano or any other keyboard with suitable range.
Duration: circa 10 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Premiered by Jennifer Logan in Los Angeles, August 2006.
Excerpt
Instrumentation: piano or any other keyboard with suitable range.
Duration: circa 10 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Premiered by Jennifer Logan in Los Angeles, August 2006.
Excerpt
Periodically Aperiodical - Aperiodically Periodical
Periodically Aperiodical - Aperiodically Periodical (2002)
Instrumentation: flute, bass clarinet, violin, cello, piano.
Duration: circa 10 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Commissioned by the Ojai Music Festival, premiered by the California Ear-Unit, Ojai Music Festival, 2002.
Excerpt from live performance by the Ear-Unit at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), March 12, 2003.
Instrumentation: flute, bass clarinet, violin, cello, piano.
Duration: circa 10 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Commissioned by the Ojai Music Festival, premiered by the California Ear-Unit, Ojai Music Festival, 2002.
Excerpt from live performance by the Ear-Unit at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), March 12, 2003.
Clarinet Etude
Clarinet Etude [Estudo para Clarinete] (1996)
Instrumentation: clarinet (Bb)
Duration: circa 8 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Premiered at Indiana University by Tascha Dzubay.
Excerpt from live recording.
Instrumentation: clarinet (Bb)
Duration: circa 8 minutes
Copyrights: work registered with BMI
Premiered at Indiana University by Tascha Dzubay.
Excerpt from live recording.