Joan Tower

Composer Note:
Wild Purple was written for the violist Paul Neubauer, who premiered the work at Merkin Concert Hall (New York City) in September of 1998.

I always thought of the viola sound as being the color purple. Its deep resonant and luscious timbre seems to embody all kinds of hues of purple. I never thought of the viola as being particularly wild. So I decided to try and see if I could create a piece that had wild energy in it and meet the challenge of creating a virtuosic piece for solo viola.

—Joan Tower