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- John Harbison
Sonata for Viola and Piano (2018)
- Associated Music Publishers Inc (World)
Commissioned by an unnamed admirer for a consortium of violists, in honor of John Harbison’s 80th birthday
Programme Note
Composer note:
Sonata for Viola and Piano (2018) is in six brief movements, spanning somewhat less than fifteen minutes performance time. The six-movement premise — each shorter and less developed than its predecessor — was present from the first thoughts about the piece, one of those notions that sets in and becomes a mysterious obligation.
The viola was my chosen instrument, the one I always wanted to play. I enjoy the company of violists; their collegiality, adaptability, independence, their cherishing of the middle of the texture, its precious secrets. I am happy that a number of violists and their partner pianists have been interested to play this piece.
The idea for the Sonata came from Sally Chisholm, violist of the Pro Arte Quartet and Germain Prévost Professor of Music at the Mead Witter School of Music in Madison, Wisconsin. I am deeply grateful to the anonymous commissioner, a dear friend of many years, whose generosity offered a bridge on which to cross into a new decade in the tenor register.
— John Harbison
Movements:
Movements:
1 Resolution
2 Passage
3 Night Piece
4 Certainties, Uncertainties
5 Questions
6 Answers
Sonata for Viola and Piano (2018) is in six brief movements, spanning somewhat less than fifteen minutes performance time. The six-movement premise — each shorter and less developed than its predecessor — was present from the first thoughts about the piece, one of those notions that sets in and becomes a mysterious obligation.
The viola was my chosen instrument, the one I always wanted to play. I enjoy the company of violists; their collegiality, adaptability, independence, their cherishing of the middle of the texture, its precious secrets. I am happy that a number of violists and their partner pianists have been interested to play this piece.
The idea for the Sonata came from Sally Chisholm, violist of the Pro Arte Quartet and Germain Prévost Professor of Music at the Mead Witter School of Music in Madison, Wisconsin. I am deeply grateful to the anonymous commissioner, a dear friend of many years, whose generosity offered a bridge on which to cross into a new decade in the tenor register.
— John Harbison
Movements:
Movements:
1 Resolution
2 Passage
3 Night Piece
4 Certainties, Uncertainties
5 Questions
6 Answers