PROGRAM NOTE Birds of Paradise for flute and piano (2013) intersperses music that is brilliant and energetic with the wondrous and songful. Its title notwithstanding, I did not set out to compose a “bird” piece — Messiaen’s music, which I admire immensely, would seem to render such an effort quite unnecessary. The title does allude,…
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PROGRAM NOTE Ballade, a work of approximately 11 minutes, is a one-movement work, internally divided into three main parts that are played without significant break. A pianist learning the work will be greeted, at the front of the printed score, by a Note to the Performer summing up much of what I would also hope…
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PROGRAM NOTE EAST WIND for solo flute was commissioned by the National Flute Association for its annual Young Artists Competition, and was first performed by the six semi-finalists at the l988 San Diego NFA Convention. The work’s opening motif is a slightly varied treatment of the simplest of ideas—a single note which is then encircled…
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