The Octatonic Collection in the Piano Quartet
As with many of my compositions, much of my Piano Quartet is lushly Romantic. The second theme of this sonata-form
Read More
Thematic Transformation in the Piano Quartet
My Piano Quartet was composed in 1993 and revised in 2018-2019. The piece encompasses a wide variety of moods and
Read More
Tonal Structure of the Piano Quartet
My Piano Quartet, composed in 1993 but revised in 2018-2019, was recorded in February 2020 by violinist Cari Sue Jackson,
Read More
My Aesthetic Goals in the Piano Quartet
My Piano Quartet was composed in the fall of 1993, as part of my work toward an M.M. degree in
Read More
Word Painting in Sonnet XVIII (Part II)
Part I of this series discussed word painting in my musical setting of Shakespeare’s Sonnet XVIII — that is, how the
Read More
Word Painting in Sonnet XVIII (Part I)
Shakespeare’s Sonnet XVIII (“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”) is one of the most famous poems in the English
Read More
Piano Sonata No. 3: A Remarkable Combination
The first movement of my Piano Sonata No. 3 resembles the exposition of a classical sonata, except that in this
Read More
The Story of the Piano Quartet
In 1993 I was already a seasoned composer, having completed a wide variety of compositions and obtained performances of many
Read More
The Triptych Sonata
A triptych is a set of three panels presented side-by-side, each of which may or may not constitute a complete
Read More
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy View
Page turns are an annoying nuisance for musicians, especially performers of chamber music. The problem is worse for pianists, since
Read More
The 2019 Musical Soirée
Musical soirées were an important part of my musical life for about a dozen years beginning in the early 1980s.
Read More
Welcoming the Bösendorfer
On August 21, I posted about the day five years earlier, on August 21, 2018, when I parted ways with
Read More
Farewell to the Kawai
If you love life as passionately as I do, then you embrace progress with enthusiasm, but sometimes you also experience
Read More
Sonata Form in Five Sonatas
The sonata as we have known it since the Classical period involves two separate but intertwined ideas, and my five
Read More
Compositional Process: The Melody of Life (Part 4)
Over the last three posts to this blog (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3), I have been describing the
Read More