Chamber Music | Solo Instrumental | Vocal & Choral | Orchestral

Two Pictures (2011)

written for Siena Summer Music’s 2011 concert series

Performers:

Caitlin Gross, cello
Joseph Prestamo, piano

Program Notes:

The idea that sparked Two Pictures (a title stolen from Bartók) was a comparison of musical art to visual art. An image can be taken in by its viewer all at once. Music, on the other hand, unfolds over time, revealing information little by little. With these pieces I wanted to use one idea from start to finish and slowly bring the listener’s attention to shifting details, the way one might continue to notice new aspects of a picture when gazing over an extended period of time.

I think the idea of an image or picture is fitting because (particularly in the second movement) the music explores a stillness that holds tension steadily without moving or changing. Perhaps music is never truly static the way that images are, but lately, I have been drawn to writing music that embodies stillness, music that doesn’t move or travel, transform or change, but just exists.