Chaconne (2023)
10 minutes
for solo piano
Premiere: November 2023 - Rochester, NY
PROGRAM NOTE
The Chaconne is an ancient genre — to compose one today is to engage in a dialogue with history. The challenge of the form is to construct a grand arc from an enchained series of brief variations. In my Chaconne, a broad, dramatic opening section presents the harmonic fields that recur cyclically throughout the 18 variations that follow. The piece then unravels into a short, reflective cadenza, leading to a closing gigue of mounting virtuosity. The work was commissioned by the University of Rochester, the University of Rochester Medical Center, and the Howard Hanson Institute for American Music and is dedicated to Dr. Mark B. Taubman in grateful appreciation for over 20 years of leadership and service to the University, its Medical Center, and the Rochester community.
