Piano Sonata No. 1

Piano Sonata No. 1 is a piano work in three movements offering vigorous and sumptuous melodic and thematic materials that rhapsodize and evoke exuberant, brassy celebratory overtones. Throughout the twenty-minute work of irrepressible energy and a cosmopolitan eclecticism, one can discern snatches of throbbing gestures, poetic linear lines, and whistling bustles of colorful energy. Making use of the forceful and virtuosic writings for the full extent of the instrument’s range, contrasting stark dissonances with cool, liquid ripples of fleeting arpeggiating sounds, the bulk of the piece maintains a fresh, individuality from which the splendor of a mélange of synthesized styles (with a pinch of Morton Gould) highlight the music.

It is a luminous and lyrical work at its core, full of splashy, aggressive, urban dispersed music that swirl and intone most satisfyingly. It is personal and lively — bustling with energy, uneven meters, and dissimilar modes of expression not strictly “tonal” in nature, though it is not at all neo-Romantic, but could be subjected to traditional harmonic analysis. The most beautiful moments display wailing harmonies and slow-moving motion across a broad expanse of topography, where the spirit of the work lies: in its elemental simplicity of strikingly diverse multiple treatments of the same subject. It is a lucid, engaging piece; it is surely demanding but holds the effusive attention of abrasive and sustained lyrical writing, both very craftily handled.