for solo piano

• To download the piano score click here

The Paris Sonata was composed during a summer residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris in 1999. For the second year in a row I spent the summer living and composing in the city of dreams. In 1998 I approached Paris as a new love. I returned to her the next year as an old familiar confidant. I strolled her familiar streets, shared experiences with her and watched as she turned from spring to fall. And I composed. During my 1998 stay I composed a violin concerto. In 1999 the Paris Sonata was born.

Having composed quite a lot of chamber music which includes the piano, I was very aware that I have not written a work for solo piano. My compositional lacuna. It is a weighty matter to compose a piano sonata: so many great composers seem to be looking over one’s shoulders, shaking their heads as each note drops on the page. But while listening to my friend and colleague, Timothy Gaylard, in performance, I immediately decided that a sonata for him must be my next composition. So I left for the dream city in June with my mission clear.

My routine, if you can call it that, was much the same as the previous year. I had the same studio overlooking the Seine. I took frequent strolls, ate a lot of bread and discussed the care and feeding of contemporary art with my artist neighbors. I composed in my studio as well as at various parks throughout Paris. I always carried my score with me, ready to stop and compose when the urge struck. And it frequently struck. I even wrote within Notre Dame.

The city of Paris is divided by the meandering Seine. Historically commercial activities were relegated to the right bank, or rive droite, and scholastic pursuits were found on the left bank, or rive gauche. It is here that one finds numerous universities, including the Sorbonne, as well as the Latin Quarter, Luxembourg Garden and Montparnasse. And it was here that I loved to walk the streets, soaking up the atmosphere that so inspired the likes of Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway and James Joyce.

The title of the first movement of the sonata is Rive gauche. It begins with a slow prelude, introducing several themes which will be heard throughout the entire work. The introductory material is followed by a romping allegro, complete with stride effects. There are two contrasting themes. One is highly rhythmically charged, full of syncopation and crunching dissonances. The second theme is more lyrical and is first heard in the left hand accompanied by block chords. A development follows as both themes are bandied about until all hell breaks loose in a rip-snorting coda.

The second movement, L'aube sur la Seine, reflects the Seine as the sun rises, tranquil but bursting with promise. Before Paris awakens there is a calm across the city. And nowhere is it more evident than on the shimmering Seine. This slow movement is comprised of a sixteen measure theme and a set of variations.

The finale is off and running from the first note. The music is marked “with constant energy.” Every summer on the longest day of the year Paris celebrates Fête de la musique. The city is overflowing with music. Every street corner features a different band and the revelry goes on throughout the night. This final movement of the sonata attempts to express the feeling of excitement as I wandered through the night following the sounds. There are two main ideas which weave in and out much as I did that music-filled night.

Wrapped within the sonata are many feelings and experiences of my summer overlooking the Seine. Paris is truly a city of dreams…in all senses. One cannot help but be affected by her.

The Paris Sonata is also available scored for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano; click here for info.