Opus number: 41
Title: Four Pieces in Familiar Style
Instrumentation: two violins
Date written: 1995, Boston
Length: eight minutes
Commissioner: New England Conservatory Preparatory School
Premiere performance: Jennifer Press, Julie Thompson, violins, String Duo Project, January 28, 1995, New England Conservatory Preparatory School
Important subsequent performances: Yoichi Udagawa and John Law, violins, The Boston Conservatory, December 10, 1995.
Recording: Ayano Ninomiya, both violins, CD reocrding in progress; tape of NEC performance at NEC Firestone Library; tape of Boston Conservatory performance at Boston Conservatory library
Program notes: “Four Pieces in Familiar Style” was written for the New England Conservatory Preparatory School and first performed by students at the annual Contemporary Music Festival. The four pieces are characterized by dance rhythms and their sonority is derived from the frequent use of open strings. The movement titles are: I. Sonata in Two Parts, II Which Side are you on?, III. The Cat and the Moon, V. Four-Voice Fugue.
