Winter Up North

I.
II.
III.
IV.

violin (or clarinet) and piano
(2007)
6 minutes

Premiered by:
Yona Stamatis, violin
Lembit Beecher, piano

March 12, 2007 - Ann Arbor, MI

listen
Yona Stamatis, violin
Lembit Beecher, piano

About the piece:

For my mother’s birthday last year I told her I would write her a piece.  I let her decide the instrumentation.  She chose violin and piano, the instruments my brother and I play.  I wanted to write something not only that she would enjoy, but something that reflected elements of her life.  One of my mother’s greatest gifts is her great affinity for children and an ability to relate to them.  I decided that the piece should be geared toward child performers.  Writing it I drew on memories from my own childhood, in particular, the winter I spent with my family living in Vermont.  When I was nine we lived for a year in a small village called Barnard, near the middle of the state.  I remember the strange solitary stillness of grey, grey days, the simple pleasure of being inside after a long winter day out and about, the storms, and the magic of big, puffy snow flakes.  Using my memories of Vermont as inspiration seemed particularly appropriate since my mother has always had a special connection to the state.  Though she was born in Estonia and has spent the last 30 years or so of her life in California, she spent the later years of her childhood in the Northeast.  It is that area of the country, and in particular Vermont, with its small towns, stone fences, birch trees and snowy Estonian-style winters that seems to be her spiritual home.  (She is one of the few people I know who talks about retiring to Vermont!) The piece is geared toward violinists and pianist with 3 - 6 years of experience.  It has four short movements.