Rhapsody for Violin and Piano a work in three movements is inspired by the long and beautiful life shared by the parents of a close friend. Her parent’s fifty-nine year journey together began in Romania after the Second World War. The first movement titled Romanza tells of their courtship and marriage and is lyrical and expressive in mood.
The second movement Escape from Tyranny depicts the difficulties and hardships the family endured for years under the communist regime. The gestures and harmonic language are spiky and angular. Midway through the movement there is a raucous dance, which has constantly shifting accents and meters.
The final movement A New Beginning tells of their new and happy life in America. The first section depicts their transition from the old life to the new one. The movement opens with a stately polytonal chorale played by the piano that is answered by more rhythmically free cadenza-like sections in the violin. Elements of Hebraic music are passed between the two instruments.
