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I. Budapest – 7'20"
II. Vienna – 4'56"
III. Brno – 3'36"
IV. Tiranë – 5'17"
The inspiration for my cello sonata came from a visit to Budapest while I was a Rotary International Scholar the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna, Austria. I wrote the opening melody back then, and when I came across it in a sketch book, I decided to flesh out the material and write a sonata.
The other movements are likewise reminiscent of my year in Vienna – the second movement Waltz brings back memories of dancing in the moonlight in the Johann Strauss Garten.
I visited Brno, Czech Republic, for the Brno International Music Festival, where I was the pianist for a premiere of Constellations, for piano and slides, by American composer Thomas Clark.
The last movement, Tiranë, is a homage to my first visit to Albania. I met with many composers, researched the folk music tradition of Albania, and subsequently wrote my DMA dissertation on Albanian classical piano music. Tiranë is a rondo that imitates the çiftelia, an Albanian folk instrument.
