Publications [#155172] of Stephen Jaffe

Compositions

1. Stephen Jaffe. SONATA (in Four Parts) for cello and piano.  144-40545 - piano score and part Merion Music, Inc. (Theodore Presser Co.), Spring, 2008 . [index.cfm]
   (last updated on 2014/08/20)

   Author's Comments:
   STEPHEN JAFFE SONATA (in four parts) for cello and piano I. Fantasque (strange dialogue; not what it seems; fast zu ernst) II. Breathing, still, undulating III. Strutting (pizzicato caprice) IV. Finale(gradually assuming a running tempo) Program Note The Sonata ( in four parts) for cello and piano is, as the title indicates, a large instrumental composition in four main sections. In that it is comprised of long and short movements, its composition has something in common with my recent String Quartet No. 2 (“Aeolian and Sylvan Figures”). Both pieces feature musical material which is spread over the whole piece, and outer movements which are bigger and heavier than the lighter, inner movements. In the sonata, there is quite rich contrast: the first movement boils, almost over the top, in its white hot and contradictory exchanges between the cello and the piano (fast zu ernst means “almost too serious”—also the title of one of Schumann’s Kinderszenen). In contrast, the second movement breathes slowly; while short, this music reveals an expanded time sense. The third movement, in which the cellist plays mostly without the bow, does embody, as the title suggests, a feeling of capricious strutting. The finale is again more somber in tone, searching, if not resolution, equilibrium. The Sonata( in four parts) is dedicated to David Hardy and Lambert Orkis, who are performing it for the first time this evening with the Kennedy Center Chamber Players. The invitation to compose the work came from David Hardy, with whom I have been working closely over the past few years on the introduction of my Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, which David and the National Symphony premiered in this building in January 2004. David’s premiere recording of that work, for Bridge Records (Bridge 9255) is being released this month in tandem with the first performances of the Sonata in four parts.