Sonata for Bassoon and Piano was composed for and is dedicated to Eric Goldman on the occasion of his Graduate Recital at Carnegie Mellon University. The work was recently included on the list of required repertoire for the 2007 Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition. It will be performed in over 100 auditions for the Meg Quigley Prize, whose final rounds will be performed as part of the International Double Reed Society conference in Ithaca, New York.

Movement I is lilting and lively in nature with a jazzy, syncopated interplay between the bassoon and piano. Some of these rhythmic materials employ mixed meters and hemiolas, while the harmonic and melodic materials make use of whole-tone scales and polytonality.

The piano opens movement II slowly with a series of polytonal and cluster chords to establish an air of meditative serenity. The bassoon enters with a sighing motive in the high register, gradually expanding to a broader expression of the theme, supported by frenetic arpeggios in the piano. The movement concludes with a return to a mood of tranquil, meditative melancholy and wistful peace.

The fast and spritely final movement is played, for the most part, in a light, staccato, and dance-like perpetual motion. The two voices again engage in playful syncopated exchanges throughout, and a brief cadenza provides momentum for the reeling conclusion. — N.G.