2007 IMAGINE THE MOUNTAIN for Violin & Piano

IMAGINE THE MOUNTAIN (2007) for violin & piano was written at the request of Paul Barritt and James Lisney in response to their appreciation of Anatomy of Passion for cello and piano, which I wrote earlier for Alexander Baillie and James Lisney. Another composition for piano solo, Meden Agan, which I finished in 2006, completes the set of chamber works sparked off by my collaboration with these three musicians whom I came across through their extraordinary performances of the Beethoven sonatas – recordings of which are now available to anyone seeking to capture the heart and soul of his music.

Imagine the Mountain is a poetic vision which calls upon an extensive array of moods and notions. It resonates with awesome features of colour and texture, contour and size, environment and time, from the microscopic to the macroscopic – the one to climb, the one to explore, the one to marvel at, the one to fear, the one to conquer, to delve into, to get lost in…

What is it between me and the mountain? With every new composition I undertake I seem to be driven into the unknown that I both hanker after and dread. What I unearth is both unpredictable and determined by my senses. What I discover is both about the mountain and myself. I am both subject and object. And yet, the composition delivers itself like a fruit.

Three movements turned up in the process. The first a contemplation, an attempt; the second a ‘theme’ with variations; the third a breakneck dance at the summit. They are dedicated to Paul and James.