Michael KROPF: Sonata for Violin and Piano
Performers: Matt Albert, violin and Forrest Howell, piano
Recorded May 2023
Sonata for Violin and Piano (2021)
Instrumentation: violin and piano
Duration: 13:00
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Program note:
Sonata for Violin and Piano is written in two movements which contrast and mirror each other, like two planets that orbit on different sides of a sun. The first is slow and yearning, and is driven by a relentlessly rising harmonic figure and successive modulations into flatter and darker keys. The second is fast and joyful, driven by a falling harmonic figure, and is constantly brightening harmonically.
About Michael Kropf
Michael Kropf is a composer whose music engages with evocative places, personalities, and histories. Recent projects include Moses in Nederland, a violin concerto for Sabrina Tabby and Contemporaneous based on yiddish melodies written by his great-grandfather, Moses Schenkein. In 2022, he collaborated with librettist Patrick Smith to create an orchestrated song-cycle for soprano Erin O’Meally and The San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His latest project is called The Albert Kahn Sonata, and will involve a multimedia collaboration with film-maker John Hanson and pianist Forrest Howell that reflects on the life and work of famed Detroit architect Albert Kahn.
Michael is also an active music teacher, pianist, violinist, and conductor. He is currently on faculty at Gonzaga University as Assistant Professor of Theory and Composition.
Visit michaelkropfmusic.com for more information.
