Blog Post No. 24: Symphony No. 56 (String Symphony)
Vivaldi was the first composer who inspired me to dedicate my life to music.
My string symphony is based on the opening bars of his RV 230.
The other day, I woke up to the usual terrible news about extremists on both sides—across many issues—murdering people they hate, do not understand, or fear or in whom they cannot identify the shared humanity we all possess.
Feeling that, at least for the moment, I had already created intense art regarding this subject, I decided to go in the opposite direction... envisioning a middle path for peoples in conflict: a majestic and wise approach to finding mutually beneficial solutions for everyone. Initially, this work was titled Maestoso.
My musical influences in the present work include Beethoven, Haydn, Barber, Bernstein, Copland, J. S. Bach, and Palestrina, as well as brief echoes of Gershwin and Verdi.
