Juno (2015)

For Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello, Percussion, Piano

For much of the world, 2015 was one of the warmest winters on record. In Boston, where I live, it was one of the coldest. By mid-January it seemed like we might get a pass from mother nature, but in the last week of January, winter storm Juno paid us a visit, launching a series of massive blizzards that brought a record breaking amount of snowfall. At the time I was holed up in a small New Hampshire cabin, fireplace and food close at hand, working on this piece, actually. For me the storms brought an eerie, magical calm: leafless trees crackling in the wind; pristine, untouched snow as far the eye could see; deep cold and an endless white horizon. At the same time my wife, eight months pregnant with our son, was alone in Boston, commuting to work on treacherous, ice-covered streets hemmed in by ten foot tall snow banks and a sea of frustrated commuters. The contrast was extreme. My piece Juno, reflects on that time: the anticipation before the first big storm; the beautiful stillness of fresh snow; the loud, dirty, struggles of an urban winter; and the feeling of heaviness as the season drags on seemingly without end. Juno was commissioned by the Mandel Foundation for the Utah Arts Festival and premiered in June 2015 by the Verge Ensemble.

Recorded 9.30.15 live at Bates Recital Hall
UT Austin New Music Ensemble
Dan Welcher, Conductor

www.roberthonstein.com

Juno

Four Pieces For Solo Piano (one track)

Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Bates Recital Hall
The University of Texas at Austin

The Lone Star Brass Orchestra
Brandon Clinton, conductor

Flourishes & Mechanations

Magic Lasso: an Old West Melodrama, mixed chamber (2015)

A character theme for an original story of mine. From a single take. Probably the kind of thing I would write all the time if I could get away with it.

Jessica's Theme

World premier of "Ashen Skies of a Timeworn World." Performed by the University of Texas at Austin Wind Ensemble under the direction of Jerry Junkin.

Notes:
I've always had this strange fascination with the mortality of the universe. While the fate of the Earth will likely be absorption by the expanding red giant that our sun will become in 5 billion years, the end of life is a bit more ambiguous. Assuming humanity, or whatever we might have evolved into, doesn't make it to the dying of the sun, we might succumb to celestial events (asteroids, Near-Earth supernovas, etc.), the increasing luminosity of the sun causing the extinction of plant life, or climate-related events (human-caused or otherwise) to name a few. Fun stuff to think about, right? Lately, however, it seems increasingly likely that humanity will be its own undoing. Technology continues to evolve and allow for increasingly powerful means of mass destruction, while many nations still seem to be at strife internally or with one another.   Ashen Skies of a Timeworn World depicts a dystopian future that has already been ravaged by human conflict. The first part of the piece, titled "Desolation," opens with a solo trumpet introducing the haunting "ashen skies" theme. The music that follows paints a solemn and sorrowful Earth on its last legs. All hell breaks loose during the second half of the piece, aptly titled "War Machines." Brass and percussion herald the end time, melting faces with intense and drivingly rhythmic music. A glimmer of humanity's perseverance for survival shines through towards the end, but inevitably the world crumbles with destruction.

Ashen Skies Of A Timeworn World (UT Wind Ensemble world premier)

When looking at sand with a microscope, each individual grain appears dramatically different – creating what seems like a collection of small planets. Our perception of sand, however, is that sand is not quantifiable. Our language equates sand to something immeasurable, like milk or bread. This disconnect between how we view sand and its true composition shows how our minds connect large masses of similar objects and equates them to each other, or fuses them into one body.

This is represented musically by initially presenting the instruments combined in a way to diminish their individuality - to the point that our minds fuse the instruments together into one composite sound. Throughout the movement, the individuality that was always present in the instruments is increasingly brought to the attention of the audience, and the individual colors become more and more distinct as the piece progresses.

Next, imagine a single flower. All of its beauty is accessible, observable from all angles. Its individuality is shaped by its flaws, its unusual features. Observing two, three or four flowers together gives a different effect, especially if they are different species. In many ways, the raw beauty of the individual flowers is muted, but a new beauty emerges in the combination of different elements. When looking at a field of flowers, like an expanse of Texas Bluebonnets or a field of lavender, the features of the flowers are erased, and all that is left in the mind is color and generic texture. These ideas are represented musically by using different combinations of instruments alone, in small groups, and tutti to highlight how the intensity of colors is affected by different settings.

The third movement speaks to the treatment of animals in zoos, where individual animals are captured to represent an entire species. These captive animals live under constant scrutiny in small enclosures, and while zookeepers try their best to keep them comfortable, they are not living as they are meant to exist – in freedom. Does money raised for conservation efforts compensate for the suffering of individual animals in zoos? These ideas are represented in the music by a frivolous circus scene, with layers gradually being removed. It darkens over time and leading to an unsettling conclusion, but always carrying the feel of a circus march.

In a larger sphere, these observations on homogeneity can be applied to humanity as well; we are a collection of highly individualized people that become stratified in so many ways – race, religion, nationality, gender, sexuality, and many other distinct classifications. When we are viewed en masse, our individuality is diminished - which has had severe historical consequences. How does the pain of one individual relate to human progress for all mankind? Even though we are distinct beings and feel pain on an individual level, sometimes we are willing to sacrifice other peoples’ comfort and safety for the greater good. Sometimes, we are willing to inflict pain on other people merely for our bank accounts and our comfort. We need to be reminded that while we share a common humanity, we are individual, our neighbor is individual, and those who are strangers to us are individual – and of high value.

Chamber Symphony - Mvt III: Zoo

Chamber Symphony - Mvt II: Field

Chamber Symphony - Mvt I: Sand

Suite for Brass Octet
by Michael Mikulka

I. Intrada
II. Bicurious
III. Soliloquy
IV. Scherzo Marziale
V. Chant and Evolution
VI. Finale

Live performance by the Lone Star Brass Orchestra 5/30/17
http://www.michaelmikulka.com/

"Suite for Brass Octet" is composed of 6 short movements: 

-Intrada is a quartal introduction in a miniaturized ABCBA form. 
-If the second movement isn’t bitonal, it’s at least Bicurious. 
-Movement 3 is a lyrical Soliloquy for solo tuba. 
-The Scherzo Marziale is an amalgamation of the aforementioned styles: it quotes the trio of my band piece “Marche Slava”, which itself includes a quote of “Stars and Stripes Forever”. 
-Chant and Evolution explores the reshaping of an original “Gregorian Chant” melody. 
-The Finale is bold and fast-paced and brings back themes from the other movements.

Suite for Brass Octet: Lone Star Brass Orchestra

Trumpet player and composer based in Austin, Texas.

Ashen Skies Of A Timeworn World (UT Wind Ensemble world premier)

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