Variations and Fantasies on an Accordion Song. Duration: 9'.
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1114

PROGRAM NOTE

In 1994–95 I wrote the soundtrack for a documentary entitled Journey Into Courage. This piece is a set of variations and fantasies on a theme in the “Accordion Song” played by Jenny and her husband in the documentary. I’ve been told by Jenny’s husband that this tune is an old, traditional song called John Tallis’ Canon.

My primary goal was to see how I could manipulate an extremely tonal theme through a theme and variations form. Originally, the piece was going to consist entirely of a theme and a few variations. However, when writing it, my mind wandered, and by the time I was done with some of the variations, they didn’t sound at all like the theme, and were only vaguely related to it. This is how some of the variations had a mid-life crisis and became fantasies.

The fantasies and variations in this piece are intentionally, stylistically eclectic. The jazz-style variations are inspired by Michael Arnowitt’s love of improvising.

Variations and Fantasies on an Accordion Song (Piano Solo)

American composer Robert Paterson is a true New Yorker—born and bred in Buffalo, he lived in Rochester and Ithaca for over ten years, in New York City for over twenty years, and now lives in Saratoga Springs, near the Adirondacks. Paterson’s colorful music embraces a wide variety of themes, everything from goddesses and online dating to mathematics and the environment. His music is filled with emotion and fierce rhythmic energy, marked by elegance, wit, and meticulous craftsmanship. Named Composer of The Year by the Classical Recording Foundation at Carnegie Hall, Paterson is the winner of the Alfred I. DuPont Award, and his opera Three Way won the Grammy® under Best Classical Producer of the Year. His music is often a Best of the Year pick on National Public Radio. His orchestral tone poem, Dark Mountains, regularly airs on NPR’s Performance Today. Three Way premiered with Nashville Opera, then BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), and across the United States. Minnesota Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, The Oratorio Society of New York, Buffalo Philharmonic, Albany Pro Musica, Albany Symphony, Musica Sacra, Austin Symphony, Vermont Symphony, and ensembles worldwide perform his works. Paterson gives masterclasses at the Curtis Institute of Music, New York University, the Aspen Music Festival, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and more. He is the Artistic Director and house composer for Mostly Modern Projects. Robert is a lifelong vegan and advocates for animals and the environment, celebrating the natural world with ground-breaking works such as his Triple Concerto, A New Eaarth, Listen, and I Go Among Trees.

Variations and Fantasies on an Accordion Song (Piano Solo)

Robert Paterson Composer