No 31 Five Palindromes (2004-2007)*

For violin & piano

Commissioned by:
First Performance: (Palindrome 3) Anna McMichael and Tamara Cislowska
Instrumentation: violin & piano
Duration:
Special Features:

Score samples

Listen/Buy: Anna McMichael & Tamara-Anna Cislowska on Spotify

Info/Program note:
Palindromes I-V are a so far incomplete collection of 5’-6’ pieces for violin and piano, all written in palindromic forms and expanding on some of the ideas developed in 7 Dances for Percussion 4-tet and Serenades II-IV. Of the intended 5 parts, 4 were completed. One too little to function as a sensible sequence though individual parts like Palindrome 3 have been performed on their own.

Palindrome 3
Though Palindrome 3 is a perfect palindrome it is also a somewhat curious one since it ostensibly seems to move forward continually, but with a surprising sonic change at the center. It might more properly be called a ‘quasi palindrome’ since it combines two different types of palindrome: one, linear/melodic (violin) and the other, sonic/motoric (piano). Where the violin reverses its line half way through, the piano reverses its action: from chord/interval-resonance (senza pedale) to interval/ chord (con pedale). Though the action is perfectly retrograded one sonic action thereby suddenly becomes two actions.