JAVS Spring 2022

I’m often surprised and pleased to say that sometimes my work can lead musicians into a new zone. What might seem unfamiliar to a player first encountering my music, soon clicks, and then we’re off to the races. And nothing will ever replace the excitement of a live premiere performance. Anything can and will happen. I want to hear the keypops of the bassoon, fingers sliding on metal wound strings, the quick inhale a vocalist takes to support the upcoming phrase. Music is uniquely human in so many ways. And just imagine the power that concert pianist André Watts must have had to bust a bass string on a Steinway D in a live televised concert. The stage crew had a replacement Model D on hand, and during that quick reset, Maestro Watts gave a fascinating interview on this. Just goes to prove a “snap pizzicato” can have consequences, but that won’t stop me from using it.

Final Thoughts Many people say: “classical music is dying”. Others, charge classical music with the task of creating an equitable platform for underrepresented where other genres have failed to do so. Where do you fall in this conversation and what do you think of the classical music scene today? Classical music, as it exists today, won’t die easily. Like any other form of expression, it lives and breathes, and morphs over time. How we come to expand our musical horizons, and how we choose to invest our open ears and open minds, will likely influence the course which classical music takes over time. My foremost goal as a composer is to make music fun and rewarding for both the performer and the listener. Sometimes tickling the ear in an agreeable fashion helps to open the mind, so that’s why I generally opt for well-crafted melody and spicy harmony. Embracing diversity in the arts is not only beneficial,

Figure 6: Marek Harris, Duo Sonata #3, IV. Vivace e risoluto, mm.69-75.

Figure 6: Marek Harris, Duo Sonata #3, IV. Vivace e risoluto, mm.69-75.

Figure 7: Marek Harris, Duo Sonata #3, IV. Vivace e risoluto, mm.131-135.

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Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 38, No. 1, Spring 2022