For: Viola and Cello
Composed for Scott Woolweaver and Karen Kaderavek. This piece is dedicated to three friends who died in their 20’s far too young. John Willhelm and George Shaw were two up-and-coming musicians in North Carolina. They worked in an area that was part jazz and part rock. John was a drummer who never met a polyrhythm he didn’t like. George was a guitarist and writer. His early music—his only music—pointed toward something richer and more complex. John and George were killed by a drunk driver as they drove home from a mixing session for their first album.
Hank Ratledge was a friend from childhood and showed early talent as an essayist and short-story writer. He had a penetrating sense of humor. He was one of my best friends. We’ll never really know what his demons were, but they got the better of him and he took his own life.
……
At first...seemed to be having some fun at the expense of that D-S-C-H motto that shows up obsessively in Shostakovitch's music; then it turned serious and chilling - Boston Globe
If you’re interested, you can request a score at the bottom of this page
Listen now
Complete piece, performed by Woolweaver and Kaderavek.
1 - JW. I hope John would have enjoyed this play on rhythm. He wouldn’t have any any trouble playing it.
2 - GS. George had a sunny temperament and could also drive a band. Some of that is shown here. But the dark and brooding passages are more a reflection of how we miss him.
3 -HMR. It’s harder to find words to describe this music for Hank. It’s obviously difficult to play and is based on double-stops. It drives towards an uneasy sense of peace.