Visions - Euphonium & Piano

Visions for euphonium and piano was written in the fall of 2014. It was commissioned by Israeli euphoniumist, Ifat Meir in memory of her mother, Sara Shlaifstein Meir.  Ifat told me that her mother went blind before she passed away and had only fleeting memories of vision.  At times, her memories of vision were very vivid and at other times, they were faint.  So this piece was written with that idea of having varying degrees of memory of vision, but not actual vision.

Visions is a one-movement fantasy.  Loosely, it has a kind of sonata form.  After a very short introduction, two themes are presented.  The first theme is conversational between the piano and euphonium.  The second, more expressive theme marked con moto is played together.  After the initial two themes, a kind of development section takes the first theme through many far-reaching keys.  Then, the initial two themes return, one half-step higher than the original statement.  Finally, a lengthy coda which is based on the brief introduction and second theme, serves as a kind of secondary development section before bringing the piece to a close.