Composition Notes
Minutes before midnight on New Year’s Eve 1996, Michael went to his keyboard and looked at the snow-covered houses through his bedroom window. A peaceful silence crept over him and in the back of his mind he heard a violin playing a beautiful melody. This melody became the opening solo in his Rhapsody for Violin and Piano. Composed at age 17, this work is one of the longest and most complex pieces he had written so far. The single-movement composition contains elements of a sonata (with 3 contrasting sections). Michael dedicated this piece to his friend, Chantal Nowak, who played 1st violin for the premiere performance of his first string quartet. This work later won 1st Prize in the 1997 Jean Coulthard Composing Competition. It was first performed on April 17, 1997 by Chantal Nowak (Violin) & Cary Chow (Piano).
Instrumentation
- Violin (Solo)
- Piano
