Five Portraits

Description

Violin, Piano — This set of five pieces for violin and piano by American composer Ulysses Kay was commissioned by the McKimi Fund of the Library of Congress. Completed in 1972, the work was premiered by violinist Ruggiero Ricci at the Library of Congress on February 22, 1974, with pianist Leon Pommers. Perhaps influenced by his studies at Yale University with neoclassical composer Paul Hindemith, Kay utilized the technique of a twelve-tone matrix for each intriguing piece. The five pieces are titled Scherzando, Adagio, Allegretto, Larghetto, and Allegro.