Torque

Description

Viola, Piano — This tour de force consists of two movements that are complete opposites. Movement I, titledMomentum, starts with the viola and piano aggressively sharing a single note. Things start swirlingout of control: the music gains greater and greater tension as the musicians turn and twist theirway into ever smaller spirals, right up to the end of the movement. Movement II, titled Stasis,offers a peaceful, gentle unwinding of the pressure. Torque was commissioned by the BarlowEndowment for violist Viacheslav Dinerchtein.