Program Notes - Three Little Waltzes by Daniel Dorff

PROGRAM NOTES by the composer
Three Little Waltzes for Flute and Bb Clarinet
THREE LITTLE WALTZES is a quirky set of surprises composed for flutist Cindy Anne Broz. The first and third waltz are both shorter than a minute and serve as a prelude and postlude for the large middle movement which is over 5 minutes. Freshly composed in 2010, the 1st and 3rd movements are freely based on rhythmically-challenging waltzes that I wrote in high school (1974), frequently teasing between a waltz-like accompaniment and various ways of contradicting any sense of regularity, thereby providing a happy sense of arrival whenever the rhythms get back in sync. The central 2nd movement is a sort of backwards-constructed set of variations, in which fragments are built together and tease at congealing throughout the movement, finally climaxing in a full statement of the theme for the grand finale that reveals the full theme. UPDATES NOT IN THE "OLD NEW BORROWED BLUE" COLLECTION'S FIRST PRINTING: Mvt 1, bar 37: add mp cresc. for the flute Mvt 1, bar 53: the final clarinet note is pp, not mp. Mvt 2, bar 3: change the clarinet's nuance to "answering strongly"
	last updated February 22, 2020 home