Inspiration

I found these extraordinary pictures of the Swiss alps: the imposing Matterhorn against a dark-blue background, a sweeping valley with steep sides overlooking a far-off town, sunlight playing on the bright folds of the mountainside, a solitary cross on a lonely peak, a scene bathed in blue and white, a hut perched precariously on the edge of a cliff: how inspiring are nature's great creations!  I had something like this in mind when I wrote the first movement of my second sonata: the grandeur of the opening repeated octaves in Lydian mode, the icy counterpoint at 0:12, the precarious tension of the soft melody at 1:12, and the majestic chords at 2:49.  My penchant for harsh dissonance building into broad gestures, ebbing and flowing with brooding tremolos, seemed to match the darkness of the blue sky and the unforgiving white chill of the snow.

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