Completed in October, 2015.

Commissioned and premiered by Sezi Seskir.

Program Note

While musical fantasies are, by their very nature, improvisational and free, all music is nonetheless driven by subtle systems and rules. These Three Fantasies for solo piano are often whimsical and expressive, but they adhere to a specific plan. In the first, a softly bubbling Nocturne (“One by One”), only one note is ever played at a time. In the second, a richly expressive Intermezzo (“Two by Two”), two simultaneous notes are allowed. Finally, in the wide-ranging closing Capriccio (“Three by Three”), the pianist plays three notes at once.

While certainly an exercise in compositional moderation, these fantasies show the depth of harmony and emotion that can result from spare musical means.