Program Notes
Illusions was written in April of 2020 for a friend of the composer’s who played the tuba. It is a highly virtuosic piece inspired by its namesake: illusions. The piece is enigmatic by design. The phrase of the piece, if it needed to be summed up in one or two words, is “not quite.” It is wrought with stylistic juxtapositions that give the the illusion of one style before replacing it with something else. The virtuosic introductory theme by the tuba twists and turns melodically in a matter that is not predictable, and then “cadences” in a V-I fashion, but in the form of a tritone (B-F).
As the piano is introduced, the music continues to trick the listener by presenting clear predictability and then interrupting it with harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic changes, to the point that even when the listener may expect some of these musical hijinks, the part in question may change again. Especially the ending, when the tuba descends loudly to one of its lowest notes, which, due to the nature of the instrument, is quiet as opposed to the expected and well deserved loud finish.
There are many moments within the piece to which Bach, Schubert, and Beethoven would relate, but there are also moments that embrace the compositional styles of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It is not quite tonal. It is not quite traditional. It is not quite completely contemporary. It does, however, present illusions of all of these aspects.
Music
To purchase Illusions or to see samples contact Trevor Zavac.
The following performance by Anthony Kniffen and Geoff Stemen was recorded by JT Landon.