Duo for Violin and Cello
Lee Actor
About this work:
Duo for Violin and Cello is a short, lively piece in roughly A-B-A form, featuring spiky rhythms and spicy harmonies. It may surprise the listener to learn that the slower moving middle section, which builds to an impressive climax and then slowly unwinds, is actually an extended retrograde canon at the 7th between the two solo instruments. After the original material returns in modified form, the repetitive rhythmic aspect of the music becomes increasingly emphasized, leading to a wild, gypsy-like passage before ending in a flourish.
Duo for Violin and Cello was written in 1978 while I was a composition student at San Jose State University, and was a winner of the 1979 Eva Thompson Phillips Award for Composition.
Year composed: 1978
Duration: 00:06:25
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 2-5 players
Instrumentation: 1 Violin, 1 Cello