About this work:
I met Mana Tokuno last spring at a concert in Montpelier, Vermont.
The Montpelier Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Victor Rosenbaum, did the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 with Mana as soloist. My work, “Seven Steps To Heaven,” for string orchestra was also on the program. After the concert we all went to a local restaurant for a bite to eat, and Mana asked me if I would be interested in writing her a piano piece. I said, “Sure!!!”
For years I have been a fan of Glenn Gould’s recordings of the music by J.S. Bach. I am also a fan of the keyboard sonatas of Bach’s son, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.
To prepare myself for this work for Mana, I delved into the scores and recordings of these two awe-inspiring musicians/composers, in particular the Toccatas and Partitas of J.S. Bach.
I wrote the entire work during a three-week stay at the American Academy in Rome, 2009-10.
Tokuno Toccata is in five sections.
1) Prelude … Fantasia!!!
2) Adagio … molto cantabile!
3) Allegro molto …
4) Largo … molto cantabile!!!
5) Allegro … Fuga a tre voci.