Piano Quintet

A single-span structure is designed to be sturdy enough to withstand frequent shifts of topic, mood swings, tempos changing gears. In this instance, the music tends to be either very slow and introspective, or very fast, hyperactive, extroverted. It is the tug between these two personality types that drives the music forward. --Program Note. "A listener couldn't help but be drawn to mid-20th-century Eastern Europe. In the percussive piano clusters and tense strings of the beginning, the mournful chorale-like section that followed and an abrasive, teeth-on-edge section in the middle. There were echoes of Alfred Schnittke and Dmitri Shostakovich, lively rhythmic transitionsand pungent harmonies recalled Bela Bartok. One short, repeated figure in quintuple time sounded like a quote from Dave Brubeck's 'Take Five.'" --James McQuillen, Oregon Live, The Oregonian.