Program Notes
Tower Music is dedicated to my friend, the composer Joan Tower. Joan was one of the founders of The Da Capo Chamber Players and its original pianist. I first met her in 1981 when the group premiered Di Vivere, a work I wrote for them, at Carnegie Recital Hall. In 2021 she asked me to write a short piano piece for her to perform in a recital of works by Bach and Beethoven, Joan’s spiritual and musical mentors. Tower Music is a response to that request and specific program. The tradition of tower music goes back to the Middle Ages when musical performances from the top of a church tower or town hall balcony announced everything from the passage of time to the marking of specific events and holidays. To me, this seems an appropriate way of celebrating our friendship.
