About the creation

I have composed this sonata at the request of bassoonist Gili Sharett, for her debut at the Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall. She played my sonata there on Sunday, May 9, 2004. The pianist was the composer Noam Sivan. 

The piano part, far from being mere accompaniment, is equal in importance to the bassoon part. Indeed, I would define my sonata as a dialogue between these two instruments, each speaking its typical idiom and presenting its proper technical resources, while merging with its counterpart into a new unity. It is next to impossible (at least for me) to define a piece of music in terms of expression, to explain in so many words what it "means", or what it is about. The only statement I can offer on this sonata is that its four movements represent four aspects of this dialogue, perhaps with a hint of sadness.

The first, Moderato, flowing in a leisurely, dreamlike, pace, might perhaps evoke a reminiscence of a pastoral landscape, but not necessarily so. The livelier second movement, allegro non troppo, sounds more like a playful interchange of scraps of melody without any association attached to them. Just pure playfulness, like children. The third movement, Larghetto, Is the "sad" movement proper. Its long-drawn principal theme, marked espressivo and played alternatively by the bassoon and by the piano, gives the listener indeed more than a hint of sadness. The accompanying syncopated rhythm lends it certain nervousness. The element of playfulness becomes more pronounced in the fourth movement, marked Allegro molto, but it is perhaps a sort of wry playfulness. I would not define it as "bitter" but it is certainly not sweet.