Sonata No. 3 for Violin and Piano (2012) was written for violinist Warren Davidson and pianist Donna Amato, superb musicians for whose advocacy on behalf of my music I am very grateful.

The first movement, Canto, is an extended “song” that develops through a variety of textures. The second movement, Lamento, is a “fierce lament” in the tradition of an old Irish “caoine.” The third movement, Variazioni, is structured as two presentations of the theme surrounding five free variations. The theme serves both as the basis of the musical material for each variation as well as the structural template. Each variation also contains material referring back specifically to the previous variation. The opening theme is declamatory. The first variation is fast and limber. The second variation is introspective and stratified. The third variation is fleeting. The fourth variation is distant and spare. The fifth variation is fast and driving. The final theme begins whispered and slowly regains its declamatory nature before an intense coda ends the work.