Eugene Zador

The work consists of eight short movements, each of which has a specific character.  The first, “Prelude”  (Allegretto), starts with a broad symphonic theme which is played at three different speeds; the second, “Slow Fantasy” (Andantino) is an elegiac essay, flavored by Hungarian folklore; the third is a gay Capriccio (Allegro vivo), played with pizzicato and collegno; the fourth a polyphonal “Introduction” and light “Scherzo” (Moderato, Allegro); the fifth a “Potpourri,” a piece of unusual variety (Moderato, Vivo); the sixth, “Song” (Allegretto) is a symphony jazz piece; the seventh, “Crescendo-Decrescendo (Moderato), starts with ppp, rises to fff, then, from bar 23, the whole piece is written note by note backward, as in a mirror, ending again in ppp.  The final movement is a “Rhapsolia” (Molto moderato, Allegretto, Vivace).

- Eugene Zador