STRINGS
All of the solos and ensembles on this page include a link to a YouTube video
where you can preview the entire score while listening to a recording.
Additional ensemble music with strings can be found
on the Church Music - Instrumental page.
VIOLIN

SPRING SOLILOQUY
Level: M
Duration: 4:00
Price: $6.50
Publisher: Dacker Music
A lyrical piece written as a wedding gift for a colleague when I was teaching in China, so like its companion piece Remember the Rainbow for flute and piano, it also has sort of an oriental sound.
Also available transcribed for viola; cello; flute; oboe; bassoon; clarinet; alto saxophone.
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Read more about Spring Soliloquy
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Download from Score Exchange
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SONATINA FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO
Level: MA
Duration: 9:30
Price: $14.00
Publisher: Dacker Music
As the title suggests, this is a 3-movement composition employing sonata forms on a somewhat smaller scale. It is useful recital repertoire for advanced level students and soloists.
The individual movements, with locations on the audio track, are listed below.
I. Allegro agitato - sonata-allegro - A minor 0:00
II. Andante tranquillo - chaconne - D major 4:08
III. Allegro - abridged sonata-rondo - A minor 6:57
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Read more about Sonatina for Violin and Piano
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Download from Score Exchange
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Performance Video: Zsiga Pal, violin and Gyorgi Szbadka, piano

FIRE DANCE
for Violin and Orchestra
Level: A
Duration: 5:00
Price: $65.00
Publisher: Dacker Music
Violin and Orchestra
Fire Dance has 3 sections, following an A-B-A or simple ternary form:
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1. Furious 2. Contemplative 3. Tempo I
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The title of this composition might encourage the listener to conjure up visions of a primitive tribal fire ritual, or possibly an entertaining dance performance with fiery hoops and batons. Both are valid reactions and neither of these interpretations would expect a specific program in the music.
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But an environmental theme can be discerned in the composition by interpreting the violent opening section as depicting a “furious” wildfire, while the quiet middle section “contemplates” the scene of devastation left behind in the fire’s wake with idyllic memories of what it was like before the fire. The final section would recall the fire’s fury and serve as a warning for the future if something isn't done soon to combat wildfire-causing climate change.
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Scored for solo violin, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, tuba, bells, timpani, 2 percussion, piano, and strings.
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Also available in transcription for concert band
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Download from Score Exchange
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Recording by the London Symphony Orchestra, Miran Vaupotić, conductor - Davide Alogna, violin
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​Released on the album Symphonic Stradivarius by Navona Records
VIOLA
Level: M
Duration: 4:00
Price: $6.50
Publisher: Dacker Music
SPRING SOLILOQUY

Transcription for viola and piano of a lyrical piece for violin and piano (see above) written as a wedding gift for a colleague when I was teaching in China.
Also available transcribed for cello; flute; oboe; bassoon; clarinet; alto saxophone.
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Read more about Spring Soliloquy
​
Download from Score Exchange

SONATINA FOR VIOLA AND PIANO
Level: MA
Duration: 8:00
Price: $14.00
Publisher: Dacker Music
​ Viola and Piano
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As the title suggests, this is a 3-movement composition employing sonata forms on a somewhat smaller scale. It is useful recital repertoire for upper intermediate level students and soloists.
The individual movements, with locations on the audio track, are listed below.
I. Allegro moderato - sonata-allegro - B minor 0:00
II. Andante con moto - theme and Variations - Bb major 3:17
III. Allegro - abridged sonata-rondo - B minor 5:30
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Read more about Sonatina for Viola and Piano
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Download from Score Exchange
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Recording by Peter Sulski, Viola and Randall Hodgkinson, Piano
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Released on the solo album Trios and Sonatinas by Navona Records
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Also released on the multi-composer album Bowed Colors by Navona Records
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“Sonatina For Viola And Piano", by Richard E. Brown, recruits Hodgkinson’s cozy piano playing for the album’s best selection that births plenty of melody. -- Take Effect (from review of Bowed Colors)
CELLO-BASS

SPRING SOLILOQUY
Level: M
Duration: 4:00
Price: $6.50
Publisher: Dacker Music
Transcription for cello and piano of a lyrical piece for violin and piano (see above) written as a wedding gift for
a colleague when I was teaching in China.
Also available transcribed for viola ; flute; oboe; bassoon; clarinet; alto saxophone
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Read more about Spring Soliloquy
​
Download from Score Exchange
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SONATINA FOR CELLO AND PIANO
Level: MA
Duration: 8:40
Price: $14.00
Publisher: Dacker Music
Cello and Piano
As the title suggests, this is a 3-movement composition employing sonata forms on a somewhat smaller scale. It is useful recital repertoire for upper intermediate level students and soloists.
This sonatina was performed in New York's famous Carnegie Hall in November 2023.
The individual movements, with locations on the audio track, are listed below.
I. Allegro motorato - sonata-allegro - D minor 0:00
II. Andante con moto - chaconne - F major 3:17
III. Allegro - abridged sonata-rondo - D minor 6:27
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