Program Notes

"Inspired by the French Romantic and Impressionist traditions, my Three Romances for flute and piano, composed during late July and early August 1984, was carefully conceived for the marvelous lyrical and technical gifts of Robert Stallman and Richard Goode, to whom the work is warmly dedicated. All three Romances, although brief in duration, unfold with a sense of large gesture and design and are characterized by through-composed ostinato figurations, richly orchestrated harmonics, and shifting harmonic rhythm. The first Romance is in 3/4 time and flows generally in the manner of a lyrical waltz with occasional turbulent interruptions. The second Romance is in 4/4 time, unfolding in a stately Baroque-like manner, and the third Romance is in 2/4 time, melodically exspansive and often tempestuous. All three Romances strive to honor the goals of traditional performance practice while, at the same time, they create an energy and drama of modernity and contemporary richness. And for these goals I am indebted to so many of the most outstanding performers and conductors of our time with whom I have worked and from whom I have learned much—those who have demonstrated the importance of preserving in addition to further developing those significant natural attributes of musical expression and traditional performance practice which are so often ignored in contemporary compositional values."

—William Thomas McKinley (© 1984), from 21 Sep 1984 program and his notes.

"The Three Romances were composed in 1984 for an Alice Tully Hall recital by flutist Robert Stallman. The rest of the program was already in place, and Stallman's request was for a piece of suitable length and character to go along with such works as Debussy's Syrinx and the Dutilleux Sonatine. McKinley's response was three short character pieces, with the third related to the first, particularly through the piano part, which was conceived with Richard Goode in mind. 'I was pursuing what Richard likes to play,' McKinley says, 'and the writing owes a good deal to Chopin, in its passage work in thirds and sixths, and in the twists and tums it takes.'

"The first piece is marked 'Tempo di valse.' Over a murmurous accompaniment in the piano, the flute plays a lilting, off-center waltz that alternates with scherzando passages, almost as if the accumulating excitement of the waltz cannot contain itself. 'This is a technique I learned from my work with Lopatnikoff—it shows up in a lot of the classical Russian pieces, when one rhythmic mood suddenly vanishes and out of nowhere a new rhythm starts darting around.' The piece has a contrasting center section based on a slowed-down version of the scherzando idea, and then it retums to the music of the beginning. The performers are asked to alternate graciousness and fire, and the music dies away to nothing.

"The middle Romance is a Larghetto built over a repeated, 'walking' bass that never interrupts its gait, though the tread becomes increasingly heavy as the line is weighted wlth octaves. Over this there moves a rather severe and majestic melody of baroque cast that one is surprised to find marked amoroso In the score. McKinley attributes this paradox to another one of his teachers, the musicologist Frederick Dorian, who stimulated his interest in baroque music; the amoroso refers to the 'doctrine of affectations' or Affekt. 'This piece pays homage to my feelings about Bach in that world, a romantic look back, anchored by a steady, baroque bass.'

The third Romance is marked 'Molto tempestoso.' Over a flowing piano part that echoes the one in the first romance, the flute traces increasingly elaborate coloratura figurations that the composer says should 'take flight.'"

—Richard Dyer (©1990), from GM Recordings GM2026CD liner notes.