Basil C. Vendryes; William David - Sonata Forum No. 3: A Century of American Viola Sonata

These five works - four sonatas and a sonatina - chronicle a century of American writing for the viola and are linked by a concern for directness of musical language. Each has a distinguishing characteristic, too, the Ulysses Kay pieces being written by a pioneering African-American, Libby Larsen's by a successful female freelance composer, Eric Ewazen's animated by a particularly American lyricism and energy, and that by David Tcimpidis commemorating the '9/11' terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, which Tcimpidis heard unfolding.