Composed: 2020
Premiered: 2020, Wollongong, Australia
Duration: 11 minutes
Stride draws inspiration from Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, commonly known as Sonata Pathétique, which is in three movements:
i. Grave – Allegro di molto e con brio
ii. Adagio cantabile
iii. Rondo: Allegro
I chose a few melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic fragments from each movement (exhibited as an appendix to the score) and developed these in the three corresponding sections of Stride. The title is derived from the octave leaps that stride in the left hand in first movement of Sonata Pathétique. I was immediately drawn to the driving energy of this bass movement, and have used it as a tool to propel Stride.
Program note by the composer.