Thom Ritter George

SONATA FOR BARITONE HORN AND PIANO, CN 139 (1962)

Program Notes

Thom Ritter George's Sonata for Baritone Horn and Piano was composed in just three days (September 22, 24, and 25, 1962) while the composer was an undergraduate student at the Eastman School of Music (Rochester, New York).  The Sonata was written for baritone horn player Byron Hanson who gave the first performance.  In 1988, the composer revised the Sonata, adding further developmental material to the last movement to better balance the composition as a whole.

The music is cast in three movements:  Allegro, Andante, and Presto.  The opening movement is a humorous piece based on a witty dialogue between the solo instrument and the piano.  The slow movement opens with an unaccompanied phrase in the baritone horn which is repeated and extended when the piano enters.  The middle section of the slow movement provides new thematic material which is then accompanied with augmented and varied versions of the main theme.  The closing movement is a "Tarantella," a spirited dance in 6/8 meter.  Throughout the whole work, the harmonic ideas are triadic and the melodies are clear cut.  The effectiveness of the Sonata is due to the music's propulsive rhythms and virtuoso writing for the solo instrument.

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(TRGcm:1995.02.27;Pocatello,ID)