Programme Note
Premiere:27 April 2008
Paul Neubauer, viola
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
New York, NY
Composer note:Simply Purple (2008) was commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and is dedicated to the extraordinary violist Paul Neubauer.
This is my third piece for viola (and for Paul) which includes the word "purple." The first was
Wild Purple for solo viola and then came
Purple Rhapsody for viola and orchestra. I have always thought of the viola (which I played briefly) as having this deep kind of rich purple sound, a beautiful timbre, quite distinct from other string instrument sounds. Of the three, this piece is the simplest and shortest (about 3 1/2 mins.) exploring slow upward scales that are occasionally interrupted by a repeated pattern "held" in register.
— Joan Tower