Elaine Fine's Thematic Catalog: a new twist on the old-fashioned "thematic catalog" with interactive links.
Although the practice of scales is essential to building and maintaining strength, technique, tone, and agility—it is very easy to slip into the habit of playing them automatically, without paying attention to how they sound or even being aware of what scale we are playing. The 29 single-page studies in this book are designed to combat that tendency as they are musically, intellectually, and rhythmically challenging. The first 24 studies proceeded through the circle of fifths and address all minor and relative major keys; the last 5 pieces were individually conceived, i.e., apart from the circle of fifths. Occasional fingerings or position guides are suggested but these are largely left to the student or their teachers. No metronome indications are given so that the etudes can be played at individually comfortable tempos—with or without a metronome, or freely as concert etudes. It is the stepwise motion and octave leaps of the etudes that makes the intervals between pitches easy to hear, even in keys with numerous flats or sharps. Just as in Elaine Fine’s more basic scale etude book, Violin Scale Tales, the names of the etudes herein refer to various animals that have scales, including insects, fish, birds, reptiles, a few species of squirrels with scales on their tails, and the solitary pangolin, the only known mammal whose entire body is covered with scales. Again, the author hopes that in addition to experiencing more enjoyable scale practice, students will be inspired to learn more about these amazing creatures, or even write scale studies of their own.It is available here, as an e-book as well as a print book.
The etudes in this book offer students a musically and intellectually satisfying means of practicing scales in all major and minor keys, even while remaining in first position. Although presented in the traditional order of the circle of fifths, this is where similarities to other violin scale-oriented books end. Of course, the etudes can be played using a mixture of positions by more advanced students. The studies also resonate very well on the viola if played at pitch. These are instructive etudes and can be played as appealing solo pieces. The stepwise motion in the etudes makes intervals between pitches easy to hear, even in keys with many flats or sharps. Both the book and etude titles refer to names of animals that have scales, so you will see natural and harmonic minor scales named after various moths, and major scales named for unusual reptiles, birds, and mammals throughout. The author hopes that in addition to experiencing more enjoyable scale practice, students will be inspired to learn more about these amazing animals or even write scale studies of their own.
This is a new orchestral piece for an audience of children (of all ages) that uses one-on-a-part winds and brass (all with solos), percussion, strings, and a narrator. The protagonist in the story is a solo child violinist (of any age). The voices of the animal characters, some that have rhythmic notation, can come from within the ensemble.
Bunny (featuring the xylophone)Olivia/Oliver, the solo child violinist, engages in musical dialogue with all of these animals. The technical demands of the Olivia/Oliver part are minimal: the part could be played by a confident young violinist who has been playing for two or three years and likes to do a little acting. The story includes riddles, and can involve the work of a "quick drawing" visual artist as well as imaginative drawings by kids in the audience. There are many possibilities for engaging and interactive performances.
Condor (featuring the bass clarinet, the viola, and the timpani)
Dog (featuring the trumpet)
Dragon (featuring a brass quartet)
Raccoon (featuring a woodwind trio)
Squirrels (featuring the strings)
Crocodile (featuring the snare drum and the trombone)
Snakes (featuring strings, trumpet, and woodwinds)
Unicorn (featuring the French Horn, of course)
Camel (featuring the flute and the English Horn)
Whale (featuring the tuba)
Teddy Bear (featuring the strings)
March 23, 2018
This piece, commissioned by Robin Kearton, is available on this page of the IMSLP. You can also listen to Robin and me play a rollicking game of leap frog here.
Here is a performance by the Slapin-Solomon Duo (followed by "New Year's Greeting):
February 28, 2018
You can listen here, and the music is available on this page of the IMSLP.
May 2002
You can listen to a recording of Evening Music here: Tango a Trois, Rikud, Interlude, and Rondo. The music is available here from Subito.
Cicada-savvy people will notice the cicada sounds that are incorporated in the "Interlude."
NB: There is an error in the published first violin part (the second page of the Tango). You can get a PDF of the corrected second page here.
Here's a performance of the first movement (given in June, 2021) by the Terzetto Trio from the New York Youth Symphony:
July 2002
Listen to Istvan Szabo's wonderful performance with pianist Susan Teicher. The music is available here from Subito.
July 2, 2011
This is the Spring segment of the seasonal collection of violin duets I'm writing for Marjorie Kransberg-Talvi and Ilkka Talvi. This Spring was severely compromised by the hatching of 13-year periodic cicadas, so they have the last word in "Magicicada Brood XIX."
You can listen to it (and watch a slide show) here, and you can get the music here.
Here is a nice video of "April Fool":
This is "Now is the Month of Maying" played by Kylie and Kyvie Tan:
This setting of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Ugly Duckling" for bass clarinet, viola, and string orchestra was commissioned by The Darkwood Consort in Boise, Idaho. You can listen to a synthesized version of it here. It is available from Subito.
April, 2005
June 11, 2003
This is a setting of The Bird Phoenix by Hans Christian Andersen for soprano, flute (piccolo), violin, viola, and harp. You can listen to a computer-generated recording (without the words) here. The music is available here from Subito.
Here are the first pages of the prologues to each of the three acts of this opera.
You can read more about The Snow Queen here and listen to an aria from it here. You can also listen to a bit more of it here. A Piano Vocal Score and a full score are both available from Subito.
This is a new setting for soprano, flute, and piano of the lyric that Arthur J. Lamb wrote to music by Harry von Tilzer in 1900. For the full text, as well as a bit of amusing background, Chatty, of Glimpses through the blog is the best source I know.
July, 2009
You can download a PDF here, and listen to a computer-generated recording here.
Here is a performance from March 6, 2026:
I got to hear a livestream concert from the Tenth International Music by Women Festival that included a performance of this along with two other pieces I wrote for voice, flute, and piano (the video is set to start just as Soprano Lydia Beasley Kneer, flutist Brittney Patterson, and pianist Laurie Middaugh are ready to play the first piece "In the Golden Room." The last piece in the set is "Asleep in the Deep").
It was particularly exciting for me to hear these three pieces performed as a set.
The flutist is not playing a gold flute, but because the concert is being held in a gold room, golden reflections glint off the flute. There is something "just right" about that.
For more links and texts for all three songs, please go to this Musical Assumptions Blogpost.
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