Can be performed with violin or flute, saxophone or bass clarinet, musical saw or cello, and piano.

As the title suggests, la scène miniature is a descriptive work condensing narrative events of an imagined opera scene into shortened instrumental passages. Quite different in approach to my recently completed Flow Cycle (where musical ideas evolve, transform, and reappear from one composition to the next over the course of an hour), la scène miniature quartet does away with development in favor of capturing precise musical moments.  

This is an intimate work where each instrumental grouping depicts a different musical character.  The violin and piano play light and quickly embellished melodic figures while the saxophone and musical saw glacially transform sounds into gestures. They eventually come together on a twisted version of a Algerian melody (pulled from Bartok's field work in 1913) which ends with a dizzying North African dance blended with soaring microtonal lines above and static, bell-like chords in the piano.  

Performed by Either/Or on May 23, 2009 by Jennifer Choi violin, Michael Ibrahim saxophone, David Shively musical saw and Richard Carrick piano.

“exoticism, and sheer infectiousness” - Allan Kozinn’s New York Times.