Elégie Pathétique for Cello & Piano Duo

The Élégie Pathétique was based on the melodies of the Elegiac Prélude in B♭ minor Op. 11 at a suggestion of the cellist Dane Johansen who stayed with the composer when Dane was performing at the 2012 Music @ Menlo Summer Festival with the Escher String Quartet. The piece provided the composer with a learning experience in scoring music for instruments other than piano (e.g., cello).

The Élégie Pathétique begins with a solo cello lyrical melody to set the tone of the overall piece. This is followed by the piano entering with a series of chords followed by the primary melody of the elegy based on a 4-note descending motif in the cello with a cascading agitated contrapuntal melody in the piano. The piano and cello then exchange the melody and counterpoint.

The second theme after modulation to the key of E♭ minor is then stated by the piano with the cello and piano alternating in a lyrical dialogue of the secondary melody. The piano then restates the opening melody with the cello collaborating with chordal cross-string arpeggios before returning to the main theme in B♭ minor of the elegy ending in a syncopated rephrasing of the melody.

This composition was written from 01 August 2012 through 05 April 2016. The first public performance of this work occurred on June 12, 2016 at an In-House Concert in Penn Valley, California with Dane Johansen (cello) and Ken Hardin (piano).