ensemble flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano
duration 6 minutes
written summer 2004; revised winter 2005
commissioned by Timothy Dwight Chamber Players
premièred January 28, 2005, New Haven, CT
published by Andres & Sons Bakery

Formal Conceits is a six-minute virtuoso piece completely in common time. The title is inspired by a conversation I had with Sam Adler, and is meant to be somewhat ironic. When I had just begun work on the piece, I brought him a very complicated, carefully-wrought plan for what I planned to write, and was advised to “beware such formal conceits”. The admonition stuck with me. The piece therefore bears little resemblance to the beast I had originally set out to create— not formally conceited in the least.

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