Bolcom: Suite for solo violin

Day 225

William Bolcom: Suite for solo violin

Philip Picsor

Back to solo violin works.

I don’t think that I have heard any of Balcom’s music but I have certainly read about him and his interest in poplar music, particularly ragtime, and how it can be infused into contemporary music. So I was expecting something quirky in this suite for solo violin. But I must confess that I found this a rather dull piece - I couldn’t discern any popular elements and I didn’t really find much to engage me. Indeed I found some of it, particularly the glassy sounding very high pianissimo notes in the second movement difficult to listen to. 

This piece dates from 1977 and is therefore a fairly early work so perhaps it is not reflective of the composer’s mature engagement with popular music. I probably need to explore some of the piano rags, but that is for another day. This was not a piece for me.