Retrospection

for solo guitar
(2015)

This score can be purchased from Sheet Music Plus.

This music is a commissioned tribute to a physician in the Cleveland, Ohio area. In some ways, it is a simple piece, yet as it unfolds it refrains from being too obvious or direct. There are times when a musical result is not exactly what a note, chord or phrase might have initially seemed to imply. This approach was used to represent the dedicatee in a subtler and deeper way and with the intent of leaving some spaces open for various listener interpretations. I don’t actually know the dedicatee, but was provided with a few adjectives that describe his personality and some of those were used as a guide in crafting this music. Also, since he is a septuagenarian (at the time of composing) with a rich and varied list of life experiences, it seems most fitting that the overall tone of this piece be one of retrospection, as if someone is quietly surveying a life lived well.

A live recording of Retrospection, performed by the jazz guitarist Ariel Kasler, can be heard here:
Retrospection

Duration Ca. 4:45