Johansen is aptly named as it was commissioned by the Johansen International Competition for their 2018 competition. It was designed to be performed on solo violin, viola, or cello, thus it comes in “three flavors,” and is a compact, attractive work testing a younger string player’s ability to handle numerous technical and interpretative issues. There are fast passages for fingering and bowing; long melodic lines for color, control, and phrasing; string crossings, multiple stops, and harmonics; loud, aggressive, funky parts and contrasting soft ethereal passages. Official Premiere: October 7, 2018, 5 pm, Michal Balas, cello, on the Roth Concert Series, Church of the Annunciation, 3810 Massachuseetts Avenue, NW., Washington, DC.

Watch Michal Balas perform the work HERE. Listen to Daniele Columbo perform the work HERE on violin.