This single-movement piece progresses from a mysterious opening to a celebratory flourish through a series of transformations of two short motives heard in the opening bars. The first motif generates two extended nostalgic themes while the second is developed into a tumultuous fugato.
"Memento mori" features three principal themes: the first, stated in the sepulchral opening, evokes the figure of death (a winged spectre like those that adorn tombs in Italian churches); the second, an anguished lament, represents grief; and the third, which constitutes the middle section of the piece, symbolizes life - hope, longing, love.
The exposition of "Symphonic Ode" juxtaposes a heroic brass fanfare and a cantabile theme for strings. Developmental and recapitulatory rotations of these thematic modules culminate in the coda, in which the cantabile theme is presented as a triumphant march before the opening fanfare brings the work to a jubilant close.
"Hypertension" is a short but ultra-intense outburst of orchestral energy that develops some ideas I used in my first orchestral piece, "Magellan." Beneath its tumultuous surface unfolds a carefully designed harmonic structure based on a cycle of major thirds (see chart).
