Paradoxes: Sonata for Cello and Piano - Noten für Violoncello + Klavier Carson P. Cooman

I. Paradox of Stillness
II. Paradox of Brevity
III. Paradox of Movement

Paradoxes: Sonata for Cello and Piano (1998) was written as a commission from
musicologist and cellist Larry Kludge

The conception and inspiration of this sonata had the idea of "paradoxes" behind it. Our
universe is certainly full of these paradoxes, and they range from the most practical in nature
to the most highly philosophical in nature. Each of the movements in this work is
paradoxical in a variety of musical ways. The movement titles present the foundation ideas
for each movement, "stillness", "brevity", and "movement", however, those serve as only the
beginning for the paradoxes in the work. The first movement, Paradox of Stillness, opens
with a statement of the main melodic theme for the work. The melody and pitches of that
theme are used in a variety of ways throughout. The second section serves as a contrast to the
opening after which the opening section is recalled again for the close. The brief second
movement, Paradox of Brevity, is a very fast moving movement for the cello and the piano.
Driving rhythms and odd harmonic twists pervade the movement. The final movement,
Paradox of Movement, opens with and sustains a "moto perpetuo" dance for almost the entire
movement with a break in the middle for a brief cadenza for the solo cello. A brief coda
brings the movement to a close