Patterned with
figures that create a motor rhythm, each piece generates
an energy that is shared equally by the violin and piano.
Fine has an innate sense for how to direct this energy,
for each piece seems to be just the right amount of time.
Never does she overwrite or repeat material
unnecessarily. The first piece is through-composed in the
style of a baroque prelude. It begins tonally, but by
measure 2 the piano adds Fine’s distinctive dotted
rhythmic gestures and dissonant vertical structures. The
second piece is slower and melodic, often being
three-voice counterpoint due to melodies woven into the
piano figuration. The last piece is a humorous gigue that
at one point has the marking “misterioso” and
“with exaggerated expression and rubato.”
–Heidi Von Gunden, The Music of Vivian Fine, Scarecrow Press,
1999