On the Approximation of a Circle (Variations on a Shape)

PROGRAM NOTE

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On the Approximation of a Circle (Variations on a Shape) is built around a simple musical gesture: a short phrase that rises and falls in pitch, tracing an arc rather than a closed loop. This shape—suggestive of a circle but never quite completing one—serves as the generative material for the piece. Its first appearance in each instrument is explicitly marked in the score and parts, grounding the subsequent variations in a shared point of reference.

The music embraces whimsy and playfulness alongside moments of lyricism and seriousness, using contrast as a primary expressive device. Passages of apparent stability or arrival often give way to unexpected turns, allowing humor to emerge through near-closures and diverted expectations. Rather than completing a full circle, the work continually approaches one, finding its character in approximation rather than resolution.