Elizabeth Ogonek Composer

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Name and Description of Piece	Size of mp3 file	Duration	Play
Three Scarlet Moods was written in 2006 for clarinetist Shirley Brill and pianist Jonathan Aner. There are three movements to the piece.
The first movement, Shades of Red, begins lyrically but is quickly overshadowed by shards of poignant motives that rise to a climax and quickly dissipate to allow the primary melody a successful defeat. The name of the movement comes from the idea that red, though dense in texture, makes use of the spectrum of shades from pale to vibrant.	5.0MB	4:15	listen
The second movement, Tango, embodies the sensual qualities of drama, passion, fire and love. The tango dance originated in Buenos Aires, Argentina in the lower class districts while the music is a culmination of music from Europe and South America and rhythms from Africa.	5.6MB	4:45	listen
Redlight, the final movement, is brash and unrestrained. At times, it even boasts of bawdy chords evoking the raw sensuality imagined in the infamous red-light districts found in many major cities – a term that has been used since the1890s to denote the area of town where prostitutes frequent. The historic association with the color red has been around since Biblical times when the prostitute Rehab helped the spies of Jericho by marking her house with a red rope.	5.2MB	4:24	listen
*Colored Leaf, Fallen* for solo flute is a whimsical piece developed from one melody. While the autumn is often seen in its rich palette of color, this piece centers on a detail of fall – one leaf glistening with color that departs from a tree.	2.9MB	2:31	listen
*String Trio* was commissioned by the Yellow Barn Young Artists Program in the summer of 2006. Written in just one movement, it is a dialogue of two contrasting ideas. It begins with a series of lethargic chords where each pitch moves individually, slowly altering the color of each chord. The second idea contrasts the seriousness of the first in both in texture and tone. It introduces a jazz-influenced sound which is faster and far more light-hearted. The piece jostles between the two ideas until the end where both ideas are synthesized.	10.6MB	8:55	listen
*Diversions* Lullaby, the first movement, is built on a long elegiac melody introduced first by the piano. The cello entrance is unassuming and elides with the melodic line of the piano soon to depart as a lyrical, independent voice. The dramatic nature of the piece exploits the upper register of the cello revealing the composer’s search for calm.	6.8MB	5:42	listen
Whilrwhim, the second movement is equally dramatic but is rhythmically driven. It is restless in character, almost frenetic. In rondo form, it is built on a tone row where the A section returns between each contrasting section but each time is slightly different.	7.6MB	6:27	listen
*Image* for solo piano, was written for a collaborative project between Don Freund’s composition studio and Jean-Louis Haguenauer’s studio at Indiana University in the spring of 2007. It portrays the creative process from ugly to emergent beauty. The musical ideas begin in a very low register and are cacophonous and growling. The primary idea is developed by a series of chaotic interruptions eventually to emerge as a lyrical line.	5.4MB	4:36	listen
*Glass* is a piece written for soprano and piano in between December 2005 and January 2006. The text is taken from the first poem in Ralph Nazareth’s book Ferrying Secrets. I have seen glassblowers Stretch little into much. Such is my hope For words – Blowing syllables up To hold a world Close to breaking.	2.5MB	2:05	listen
*Doodle* is a piece written for solo clarinet in the summer of 2006 while I was at the Yellow Barn Young Artists’ Program. I was approached by the head of the composition program who suggested that I take the opportunity to write a short piece for the resident clarinetist, Shirley Brill, so that it could be recorded the next day. Panicked but wanting to take advantage of a wonderful opportunity, I sat down and wrote the 4-minute piece in 2 hours. That evening, Shirley played through the piece and we worked out the kinks and the next day, it was recorded. The piece does not have a formal structure, but instead is through-composed.	4.1MB	3:21	listen