Hitoshi Asaoka wrote:

>Personally I always tend to associate Franck's violin sonata with four
>seasons....

Calendar and seasonal changes turn out to be useful springboards to
invention in some of my own music.  The two piano trios both deal with
time-of-year aspects, No.  1 subtitled "Russian Summer", and No.  2
entitled ZONES (with movements Cold, Warm, Temperate).

Two sets of 12 piano preludes each written in the '70s center on the
months:  "A Calendar Set" (for big technique), and "Calendar Collection"
(for the developing pianist).  The trend began with "A Calendar Set", a
piece I wrote for myself to play, primarily written between 1972 and '74.
The work was composed out of order (started in Paris and finished in New
York), with each prelude written during the individual month it represents.
When I began there was no thought that there eventually would be a complete
cycle -- just isolated 'vignettes'; the literary subtitles for the
movements mostly came after the entire piece was finished.  (The first
prelude written was May, followed by June, and then August.  The very last
one is January, written in '78 to finish everything out, because I was set
to perform the winter and spring segments in concert in Manhattan in early
March.)

Both prelude sets are often programmed in portions only -- by the
individual season; in seasonal samplings around the year(1 or 2 months
per season); around the calendar in usual, or unusual order; or mixed and
matched with individual months drawn from either set.  There are unintended
and intentional similarities:  both Junes are in A major/A Lydian; both
July preludes are in high-flat keys and strongly rhythmic; both Septembers
are full of rapid figurations and "windy"; both Octobers are 'greyish';
both February settings are quite icy.  The two Novembers (my birth month)
are quite idiosyncratic (Calendar Collection:  a study in murky sounds with
non-tonal, low-register trills and tremolos; Calendar Set:  bitonal,
unreconciled, stubborn).

"Calendar Collection" has been recorded by N. Solomon on a Leonarda CD; "A
Calendar Set" is available both by Gary Steigerwalt (Leonarda LP), and
Joanne Polk (Arabesque CD, titled ZONEs, which includes both piano trios).

Although my recent music has nothing to do with seasons/climate, I couldn't
help but respond to last week's visit to Phoenix, AZ -- an overnight change
to 82 degrees and sunny from Minnesota's 16 inches of snow!

Judith Lang Zaimont
School of Music - University of Minnesota
WEBsite: http://209.46.94.163/jzaimont/