Three Short Pieces for Marimba

Marimba Solo. (2010-2014). Dedicated to Gabriela Rojas

Saint-Saens and Prokofiev (and others) wrote music about animals, they wrote long and ambitious orchestral pieces where the, for example, used motives and particular instruments to represent characters. Those are masterpieces, where you clearly can hear the whole zoo coming at you through music. I wrote these “Three Short Pieces,” to honor my friend’s pets: two cats and a dog. The first movement is about an elegant, smart, and at times unpredictable female cat. The second movement is an “in memoriam” movement for this dog that accompanied my friend for over ten years, she was wise and faithful. Third movement, is about that other cat, a youngster that is always playful, you know what I mean, the one that scratches, jumps on the table, plays with your socks, destroys your mallets, but no matter what, we still love very much.