Official site of composer Andrea Clearfield. Biography, list of works with audio, score samples, reviews and program notes, photographs, upcoming performances.
World Premiere: 5/23/2012, Barbara Westphal and Christian Ruvolo, St. Petri Church, Lübeck, Germany US Premiere: 6/20/2014, Michael Hall and Robert Pherigo, University of Missouri-Kansas City Recording: Convergences: Johannes Brahms & Andrea Clearfield, Bridge Records 9442 Commissioned by: Barbara Westphal Published by: Angelfire Press, distributed by Black Tea Music. Recorded by Barbara Westphal and Christian Ruvolo, Bridge Records.
Purchase CD here.
Contact Trudy Chan to purchase score and parts or contact Andrea Clearfield:
Convergence was commissioned by and dedicated to Barbara Westphal, my esteemed colleague and acclaimed violist. We spent many summers together at the Sarasota Music Festival. The work is built on the intervallic, melodic and harmonic materials heard in the opening two measures. These elements return in variation throughout the work; aggressive, lyrical, energetic and evocative. The viola and piano are equal partners, engaging in dialogue with these musical materials. Through the process of their dynamic exchange, their expressions converge and transform into a new synthesis. Convergence was released on Bridge Records in February, 2015, Barbara Westphal, viola, Christian Ruvolo, piano.
LISTEN
LISTEN on Spotify
WATCH
REVIEWS
“Andrea Clearfield’s Convergence for viola and piano (2008) is flanked on the Convergences recording by Johannes Brahms’s Sonata for violin and piano, op. 78 and Sonata for violoncello and piano, op. 38, both transcribed for viola. Violist Barbara Westphal commissioned Convergence from Ms. Clearfield, thinking it would complement the transcribed Romantic works. And she thought correctly. Not that Convergence sounds anything like Brahms, but this recent one-movement work sustains its intensity and clarity of form with fluency and makes the most of its relatively short life…Ms. Clearfield’s awareness of and inventiveness for timbral mixing and the facility with which she balances structural and rhythmic shapes are always evident, as is her ability to realize the potentials of motivic continuity. Along the way she often and almost effortlessly shape-shifts between aggressive-rough and lyrical-smooth gestures. Convergence is a rhapsodic duet for viola and piano. You might say it is monomotivic, though not totally monothematic in the sense that the listener can discern the source of the tunes and harmonies and sweeping gestures; all transpires straight-forwardly yet subtly. The meta-kernel is heard at the start, innocently at first, and then, as if listening to itself, unspooling creatively and artfully discovering what’s possible. The manner in which Convergence knows what it’s about, and lets us know gradually and with clarity, seems to me to be the most defining quality of the work. The structure reveals itself from moment to moment with ease, with obeisance to its motivic origins, and with surprising and ultimately logical detours. An organic sensibility infuses the work…Despite recurrences, the varying length of dependent and independent phrases balance one another…each contributing to and continuing the momentum of the work, converging and diverging.”
“But the real treat here is the world premiere recording of Andrea Clearfield’s work Convergence, a challenging, occasionally unsettling exposition in which the seasoned instrumental work of Westphal and Ruvolo achieve a rare and unique synthesis of expression. An unimpeachable marriage of style and substance.”
“The two Brahms sonatas are separated by a work Westphal commissioned: Convergence (2008) by American Andrea Clearfield. This fine piece is tightly argued and well designed to challenge both violist and pianist. The music has many textures, ranging from spiky and rhythmic to lyrical and expressive and the performers held my interest. This disc comes with the title Convergences. I suspect violists and others as well should be searching out this very fine release.”
“Brahms and Clearfield, “Convergences: Music for viola by Brahms and Andrea Clearfield” performed by Violist Barbara Westphal and pianist Christian Ruvolo (Bridge). Violists may not get the hoopla lavished on top violinists, cellists and pianists, but there are many fine artists among them and Barbara Westphal is one of the best. Her new release offers an intriguing musical sandwich with American composer Andrea Clearfield’s 2008 “Convergence” (commissioned by Westphal) as the filler. Surrounded by the richer textures of Brahms’ late 19th century masterworks, Clearfield’s clearly modern “Convergence” provides an excellent pairing, with its leaner lines, its suggestion of open spaces in its clean textures, and with welcome inner contrasts provided by spiky, angular rhythmic declamations. The composer fully understands the characteristics of the viola and her music projects them eloquently, without any sense of clutter”.
Herman Trotter, Buffalo News. Read entire review here.
“Snugged in between the two Brahms sonatas is Convergence for viola and piano (which, tellingly, is also the title of this CD) by Philadelphia composer Andrea Clearfield. She knows the instruments well and finds expression in a broad dynamic range, beginning with aggressive, tautly coiled declarations at the bottom of the viola’s register, well into the territory of the cello. Somewhere in the middle of the piece, the solo piano leads the work into a more relaxed, even lyrical section that ties the music neatly to the Brahms. Eventually, the growling low notes of the viola return, only now somewhat tamed by all that had come before it. It’s an ambitious bit of abstract music from Clearfield, whom I associate with more episodic and narrative work, such as is heard in her large works for voices and mixed orchestra. This is a fine example of her ever increasing stylistic range”.
Peter Burwasser, Broad Street Review. Read entire review here.
“Clearfield meets Brahms. Living composers always risk unflattering comparisons with dead ones, but on the new Bridge-label disc Convergences by violist Barbara Westphal and pianist Christian Ruvolo, Philadelphia composer Andrea Clearfield is sandwiched between two Brahms sonatas with no ill effects. Much like Brahms, Clearfield’s Convergences balances formal rigor with a more flowing lyricism and stark emotional intensity that feels downright expressionistic.”
David Patrick Stearns, Classical Picks, The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 3, 2015
“Mediating between the two Brahms masterworks is Convergence (2008) by American composer Andrea Clearfield. This 11-minute work, commissioned by and dedicated to Barbara Westphal, is a brilliant development based on intervals and harmonic elements heard in the first two measures. An energetic and soberly lyrical dialog between the two instruments, this work follows its convergences and transformations with a Brahmsian logic.”
“Receiving its first US performance was Andrea Clearfield’s “Convergence” (2008), a tightly crafted one movement essay for viola and piano. Almost Ravelian at times, this lyrical work explores the viola’s wooden tenor voice to great effect.”
Convergence
Scored for: viola and piano
Duration: 11 min.
Bridge Records
World Premiere: 5/23/2012, Barbara Westphal and Christian Ruvolo, St. Petri Church, Lübeck, Germany
US Premiere: 6/20/2014, Michael Hall and Robert Pherigo, University of Missouri-Kansas City
Recording: Convergences: Johannes Brahms & Andrea Clearfield, Bridge Records 9442
Commissioned by: Barbara Westphal
Published by: Angelfire Press, distributed by Black Tea Music.
Recorded by Barbara Westphal and Christian Ruvolo, Bridge Records.
Purchase CD here.
Contact Trudy Chan to purchase score and parts or contact Andrea Clearfield:
See preview score pages: CONVERGENCE excerpt (PDF)
PROGRAM NOTES
Convergence was commissioned by and dedicated to Barbara Westphal, my esteemed colleague and acclaimed violist. We spent many summers together at the Sarasota Music Festival. The work is built on the intervallic, melodic and harmonic materials heard in the opening two measures. These elements return in variation throughout the work; aggressive, lyrical, energetic and evocative. The viola and piano are equal partners, engaging in dialogue with these musical materials. Through the process of their dynamic exchange, their expressions converge and transform into a new synthesis. Convergence was released on Bridge Records in February, 2015, Barbara Westphal, viola, Christian Ruvolo, piano.
LISTEN
LISTEN on Spotify
WATCH
REVIEWS
“Andrea Clearfield’s Convergence for viola and piano (2008) is flanked on the Convergences recording by Johannes Brahms’s Sonata for violin and piano, op. 78 and Sonata for violoncello and piano, op. 38, both transcribed for viola. Violist Barbara Westphal commissioned Convergence from Ms. Clearfield, thinking it would complement the transcribed Romantic works. And she thought correctly. Not that Convergence sounds anything like Brahms, but this recent one-movement work sustains its intensity and clarity of form with fluency and makes the most of its relatively short life…Ms. Clearfield’s awareness of and inventiveness for timbral mixing and the facility with which she balances structural and rhythmic shapes are always evident, as is her ability to realize the potentials of motivic continuity. Along the way she often and almost effortlessly shape-shifts between aggressive-rough and lyrical-smooth gestures. Convergence is a rhapsodic duet for viola and piano. You might say it is monomotivic, though not totally monothematic in the sense that the listener can discern the source of the tunes and harmonies and sweeping gestures; all transpires straight-forwardly yet subtly. The meta-kernel is heard at the start, innocently at first, and then, as if listening to itself, unspooling creatively and artfully discovering what’s possible. The manner in which Convergence knows what it’s about, and lets us know gradually and with clarity, seems to me to be the most defining quality of the work. The structure reveals itself from moment to moment with ease, with obeisance to its motivic origins, and with surprising and ultimately logical detours. An organic sensibility infuses the work…Despite recurrences, the varying length of dependent and independent phrases balance one another…each contributing to and continuing the momentum of the work, converging and diverging.”
International Alliance for Women in Music Journal, Spring 2016, Elaine R. Barkin
full review
Convergence, IAWM Journal, Spring, 2016
REVIEWS CONTINUED
“But the real treat here is the world premiere recording of Andrea Clearfield’s work Convergence, a challenging, occasionally unsettling exposition in which the seasoned instrumental work of Westphal and Ruvolo achieve a rare and unique synthesis of expression. An unimpeachable marriage of style and substance.”
Scene Magazine
“The two Brahms sonatas are separated by a work Westphal commissioned: Convergence (2008) by American Andrea Clearfield. This fine piece is tightly argued and well designed to challenge both violist and pianist. The music has many textures, ranging from spiky and rhythmic to lyrical and expressive and the performers held my interest. This disc comes with the title Convergences. I suspect violists and others as well should be searching out this very fine release.”
Paul L. Althouse, The American Record Guide, July/August 2015
“Brahms and Clearfield, “Convergences: Music for viola by Brahms and Andrea Clearfield” performed by Violist Barbara Westphal and pianist Christian Ruvolo (Bridge). Violists may not get the hoopla lavished on top violinists, cellists and pianists, but there are many fine artists among them and Barbara Westphal is one of the best. Her new release offers an intriguing musical sandwich with American composer Andrea Clearfield’s 2008 “Convergence” (commissioned by Westphal) as the filler. Surrounded by the richer textures of Brahms’ late 19th century masterworks, Clearfield’s clearly modern “Convergence” provides an excellent pairing, with its leaner lines, its suggestion of open spaces in its clean textures, and with welcome inner contrasts provided by spiky, angular rhythmic declamations. The composer fully understands the characteristics of the viola and her music projects them eloquently, without any sense of clutter”.
Herman Trotter, Buffalo News. Read entire review here.
“Snugged in between the two Brahms sonatas is Convergence for viola and piano (which, tellingly, is also the title of this CD) by Philadelphia composer Andrea Clearfield. She knows the instruments well and finds expression in a broad dynamic range, beginning with aggressive, tautly coiled declarations at the bottom of the viola’s register, well into the territory of the cello. Somewhere in the middle of the piece, the solo piano leads the work into a more relaxed, even lyrical section that ties the music neatly to the Brahms. Eventually, the growling low notes of the viola return, only now somewhat tamed by all that had come before it. It’s an ambitious bit of abstract music from Clearfield, whom I associate with more episodic and narrative work, such as is heard in her large works for voices and mixed orchestra. This is a fine example of her ever increasing stylistic range”.
Peter Burwasser, Broad Street Review. Read entire review here.
“Clearfield meets Brahms. Living composers always risk unflattering comparisons with dead ones, but on the new Bridge-label disc Convergences by violist Barbara Westphal and pianist Christian Ruvolo, Philadelphia composer Andrea Clearfield is sandwiched between two Brahms sonatas with no ill effects. Much like Brahms, Clearfield’s Convergences balances formal rigor with a more flowing lyricism and stark emotional intensity that feels downright expressionistic.”
David Patrick Stearns, Classical Picks, The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 3, 2015
“Mediating between the two Brahms masterworks is Convergence (2008) by American composer Andrea Clearfield. This 11-minute work, commissioned by and dedicated to Barbara Westphal, is a brilliant development based on intervals and harmonic elements heard in the first two measures. An energetic and soberly lyrical dialog between the two instruments, this work follows its convergences and transformations with a Brahmsian logic.”
Review of CD Convergences on Bridge Records Phil’s Classical Reviews. Audio Video Club of Atlanta, June 2015
“Receiving its first US performance was Andrea Clearfield’s “Convergence” (2008), a tightly crafted one movement essay for viola and piano. Almost Ravelian at times, this lyrical work explores the viola’s wooden tenor voice to great effect.”
I Care If You Listen magazine, Ed. 8, 2014