Sonata Cho-Cho-San

Sonata Cho-Cho-San
(Based on themes from Puccini's Madama Butterfly)
Composed by Michael Webster
For Flute/Piccolo, Clarinet in Bb, and Piano
Duration: ca. 25 minutes
Includes score, flute/piccolo part, and clarinet part

In the spirit of the great 19th-century opera fantasies for woodwinds, Michael Webster has created a concert trio on the many great arias from Puccini's Madama Butterfly. However, as its name implies, Sonata Cho-Cho-San is not the typical virtuosic operatic potpourri. Rather, it follows the plot, resembling a sonata mirroring Puccini's use of recurring and developing themes. Webster makes the most of the winds as versatile performers – equally suited to deliver Puccini's beautiful vocal writing, and to ornament and embroider the poignant themes in symphonic style.