Waves, for Viola and Piano

Waves, for viola and piano, was inspired by the intricate interactions of individual waves as they arrive at the sea shore at the foot of the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs, situated between Seaford and Eastbourne, in Southern England. Although regular in their overall movements, not least through the long-cycle swells of larger waves, the smaller individual waves subtly gather in a multiplicity of ways. In Waves, a single movement composition, the viola and piano strive to emulate the essence of this dynamic interplay before concluding with a hushed ticking ostinato suggesting the eternity of time.
This composition was written in Eastbourne, where I live just five minutes from the sea and, coincidentally, just five minutes from the Grand Hotel where the composer Claude Debussy finished the proofs of his orchestral masterpiece, La mer, in 1905.
Dedicated to Christophe Schaefer of Schaefer & Companions. Austin Boothroyd

Duet

• ViolaViva, 2026

Waves
for Viola and Piano
Score and parts - First Print‍‍‍‍

•‍  •‍ Waves