Piano Sonata III. Turtle Dreams of Flight (Recording)

This slow movement was directly inspired by a dream. I enter the mind of the turtle. I dream my turtle self into other dimensions, where I think and feel without the use of language. This pseudo-waltz scherzo moves more than once from very slow to very fast, from low to high register, from simple to complex with an urgent, yet disguised purpose. Like my dream, this is a mysterious drama indeed, as is life itself. In the end one is still left with a question, perhaps Ives’ Unanswered Question. For me this piece is symbolic of an inexorable desire for transcendence.