These early piano pieces have stayed with me for decades, and were due for revision in 2020. I had given the premiere performances while a student, and really none of the three reflect my later technique. Summer was vaguely modeled on some of the textures and progressions found in Stravinsky’s Dumbarton Oaks Concerto, which was a favorite of mine at the time. Elegy was remotely modeled on early expressionism (think Mahler and early Schoenberg). Ballad was inspired by my study of Elliott Carter’s music, especially the his Cello sonata and the Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello and Harpsichord. All three are difficult to play in different ways, being responses to three different models. And yet they belong together in my heart.