| Composer: | Davide Verotta |
| Publisher: | Davide Verotta (ASCAP) |
| Duration: | 00:18:30 |
| Instrumentation: | Solo Cello |
| Nickname: | Incantata |
| Year: | 2020 |
| Work Type: | Unaccompanied Works |
The Cello Sonata (Incantata) is divided in three movements, following a traditional sequence of fast — slow — fastest. The movements are unified by the use of three main themes that appear variously intertwined throughout the composition. The most striking is heard after the short slow introduction and is characterized by a dramatic flourish spanning a large part of the cello range. “Incantata” refers to the subtext of the Sonata. In Italian incantata means to be enchanted, but it can also indicate to be under a spell. The piece can be thought as a journey in an enchanted territory. Following a summoning, we enter a territory full of revealed beauty, ecstatic moments, but also dark undertones.
composerbiography: DavideVerotta
Davide Verotta was born in an Italian town close to Milano and moved to San Francisco as an eager twenty-six-year-old. A professor at UCSF in biomathematics and statistics (gasp) for thirty years, he has been actively involved in the SF new music scene for a good twenty, and eventually left math behind to concentrate exclusively on composing. He studied piano at the Milano conservatory ages ago, and then at the SF conservatory. Composition is more recent, with studies at SFSU, where he earned an MA, and UC Davis, where he gave up on finishing a Ph.D. in composition mostly due to … commuting (can’t go anywhere in the Bay Area these days). He has written for a large variety of ensembles and instruments, and he teaches piano and composition privately and at the Community Music Center in SF. He has received numerous local commissions, international competition prizes, and composition grants.