About the Work

Recitativo, Toccata e Finale per Due was the first composition written when the composer's family returned permanently to the Czech Republic in 1996 after years of living away from the country's political upheaval. Inspired after a long collaboration and friendship with Due Boemi, the piece premiered in Prague in the spring of 1997. The Recitativo starts with emotional confession which develops into the Toccata, signifying the efforts and struggles of life. The Finale is contemplative with hopeful feelings for the future.

Alea Publishing is thankful to Duo Scoperta for their work in editing the composer's original manuscript to prepare it for publication. This work will appear on the Duo's forthcoming CD, Discovery: Recital Music for Bass Clarinet and Piano. Bass clarinetist Sunshine Simmons and pianist Benjamin Beck produced this album featuring music written for Due Boemi, a Czechoslovakian ensemble of the same instrumentation that began commissioning pieces starting in the 1960s. It was a long and fruitful collaboration yielding hundreds of compositions for Due Boemi. Dr. Simmons is the clarinet professor at the University of North Florida and Mr. Beck is on staff as a collaborative pianist at Jacksonville University.

Extended-range instrument required. Piano score: 13 pages, spiral bound; part: 4 pages, single sheet.

About the Composer

Afrodita Katmeridou was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1956, and achieved her first music degree at the Sofia Conservatoire. She then went to the Czech Republic to study, and finished her Masters degree at Janacek Academy of Performing Arts. Afterwards, she worked as a Music editor for 12 years at Bulgaria National Radio. In 1996, her family returned to the Czech Republic, where she worked as a Professor at Prague Conservatoire and Prague Charles University. In 2016, she completed her doctoral studies in composition at the University of Edinburgh, where she now serves on the faculty.