…echoes of river and mist… (2025)

Program Note

…echoes of river and mist… (2025) is a work that draws inspiration from American abstract expressionist Helen Frankenthaler. Frankenthaler’s painting, titled Barometer (1992), is a pensive, still, white and grey canvas that is slightly textured due to the thick layers of paint in certain areas. As I began my sketches of …echoes of river and mist… this Spring, I took many early morning walks along the Hudson River near the George Washington Bridge and Fort Tryon Park, where I live in NYC. I noticed that the dense mist over the river during this time was extremely similar to the atmosphere of Frankenthaler’s Barometer. The thickness of the mist and fog completely obscured the land across the river in New Jersey. Nothing but the river’s grey tides could be seen as they drifted toward the Atlantic. Frankenthaler’s canvas captures the essence of this phenomenon through its expansive, cloud-like shapes and sweeping motion. This imagery is how I came up with the title of the work, and serves as the point of inspiration. …echoes of river and mist… was commissioned by the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival for the JACK Quartet.

excerpt of …echoes of river and mist… performed by the JACK Quartet
photo of JACK Quartet and Tyson at the premiere in Santa Fe (NM)!