I am a composer and pianist based in the SF Bay Area. This year I am composer-in-residence for Symphony Parnassus, and I am co-director of the new music ensemble After Everything.
Take a listen below. All mp3 files are downloadable. If you would like to perform any of these pieces, or simply want to take a look, let me know and I will send you the score, parts, and anything else you need. shostako@comcast.net
A Basil Tale (After Everything New Music Ensemble, conducted by Matthew Cmiel. Lora Libby, soprano)
A cantata for similar instruments as Ravel’s Mallarmé songs, culminating in an aria describing Ophelia’s death. Includes a toy piano. Words by John Keats & William Shakespeare.
Witchcraft By a Picture (Jens Ibsen, tenor)
Words by John Donne.
Uncreated Light (Jens Ibsen, tenor)
Words by the composer.
What Wondrous Love (Symphony Parnassus, conducted by Stephen Paulson)
The old hymn tune is played by the bassoon, then later with full brass regalia.
The sea took pity
For some time I have been planning a series of piano pieces depicting the Moses story of water from the rock. “The sea took pity” is the epilogue, and references the waters of Meribah, or waters of strife, where the people “strove” with God. Moses has already committed the fatal error of doubt, for which he will later be punished by being barred from the promised land. So even as night falls, and the merciful waters spread over the desert, Moses recalls the immense burden of his divine office, and premonitions of a new, higher isolation take hold.
A Helpful Handbook of 777 Very Virtuous Voicings
I gathered these gems to share my love of harmony, and to show what infinite care these composers took to fine-tune the emotional specificity of their chords.
A Grotesquerie of 999 Lines
The forthcoming sequel to the chord book. For curiosity’s sake, here is a preview.
