Temporal Portraits

Temporal Portraits for violin/viola, clarinet/bass clarinet, and piano by Howard J. Buss was composed for Dr. Allison Storochuk, professor of clarinet at the Missouri State University, Kirsten Weingartner Weiss, principal violist with the Springfield Symphony, and Dr. Perry Mears, professor of collaborative piano at Missouri State University. The composition received its world premiere by these musicians on March 10, 2025 at MSU in Springfield, Missouri.

This work celebrates the human ability to recall details and images of people from long ago having had, at the time, only superficial encounters with them. The composer states: “I have been amazed how after almost six decades it is possible to remember the names, faces, and specific details of high school classmates with whom I had very little contact at the time, and who I have not seen since graduation. While writing this composition I recalled four classmates with whom all I had in common with each were occasional, casual encounters during which words were seldom or never exchanged. Each movement is a sonic portrait that captures the atmosphere I associate with the respective person.”

The names of the four individuals have been omitted so that audience members, if so inclined, can freely associate similarly casual acquaintances from their past with the atmosphere generated by each of the movements. The music is lyrical and at times suggests the feeling of nostalgia. The titles of the movements with their durations are:

1. Energico, ma non troppo (2’19”)
2. Dolce (1’48”)
3. Mysterioso (3’45”)
4. Con spirito (3’52”)

Performance duration: approximately 12’30”