The Strutt Sonata was commissioned by Josephine Strutt in honour of her then very ill husband, John. The original plan to find some way to meaningfully represent John’s character eventually evolved into the more realistic ambition of creating music that he might enjoy. It was premiered by Julian Smiles and pianist Ian Munro at the Huntington Estate Music Festival (Mudgee, NSW) in 2017, shortly after John’s death, but fortunately he was able to hear it performed in rehearsal.

The Strutt is in a single movement with three distinct sections, the second of which opens with a lyrical aria that returns in darkly mirrored form. The joyous finale rises to a high peak, falling precipitously to a shadowed reprise of the central aria.

Carl Vine, March 2017