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Piano Sonata No. 1 was commissioned by Catherine Robertson through the generosity of Jonathan Spaezel. The work is in three movements - the first and third are "exterior" both structurally and psychologically, embracing an introspective and gentle middle movement. Each movement has its own tonal language: the first uses the whole tone scale (CDEF#G#A#); the second takes the F#/A# diad from the earlier scale as a constantly pulsing interval, with a melody using the "other" whole tone scale (C#D#FGAB); the third movement breaks out with a puckish kind of energy, using an octatonic scale - a series of regularly alternating tones and semitones.