portrait of a girl with black hair - Aliayta Foon-Dancoes (2024)

Premiered by Nathan Meltzer at Christie's New York in May 2024. Recorded at Taplin Auditorium, Princeton in May 2024.
Violin - Nathan Meltzer
Based on a painting by Egon Schiele, this piece unifies my foundational creative passions: violin and visual art. I have always found Schiele’s work intensely beautiful while troubling. Schiele's painting, Portrait of a Girl with Black Hair, has an emotional immediacy that I felt profoundly. The music emerged from the impact of this initial encounter, almost writing itself - the material organically emanating from Schiele’s visual means of expression. This is a response to the visceral nature of his work, the yearning and rawness palpable in the glisses and close intervallic relationships.
Knowing this music was for the virtuosic and innovative hands of Nathan Meltzer was an inspiration.
Special thanks to Hannah Ishizaki for recording, mixing, and mastering the audio.