Ringtone Variations

I've always found ringtones quite intriguing. Not the ones which play known tunes, but the ones that are very elemental, not really music, just signs made out of sound. In some ways, Ringtone Variations resembles a set of Baroque variations like a passacaglia or a chaconne, but instead of the variations being based on a bass line or series of chords, it's based on simple ringtone, like one might hear on any cell phone. Back in the 18th century if one heard a passacaglia one would probably recognize the bass pattern and I wanted something common, familiar and ubiquitous to base my variations on too. I like the exaggerated simplicity of a ringtone: there's some short figure, which is then repeated. What could be simpler! The piece unfolds through a series of variations of this simple structure. There are however, interruptions to the flow, short, often contapuntal, passages where the violin and bass interact in a musical dialogue akin to conversation. Most concerts these days begin with an announcement to turn off your cell phone. Ringtone Variations might be one of the only pieces where the occasional ringer left on would fit right in with the music unfolding on stage! The piece is commissioned by the Anne-Sophie Mutter Stiftung and dedicated to Anne-Sophie Mutter.