Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Azure, for viola and piano - by Luis Ramirez (2019)
US premiere by The Ezra Duo
Jacob Clewell, viola
Sasha Bult-Ito, piano
Performed at the Emerald Coast Chamber Music Festival, in Tyler Recital Hall at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center. May 24, 2025
Program note:
1. Wheatfield 0:00
A serene and melancholic landscape of flowing wheat and dancing clouds filled with energy, that get prematurely subdued.
2. Whiteout 4:48
An impetuous blizzard drowns the landscape with massive flurries of snow, turning it into a gelid nightmare of commotion and uncertainty.
3. Borealis 10:27
The landscape is left in a bleak and sorrowful state, and as the snow continues to fall, iridescent snowflakes coalesce with the scintillating beauty of northern lights in the sky.
4. Sunglow 17:00
A slowly rising sun turns the landscape into a shifting gradient of light and warmth, constantly increasing in energy, brightness, and life.
*This movement uses a version of the traditional Métis fiddle tune Red River Jig, recorded by Winnipeg fiddler Reg Bouvette.
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Azure is the color of the sky in one of its deepest forms of blue. In this work, the sky’s leitmotif is present throughout the movements in the shape of high-pitched harmonies and arpeggios on the piano and serves as the backdrop for the constantly morphing landscapes.
This piece follows the traditional seasonal structure of a school year in Manitoba that similarly moves continuously on a cycle: painfully short autumn, terribly bitter winter, followed by a second winter, and a suddenly fiery summer.
Azure is like a fast-paced road trip over the Manitoban prairies, driving swiftly through its seasons, colors, and scenery.
Azure, for viola and piano - by Luis Ramirez (2019)
US premiere by The Ezra Duo
Jacob Clewell, viola
Sasha Bult-Ito, piano
Performed at the Emerald Coast Chamber Music Festival, in Tyler Recital Hall at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center. May 24, 2025
Program note:
1. Wheatfield 0:00
A serene and melancholic landscape of flowing wheat and dancing clouds filled with energy, that get prematurely subdued.
2. Whiteout 4:48
An impetuous blizzard drowns the landscape with massive flurries of snow, turning it into a gelid nightmare of commotion and uncertainty.
3. Borealis 10:27
The landscape is left in a bleak and sorrowful state, and as the snow continues to fall, iridescent snowflakes coalesce with the scintillating beauty of northern lights in the sky.
4. Sunglow 17:00
A slowly rising sun turns the landscape into a shifting gradient of light and warmth, constantly increasing in energy, brightness, and life.
*This movement uses a version of the traditional Métis fiddle tune Red River Jig, recorded by Winnipeg fiddler Reg Bouvette.
---
Azure is the color of the sky in one of its deepest forms of blue. In this work, the sky’s leitmotif is present throughout the movements in the shape of high-pitched harmonies and arpeggios on the piano and serves as the backdrop for the constantly morphing landscapes.
This piece follows the traditional seasonal structure of a school year in Manitoba that similarly moves continuously on a cycle: painfully short autumn, terribly bitter winter, followed by a second winter, and a suddenly fiery summer.
Azure is like a fast-paced road trip over the Manitoban prairies, driving swiftly through its seasons, colors, and scenery.
