Melia Watras

MELIA WATRAS: BLUE ROSE
for viola solo (2021)

World Premiere: Rose Wollman, viola; June 3, 2022, Columbus, GA

Duration: 3:00

Program Notes:
Blue Rose was commissioned by violist Rose Wollman for her recording Loop: Ligeti's Inspiration & Legacy. In speaking of her concept, Rose states, “This album presents György Ligeti's monumental Sonata for Viola Solo in historical context. It is deeply influenced by the past as well as inspirational to composers of today. The album pairs each of the six movements of the sonata with a baroque work that highlights the baroque influences in Ligeti's writing. A newly composed work draws inspiration from the baroque-Ligeti pair and completes a set of six triptychs: baroque - Ligeti - commission.”

For my piece, I chose Ligeti’s fifth movement, titled Lament, which Rose had matched with the first movement of Telemann’s Fantasia in A minor, TWV 40:25.

Genetically engineered flowers that do not exist in nature, blue roses have come to represent mystery, fantasy and the unattainable. They have been used symbolically by many authors and creators such as Guillermo del Toro, Tennessee Williams, and by David Lynch in his work Twin Peaks (notable to this composer, a Lynch admirer and admitted Twin Peaks binge-watcher).

Blue Rose is dedicated to Rose Wollman, and can be performed as a stand alone work, in addition to its inclusion in Rose’s Ligeti pairings. (And you don’t have to be named “Rose” to play the piece!)

—Melia Watras