Souvenirs for piccolo and piano

Robert Beaser (1954) is an American composer, percussionist, and conductor whose compositional style is known as "New Tonality” and is compared with that of the late Samuel Barber.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he grew up in a household that valued intellectual and artistic pursuits. He began his musical journey as a percussionist and conductor before focusing on composition. His early exposure to orchestral textures from the percussion section deeply influenced his later "colorful" approach to orchestration.
He received a rigorous education at Yale University, where he earned both his Bachelor's and Master of Music degrees. He studied with several of the 20th century’s most prestigious composers, including Jacob Druckman, Krzysztof Penderecki, Toru Takemitsu, and Betsy Jolas.
In 1977, Beaser became the youngest composer ever to win the Prix de Rome from the American Academy in Rome, an experience that allowed him to refine his tonal voice away from the strict academic avant-garde of the era.
Beaser has had a legendary tenure at The Juilliard School, where he was appointed to the faculty in 1993 and served as the Chairman of the Composition Department for over 25 years. From 1978 to 1990, he was the co-Music Director and conductor of Musical Elements, a leading contemporary chamber ensemble in New York City that premiered over 200 new works.
Beaser is often described as a "neo-Romantic" who reclaimed the expressive power of tonality.
Among his most well-known works are "Mountain Songs" for which Beaser won a Grammy Award, a guitar concerto, "Manhattan Roll" for wind band, and opera "The Food of Love".