Andrew Norman (1979-Present)

Introduction
Norman was born in 1979. He is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He studied composition at the University of Southern California and Yale University. He has written everything from operas to chamber pieces and has been nominated for a Grammy Award.

Work Analysis
I chose to analyze The Companion Guide to Rome by Norman. The piece is written for viola, violin, and cello. He uses quintuplets a lot and subdivisions of beats to create really cool rhythmic ideas. There are eight movements to this piece and every one fo them is related. Another thing he does is uses different meters in consecutive measures. This creates almost a hiccup effect sometimes in the piece.

Comparisons
This piece reminds me of something Charles Ives would create. I feel that the simplicity of the instruments and the atonality of the piece really reflect Charles Ives and his works well.

Observations
I enjoyed this piece because of the contrasting meter changes and the use of subdivisions. I also found the instrumentation to be quite simplistic and effective. To be honest, this piece probably could have and should have won more awards if any.