Fitkin

L was composed for Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott in the summer of 2005.

The piece pitches some fairly agitated music alongside plateaus of more stable material. It is occasionally kitsch, often brutal and sometimes a little sensual.

As the piece progressed I wanted to develop a sense of line in the cello that ran perpendicular to the somewhat vertical nature of the piano writing.

The title L is for line, for lust, for life and for longing. It is also Latin for 50. Happy Birthday Yo-Yo.