This tour de force consists of two movements that are complete opposites. Movement I, titled
Momentum, starts with the viola and piano aggressively
sharing a single note. Things start swirling
out of control: the music gains greater and greater tension as the musicians turn and twist their
way into ever smaller spirals, right up to the end of the movement. Movement II, titled Stasis,
offers a peaceful, gentle unwinding of the pressure. Torque was commissioned by the Barlow
Endowment for violist Viacheslav Dinerchtein.