From Here on Farther (1969) by Stefan Wolpe
for clarinet, bass clarinet, violin, and piano

From Here on Farther is a concentrated piece Wolpe was able to write after medication eased his Parkinson's sufficiently to work with paper and pencil. The music lingers between tonality and non-systematized atonality; the composer was fond of using relatively wide intervals, and the result is instrumental lines that serve as both melodies and contrapuntal accompaniment. Structurally, he used polyphony to develop a constant dialogue between players. The sound is surprising and consistently attractive, complex but not dense, and so finely made that neither the ear nor the mind are overwhelmed. As stream-of-consciousness as the surface may sound, the music is always shaped, with intention and direction.