Blue and Green Music

The stunning artwork of Georgia O'Keeffe is no more apparent than in her famous 1921 painting entitled Blue and Green Music. Fittingly commissioned by the Patrick Marsh Middle School in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin (O'Keeffe's birthplace), Samuel Hazo does an amazing job of portraying subtle as well as bold colors into musical terms. Based on a single theme that is manipulated and varied throughout, the piece progresses from delicate mallet percussion effects up to climactic impact points for the entire ensemble. O'Keeffe explained her idea that “music could be translated into something for the eye.” And Mr. Hazo succeeds wonderfully in translating it back into something forthe ear!