Song of the Phoenix
This piece for solo violin captures the spirit of the legendary bird said to have built himself a funeral pyre and to have died upon it, only to rise again out of the ashes. The piece begins with rhapsodic "bird music" that imitates the careening flight of birds as well as their trills and calls, giving way to a virtuosic middle section representing the phoenix's frenzied flight. The piece concludes with a brief return to the idyllic soaring bird music of the opening. This piece is available from Theodore Presser.