How did the book become a violin concerto?
I was looking for a piece to write for a very well-known Violinist friend of mine, Ittai Shapira. We had recently started doing things together and I figured if I wrote him a piece, he might play it. I’m just another composer trying to get his music played. I figured I had an in. What about the story suggested a concerto? The book is extremely episodic. The Bunny wants to run away and become a trout, or a bird, or join a circus. I knew instantly that it could be musicalized. I would “make” the bunny swim, fly, walk the tightrope. And I knew the sound of a Violin would be the perfect soloist in a concerto. The perfect Bunny. Did Ittai respond to the idea right away? Oh, yes. But originally I thought about writing it for Violin, Orchestra and Singer. But Ittai suggested I do it for Narrator as it would be easier to find and rehearse a narrator as opposed to a singer. Our talent pool for the narrator would be larger. What’s your favorite part of the piece? Hard question. I’ll tell you the
