The point of departure for my six violin duos was a performance I heard of Bartok’s work in the same genre. The sheer sound of just two violins achieving an orchestral depth and variety of color long remained in my ears. I composed each duo with a specific tone color in mind. The first emphasizes the percussive energy of rosined bows digging into the strings. The second is a gentle lullaby with harmonics (bell tones produced by gently touching the string). The third uses mutes and obsessively, almost desperately, explores the inside of a repeated figure. Eventually the anxiety intensifies to the point of noise as the violins play behind the bridges of their instruments. The fourth duo is a light dance of arpeggios produced by the violins gliding the bows over all the strings. The fifth is a more complicated, mysterious study that exploits the special rasp of the bow played on or near the violin bridge. A gruff and energetic dance—my version of a Hungarian Hoedown—completes the set. It’s a kind of mad combination of Hungarian folk dance and country fiddlin’.