SCHERZO SONATA is a virtuosic work for piano. It is in seven movements: Adagio, Scherzo I, Allegretto, Scherzo II, Adagietto, Scherzo III, and a final Adagio. The first and last adagios are reworkings of similar material- a descending scale fragment, with both movements sounding distant, mysterious , and ethereal. The core of the work is the three scherzi, the latter two being variations of the first. A perpetuo moto motive and then a short tune are the basic materials of these movements. Each succeeding scherzo takes the material into more distant regions of the piano, as well as varying the material more extensively. The Allegretto and Adagietto that appear between the Scherzi act as trio movements. The Allegretto is a distorted dance movement, which is to be played humorously, with a touch of the pompous; the Adagietto is to be played in a morose and very contained manner.

The primary tonality of the work is D; namely the note d and the diad d and f# are given primary importance. The first Adagio presents the opening melodic fragment starting on d, and the movement ends on the dominant of a flat. The final Adagio , closes the work out in d. Each of the Scherzi effectively begins by emphasizing the major third interval of d and f #, and finishes with that same diad. The Allegretto and Adagietto, are decidedly not in this same tonal area, and are in fact rather obscure in this regard.

This work was written for Jonathan Shames, and was given its first performance by him at Cornell University, November 6, 1987.