Originally written for violoncello and orchestra, Nighthawks became the third movement of Ho's City Suite concerto. This arrangement for violoncello and piano is intended to be performed as a recital work.

The opening moments of the original orchestral version of Nighthawks immediately conjure up the lonesome, windswept urban terrain that awaits the nocturnal figures in Hopper's painting. Extended breath techniques in the woodwind and brass sections combine with prepared strings and rolling, rattling percussion to evoke what could be the rustling of a discarded newspaper – the tumbleweed of the city – shuffling its way down a deserted pavement. A swirling, smoky clarinet line and a restrained, yet emotionally raw string choir sets the scene for the emergence of the solo cello, the storyteller in this work. The sweetness of the cello's upper register is used to carve out tender, rising passages that lift the woodwind and string choirs with it in subtle swells of melancholy, while the lower reaches of the instrument bring out the dark night of the soul in low, searching moans. Even the climax of the piece retains a sense of quiet turmoil as surges of brass emerge from a bed of flailing strings, leading to the cello's final statement and a return to the windswept soundscape of the beginning. The work floats in mid-air throughout, its true rhythm found in periodic sighs. Surges of emotion from the orchestra, exhaling in rich, aching chords, surround the cello's lonesome lines.

From the Composer

During a visit to New York City's Whitney Museum, I had the great pleasure of being introduced to Edward Hopper's paintings. At the museum's bookstore, I picked up a book of his collected works and the first painting I flipped to was his Nighthawks. The sadness and desolation it evoked immediately resonated with me. At that moment I knew I needed to compose my own musical interpretation of the image. This movement also represents the next stage of the emotional process I was undergoing; sadness.

Nighthawks was written in homage to Edward Hopper, and is dedicated to Dr. Nasreen Roberts.