Kevin Hartnett

Instrumentation: Solo Cello, Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello, Marimba, Piano
Duration: 5:30

To No Avail is a dramatic composition that follows the cello soloist’s efforts to break free from a short, obsessive theme and discover new musical material. The piece begins with the soloist playing the main thematic fragment — a three-note motive outlining a minor third — while accompanied by sputtering, lopsided rhythms. As the piece unfolds, the soloist continuously searches for something new, winding through different keys and registers. Even when the atmosphere changes abruptly to one characterized by a slow and uneasy stillness, the soloist remains unable to find new material. The frenzied exchange of the minor third motive that follows eventually culminates with a return to the theme as it appears in the beginning, thus ending the soloist’s futile attempts at breaking free.