Thinking Aloud: The Soliloquy Cycle

Beginning with Soliloquy I for solo violin in 1998, the author has been engaged in creating a series of highly virtuosic solo pieces for various instruments. Each piece presents a different character, yet all are framed by a single protagonist who narrates in different languages. This article focuses particularly on analyses of Soliloquies II , VI , VII , VIII and IX , but also offers a discussion of the genesis of and processes involved in the whole cycle, which now embraces instruments from every section of the orchestra; the most recent, Soliloquy IX , for solo trumpet, was written in 2022. The suitability of the title Soliloquy is also considered; this article in turn could itself be considered a soliloquy.