Compositions

Here are John's compositions to date (John will update this list monthly):

Piano Works 1986-1997  (All dates are the dates the compositions were completed)
John's first piano work dates from May 1, 1986 the day he completed his first piano composition.  Studying a Domenico Scarlatti sonata influenced this work and was the inspirational basis which sparked his career as a composer.  He has begun to revise his early piano works and will be posting them as they are updated.

  • Homage to Scarlatti - 5/1/1986 Do You Know Who You Are? - 5/19/1986
  • Victim of His Constructs (for Anthony J. Carollo) - 5/28/1986
  • It's All In The Genes - 6/19/1986
  • Elusive Truth - 6/24/1986

1997
The Crumb Suite for Solo Piano
Robert at the Easel
Sophie's Characters
Maxon's Poe
Sketch for Aline
Jesse's Beat Portraits
Crumb Finale

This work is dedicated to John's mentor, Dr. Robert Wehrman. He started writing 'The Crumb Suite' on August 31, 1997, the day he had his first composition lesson.

1998

Frenetic Unfoldings for Solo Violin
Begun in March of 1998, this work is dedicated to Darel Stark, associate principal violinist for the Honolulu Symphony. This is John's first atonal work and his first composition for solo violin. Darel premiered this work at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu on February 12, 2000 and recorded it at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu on July 20, 2000.

1998

Woodwind Quintet in 3 Movements for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet in be-flat, Horn in if and Bassoon
Begun on August 1, 1998 and completed in May of 1999, this 3-movement work is John's first chamber piece.

1999

Exhortation! for Voice, Piano and Violin
The Genius of the Crowd [Voice and Piano]
Counsel [Voice and Piano]
The Laughing Heart [Voice and Piano]
It's Not Who Lived Here [Voice and Violin]
Vocalise [Voice and Violin]
These Things [Voice, Piano and Violin]
A Trick to Dull Our Bleeding [Voice, Piano and Violin]
This 7-movement song cycle is based on the poems of Charles Bukowski. "It's Not Who Lived Here" and "Vocalise" were premiered on April 28, 2001 at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu by the Stark Duo, Darel Stark on violin and Georgine Stark, soprano voice.

2000

Quartet NO° 1 for Clarinet in B-flat, Violin, Cello and Piano
A 6-movement work begun on January 1, 2000. This work is dedicated to Edward Gorey. John has been collecting Gorey art for the past 30 years. Over 1,000 collectible items, including signed first editions, hand-made dolls and original art can be found in the John A. Carollo/Edward Gorey Collection at the University of Hawaii, Hamilton Library. John plans to continue contributing to the collection over time.

2000
Piano Preludes Book I for Solo Piano (NO° 1 — NO° 9)
NO° 1 Watery Abstractions - Premiered by Hugh Sung at Cabrini College, November 9, 2005 in Philadelphia, PA.
NO° 2 B Bach
NO° 3 Gamme de Bertha
NO° 4 Don't Give Me Grief
NO° 5 Amorphous Structures
NO° 6 Edward's Polymath - Premiered by Hugh Sung at Cabrini College, November 9, 2005 in Philadelphia, PA.  
NO° 7 The Emperor's Garden - Premiered by Hugh Sung at Cabrini College, November 9, 2005 in Philadelphia, PA.  
NO° 8 The Unexpected
NO° 9 The Ocean That Divides Us

A set of 9 preludes begun on February 26, 2000. These piano works were composed during periods of rest from composing Quartet NO° 1. This set, likewise Piano Preludes Book II, was recorded by Tommy Yee, assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. 

 

2001
Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello
Begun on January 6, 2001, this 4-movement work is dedicated to John's father, Anthony J. Carollo, who was terminally ill and living with him when the first movement of this work was composed.

2001

Metamorphosis

NO° 1 for Solo Viola
NO° 2 for Solo Viola - Return to Tranquility (for Diane Acosta)
NO° 3 for Solo Violin - Just Do It (for William Dresser, M.D.)
NO° 4 for Solo Cello
NO° 5 for Solo English Horn (in memory of the tragic events of 9-11-01)
Begun on March 28, 2001, these solo works for various instruments, are intended to be part of a larger set for musical instruments of classical and modern Western music and non-Western, folk or traditional instruments.

2001
Piano Preludes Book II for Solo Piano (NO° 10 — NO° 18)

NO° 10 Be Nothing 
NO° 11 Pensive Leanings
NO° 12 Power Games  -  Premiered on 3/23/07 by Brent Nitta at Hawaii  Music Awards 2006 where "Ampersand" was recognized as best Classical release.
NO° 13 The Path Is Ambiguous
NO° 14 Un Prelude e'tonnant
NO° 15 Appease Me
NO° 16 A Falling Leaf
NO° 17 Twice The Speed Of Stitches
NO° 18 The Dexterous Toss
A set of 9 preludes begun on April 14, 2001. These piano works were composed during periods of rest from composing Piano Trio NO° 1.

2002

Piano Suite NO° 2 for Two Pianos
This 4-movement work began on Jan 26, 2002 and was completed on February 24, 2002.

2002

Piano Suite NO° 3 for Solo Piano
This 5 movement work was completed on April 23, 2002. It was premiered in Cortona, Italy at the Teatro Signorelli Loggia on June 24, 2005 by Nathanael May.

2002

Duet for Violin and Double Bass
Begun on May 8, 2002, this 3-movement work was inspired by a request from Darel Stark, associate principal violinist for the Honolulu Symphony.

2002
Metamorphosis
NO° 6 for Solo Piano
NO° 7 for Solo Piano
NO° 8 for Solo Piano 
These three solo piano works were composed between July and September. 

 

2002
 
Trio for Piano, Guitar and Violin
This 3-movement work was composed between November, 2002 and January, 2003 and is dedicated to Duo46 [Matt Gould and Beth Schneider] and Nathanael May.  The 3rd Movement was premiered on 7/21/2006 at the Monti del Parterre Amphitheater, Cortona, Italy, by Duo46 and Nathanael May. 

2003

Shifting Patterns

NO° 1. Sunrise
NO° 2. Hope for Peace
NO° 3. Circus Ride
NO° 4. Desperate for Love
NO° 5. Children at Play
NO° 6. The Looking Glass
NO° 7. Sail Through Time
NO° 8. The Voice Brigade
NO° 9. Heaven's Door
NO° 10. Sonic Beauty
NO° 11. Owl's Wisdom
NO° 12. Oxymoron
NO° 13. Overturn Tyranny's Rule
NO° 14. Submerged
NO° 15. Loving Life
NO° 16. The Mixer
NO° 17. Creation
NO° 18. Mystic Rose
NO° 19. Joy Ride
NO° 20. Celestial Longitude
NO° 21. Cascading Bells
NO° 22. Sunsets for Dolls in Paradise
NO° 23. Dazzlingly Brilliant Shadows
NO° 24. Exit to China
NO° 25. Frozen Membrane
NO° 26. Intergalactic Flight
NO° 27. The Blue Horizon
NO° 28. Drifting Over Peaceful Valleys
NO° 29. Indigenous Jade
NO° 30. Wooden Shoes for Asia Minor
NO° 31. Herald in the New Year
NO° 32. Salvation Will Come Someday
NO° 33. Universal Perfection
NO° 34. Morning Wonder
NO° 35. Walking Down Cobbled Lanes
NO° 36. Violet Dreams
NO° 37. Elva's Playground
NO° 38. Exorcise Ghosts
NO° 39. Orange Strawberry Cakes
NO° 40. Strumming and Plucking for Two
NO° 41. Express a Tone
NO° 42. Glass Ruby Slippers
NO° 43. Ocean Waves 90 Feet High <DD>NO° 44. Velvet Waves [Poem set to music]
NO° 45. Cascading Ventures
NO° 46. Star Reach
NO° 47. Passion Play [Poem set to music]
NO° 48. Now Take on the Day
NO° 49. Waltz
NO° 50. Bright Monday
NO° 51. Mole Dance
A work in progress, the current set of 51 works for synthesizer was an endeavor which began with the idea of putting my written musical scores through the various timbres of the synthesizer, e.go., "fantasia" "dunes" "glass voices" or "albino", etc.

 

2003

Venus Sands (Suite for Synthesizer)

NO° 1. Venusians
NO° 2. Time Search on Venus Sands
NO° 3. Venus and Adonis
NO° 4. Venus de Milo
NO° 5. Venus Moon
NO° 6. Venus Atmosphere
NO° 7. Earth's Twin
NO° 8. I Took a Walk on the Venusians Plane
NO° 9. Venus Sunset [Improvisation]

This 9-movement work continues the experimentations of Shifting Patterns.

2003

Crafted Stardust (Improvisations with Narrations for Synthesizer, Piano and Voice)

NO° 1. By the Crystal Shore [Instrumental]
NO° 2. Silver Tunes
NO° 3. Little Gems
NO° 4. Crafted Stardust
NO° 5. Scaffolding
NO° 6. Upon Lilac Hills
NO° 7. Stunning
NO° 8. One Note at a Time
NO° 9. Maui Bound [Instrumental]
NO° 10. Fantastic Vista
NO° 11. Venus Sunset [Instrumental]
NO° 12. Take Me to #9 Heaven
NO° 13. Frightened
NO° 14. A Time Not Long Ago
NO° 15. White Sands
NO° 16. The Dream Weaver
NO° 17. Eastern Winds [Instrumental]
NO° 18. 99 Shades Past Brilliant
NO° 19. Metamorphosis #9
NO° 20 Blue Memories [Instrumental]
NO° 21. Sensual
NO° 22. Resonance
NO° 23. Histrionics I [Instrumental]
NO° 24. Journey to Strata [Instrumental]
NO° 25. A Joyful Return to Form
NO° 26. Boysenberry Fog [Instrumental]
NO° 27. Musical Mosaic
NO° 28. Few Artists, Many Critics
NO° 29. Jazz Hotel [Instrumental]
NO° 30. Beauty is in the Heavens [Improvisational Poetry and Music] (for Robert Johnson)
NO° 31. Good Morning [Instrumental]
NO° 32. She Saw The Rainbow (for Diane Acosta)
NO° 33. Longing for Peace [Instrumental]
NO° 34. Warm Streams
NO° 35. Troubled Mind, Healing Words [Instrumental]
NO° 36. Hopeful Against All Odds
NO° 37. Conduits
NO° 38. Brilliant Adventure
NO° 39. Sailing the South Pacific [Instrumental]
NO° 40. Lavender Nights with Candlelight
NO° 41. The Genius
NO° 42. Eternal Flame [Instrumental]
NO° 43. Mystery Apples [Instrumental]
NO° 44. Will Civilization Survive? [Instrumental]
NO° 45. Can it Be? [Piano Instrumental]
NO° 46. In The End
NO° 47. Intangible Harmony
NO° 48. Space Face [Instrumental]
NO° 49. Moon Dust
NO° 50. Golden Wonders Skating Proudly in the New Age [Instrumental]
NO° 51. My Compositions as Garbage Liners
NO° 52. Shades of Gray [Instrumental]
NO° 53. Our Greatest Desire (for Robert Kehoe)
NO° 54. Millennium Loops
NO° 55. The Japanese Gardens
NO° 56. A Magritte World
NO° 57. Possessed
NO° 58. Lotus Pedals
NO° 59. Tangerine Dreams
NO° 60. Upside Down
NO° 61. Express Your Dream
NO° 62. Retirement Ball [Instrumental] (for William Dresser)
NO° 63. The Day After [Instrumental]
NO° 64. The Day Before [Instrumental]
NO° 65. The Vertical Plane
NO° 66. Today [Instrumental]
NO° 67. Paradise
NO° 68. The 4th Millennium
NO° 69. His Bright Future [Instrumental]
NO° 70. Piano Improve #1 [Piano Instrumental]
NO° 71. Magical Moments [Piano and Voice]
NO° 72. Give Me Life
NO° 73. Piano Improve #2 [Piano Instrumental]
NO° 74. Starlight
NO° 75. The Rise of the Phoenix [Instrumental]
NO° 76. The Day Was Most Complete
NO° 77. The South Pacific Air
NO° 78. Ions
NO° 79. The Zone of a Dream
NO° 80. Morning Illuminations [Instrumental]
NO° 81. Pink Feathers
NO° 82. Piano Improve #3 [Piano Instrumental]
NO° 83. Chasing a Dream
NO° 84. A Complicated Life
NO° 85. On the Way to a Sunset
NO° 86. Images, Or Music as Painting and Writing
NO° 87. Marching Forward
NO° 88. The Return of the Sun [Instrumental]
NO° 89. Island Paradise
NO° 90. The End [Instrumental]
A diversion from composition lessons, Crafted Stardust was recorded during the summer of 2003. These studio improvisations were played by the composer while reading his poetry. They contain no overdubs or edits.

2003

Quartet NO° 2 for Clarinet in B-flat, Violin, Cello and Piano
This three movement work was composed between September 12, 2003 and July 17, 2004.

2003

Transcendence in the Age of War for Two Pianos
The first notes of this work were placed on the musical staves on November 27, 2003 and it was completed on January 24, 2004.

2004

Transcendence in the Age of War (Concert Band version)
Begun on February 14, 2004, this work was completed in April. Orchestrated for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 bassoons, contra bassoon, 3 clarinets in B-flat, bass clarinet, contra bass clarinet, 2 alto saxophones, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, 3 trumpets in C, 4 horns in IF, 2 trombones, bass trombone, euphonium, tuba, timpani, and percussion (orchestra bells, bass drums, marimbas, xylophones, snare drums, tom toms, suspension cymbals, and chimes).

2004
Metamorphosis #10 for Solo Guitar
This work was composed in September and is dedicated to Matt Gould.

 

2004
Desiderio for String Orchestra (Dedicated to Joan Wehrman)
This work was composed in October of 2004 and is dedicated to Joan Wehrman.  It is scored for violins, violas, cellos and contrabasses.

2004
Romantica Passione Suite for Guitar and Violin
Volere (Desire)
Un Forte Amore (Tenacious Love)
Romanzo! (Romance!) - Premiered on 7/17/2006 at the Hotel Oasi, Cortona, Italy, by Duo46.
Splendido Affare (Splendid Affair) - Premiered on 7/17/2006 at the Hotel Oasi, Cortona, Italy, by Duo46.
La Tortura dell' Amore (The Torture of Love) - Premiered on 7/21/2006,  Monti del Parterre Amphitheater, Cortona, Italy, by Duo 46.
Il Coltello knell Piaga (The Slow Knife Twist) for Solo Violin
Nel Giardino Della Delezie (In The Garden of Delights) for Solo Guitar
Un Giorno Teso (Tension Rules the Day) - Premiered on 7/21/2006 at the Monti del Parterre Amphitheater, Cortona, Italy, by Duo46.
Eterna Reconciliation (Eternal Reconciliation)
Composed between August, 2004 and February, 2005, this 9 movement work is dedicated to Duo46, Matt Gould and Beth Schneider. It tells a story in music about romantic love and of all of its emotional entanglements.

2005
Metamorphosis NO 11 for Solo Violin (Violin Mirrors)
This composition was completed on March 27, 2005 and is dedicated to Beth Ilana Schneider.

2005
Metamorphosis NO 12 for Solo Tuba
John began this three movement work on April 5, 2005 and completed it on June 29, 2005.

2005
Trio for Flute, Cello and Piano (Robust Constructs)
This 3 movement work was composed in July and August with a completion date of August 26, 2005. Trio Xia premiered this work at Orvis Auditorium in Honolulu, Hawaii on October 1, 2005.

2005
Piano Etudes Book 1 (Maladies)

  • Etude NO° 1 - The Repeated Spasm
  • Etude NO° 2 - Sightless
  • Etude NO° 3 - The Ruptured Disc
  • Etude NO° 4 - The Umbilical Hernia
  • Etude NO° 5 - Sciatica
  • Etude NO° 6 - Incystence (for Nathanael May)

John completed these six compositions for solo piano in September.

2005
Piano Suite No. Four For Three Pianos

  • Giovanni Baudino's Cleft Hand
  • Anguish in Every Household
  • Do You Have an E.R. For Music?

John completed this work in three movements on the last day of 2005.  The first notes were written on November 17, 2005. 

2006
Metamorphosis No. 13 for Solo Flute

  • Let It Not Be In Vain - Premiered by Lisa Cella on 7/18/2006 at the Monti del Parterre Amphitheater, Cortona, Italy. 

After editing older works and creating final manuscripts, John created this work to add to the cycle of solo works for various instruments, which are intended to be part of a larger set for musical instruments of classical and modern Western music and non-Western, folk or traditional instruments.  He began this work on February 20 and it was completed on March 9, 2006.

2006
Trio for Flute, Cello, and Piano (Fear of ANGST)

This 3 movement work was composed in March and April for Trio Xia after a request for another composition.

2006
Piano Etudes Book 2 (Philosophies)

  • Etude No. 7 - A Recording is the Antithesis of his Aesthetic (in memory of John Cage) (for Francesco Attesti)
  • Etude No. 8 - No One Has An Idea (for Francesco Attesti)
  • Etude No. 9 - Everything is 9 (for Francesco Attesti)
  • Piano Etude No. 10 - At The Tomb of Liszt (for William K. Dresser, M.D.)
  • Piano Etude No. 11 - Recombination (for William K. Dresser, M.D.)
  • Piano Etude No. 12 - Riding Potatoes to Maryland (for William K. Dresser, M.D.)

John began to compose these Etudes on April 26, 2006.  Piano Etudes Book 1 and Book 2 are designed to be performed in sets of 3.

2006

  • Your Beauty Transcends Time for Solo Piano - dedicated to the memory of Grace Moore.  Composed on December 2 and 3, 2006.

2006
The Saggese Guitar Suite

  • No. 1
  • No. 2

2007

  • No. 3
  • No. 4
  • No. 5

Composed between December 16, 2006 and January 14, 2007, The Saggese Guitar Suite is dedicated to Christian Saggese who in 1999 won First Prize in the Andres Segovia International Guitar Competition in Almunecar, Spain.

2007
Piano Etudes Book 3 (Histories)

  • Etude No. 13 - To Honor the Past is to Honor the Future (for the past is the great teacher from which our constructs are built) (for Hugh Sung http://hughsung.com/blog/)
  • Etude No. 14 - Passing on Ancient Skills (for Hugh Sung http://hughsung.com/blog/)
  • Etude No. 15 - Unmasking the Past (for Hugh Sung http://hughsung.com/blog/)
  • Etude No. 16 - Ancestral Dreams (for Mario Aviles)
  • Etude No. 17 - Ancestral Desires (for Mario Aviles)
  • Etude No. 18 - Ancestral Devotions (for Mario Aviles)

2007
Burlesque for Trumpet in B-flat and Amplified Classical Guitar

  • The Honolulu Stomp 
  • Baile, Baile Me Hermosa Rosa
  • Luca Has a Cadenza
  • Life is a Strange Instrument (the most difficult and beautiful when played well)
  • Rosa Discovers a Strange Instrument  (Finale)

2007
·        She's The Lady Who Loves The Bass (for Eileina Williams)
A great Jazz singer with a warm heart, this song is scored for alto voice and double bass.
2007
Awake Humanity to Nature's Beauty (based on the poetry of William Blake) - for Soprano, Guitar, Piano and Cello

 

  • Prologue (for guitar and piano)
  • To Morning (for soprano, guitar and piano) – dedicated to Satoshi Matsuyama (http://love-peace-happiness.com/)
  • Memory, Hither Come (for soprano and guitar)
  • Innocence and Virtue Meet (for soprano, guitar, piano and cello)
  • Awake Humanity to Nature's Beauty (for guitar and piano)
  • A Cradle Song (for soprano) - dedicated to Julius, Brandon and Natasha
  • To The Evening Star (for soprano and piano) – dedicated to Sharon Selman (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=155707774)
  • True Love Doth Pass Away (soprano, guitar and piano)

2007

Piano Suite No. 5 for Solo Piano (dedicated to Michael Sayers)

  • Free From Fashion
  • The Virtual Liaison
  • Impressions of Sampson
  • Red Dust Affairs (Let Thy Mind Be Still)
  • The Cruel Black Swan Effect

 

2007

Broken Promises (Another Disappointment) for Two Pianos

 

2007

Guitar Preludes

  • Preludio No. 1

 

2007

  • Electric Fugue  for Solo Guitar (for Christian Saggese)

 

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