Cherry Blossoms

Cherry Blossoms is a neo-romantic canvas that fuses English modal qualities with French post-impressionism, belying the Japanese implications of its title. Schocker uses the string quartet and the two woodwinds as blocks, taking full advantage of the range of timbres available from different instrumental families. Ultimately, however, Cherry Blossoms exploits the magical delicacy of harp, which emerges as a first among equals in this lush movement.