Eliot Fisk has translated Rochberg's solo violin work into a brilliant tour de force for his own instrument, the guitar, in such a remarkable way that the composer, who worked very closely with Mr. Fisk at every stage, called the result a “recomposition” rather than a transcription. From their first meeting in the late eighties, Rochberg wrote three works for Eliot Fisk: two for him and his flute partner, Paula Robison, and a solo guitar work based on
American popular songs.
'This collaboration with Eliot Fisk has been a great joy for me. What he has done in adapting this work to the guitar from the original solo violin version is no less than a “recomposition”. Besides producing an unbelievable extension of guitar technique, he has at the same time explored and utilized every conceivable expressive possibility of the instrument. No composer I can think of could have imagined these possibilities. One would have to be a guitarist/artist of Fisk's caliber to be able to imagine what he, in fact, did.' George Rochberg
