Variation No. 4 by Meredith Gulla

Cleveland-based composer Meredith Gulla uses a three-note snippet of the Granados waltz theme to craft a piano solo based on the cloud-like softness of her high school prom dress, a symbol of adulthood. She takes us through a series of rhapsodic musical episodes, akin to flashbacks from her youth, styled in a way that’s sometimes whimsical, other times earnest, and heartwarming throughout.