Stellaria: Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Randal Despommier
Cyrus von Hochstetter, piano
PROGRAM NOTES
Stellaria is a set of variations on the familiar melody “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” unfolding in three connected parts. The opening set draws inspiration from the classical theme-and-variation tradition. Some variations are inspired by Mozart (whose Ah! vous dirai-je, maman was a starting point), Schumann, and Ives, honoring a lineage in which a simple melody becomes the source of continual invention (seven variations).
In the second set (five variations), fragments of the theme are reimagined through different post-tonal landscapes—for example, a Hindemith/Gould-inspired fughetta and a minimalist-leaning, accent-driven étude-like variation, among others.
In the third set (three variations), the theme begins to dissolve into more abstract resonances and gestures. This section is the first of an evolving cycle of variations based on the sounds of pulsar stars, which, when translated into sound, resemble a rapidly spinning ceiling fan and the rhythmic pulses of an MRI. Stars are a kind of cosmic composer, and the sounds they make depend on a range of factors—their size, distance, composition, and whether they are growing, dying, or slowly being consumed by a black hole. Here the theme is less a melody than a color or gesture. The piano does not imitate these processes directly, but enters into a kind of temporal dialogue with starlight.
My idea in this piece was to reimagine the theme in different musical settings, reflecting various worlds I have inhabited as a jazz saxophonist and behind-the-scenes classical pianist. The title Stellaria is derived from the Latin stella (“star”). It is originally a botanical term, though I am using it in a more poetic sense, as something star-like or “of the stars,” suggesting a sense of belonging to a broader constellation or grouping. This sense of related yet distinct forms is also reflected in the set of variations: a collection of musical ideas that remain connected even as they diverge. Sound itself begins with vibration, and the history of the universe is, in one sense, a history of vibrations unfolding across time and space. The final section of Stellaria gestures toward this idea, connecting a simple children’s song to the cosmos.
Bios
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A multi-genre musician from New Orleans, alto saxophonist Randal Despommier has a tone that “occasionally recalls Paul Desmond and, at his most passionate, late-period Art Pepper,” while his “choice of notes is very much his own” (DownBeat). He has captivated audiences at venues including Carnegie Hall (Weill), Bar Bayeux, Qintai Concert Hall in China, Lilla Jazzfestivalen, and Dram, as well as Birdland and Smalls, where he performed with the Jason Yeager Quintet.
Despommier was steeped in the regional sounds of funk, R&B, and jazz, while also absorbing influences from punk and grunge. His musical path has since expanded well beyond those roots: he studied early sacred music in Italy, earned a doctorate from the New England Conservatory, served as a church organist and choir director, and eventually settled into the demanding and ever-evolving jazz scene of New York City.
Despommier released his debut album Dio C’è on Outside in Music in 2021 to critical acclaim, with AllMusic praising it as a “wildly ambitious, genre-mashing” record that reflects his wide-ranging influences. “Impressive in his debut as leader” (OffBeat), the album features his quartet and showcases Grammy-winning bassist Jimmy Haslip as both guest artist and co-producer, along with vocalist Aubrey Johnson. His follow-up, A Midsummer Odyssey (Sunnyside Records)—a tribute to Swedish baritone saxophonist Lars Gullin—deepens his exploration of narrative and atmosphere. Featuring guitarist Ben Monder, the album earned Despommier a nomination for “Best Contemporary Jazz Artist” from OffBeat.
Despommier’s latest album, South, released on Sunnyside Records, is both a musical homecoming and a tribute to his New Orleans roots. Featuring Crescent City legends Johnny Vidacovich, David Torkanowsky, James Singleton, and his father, Phil Despommier, as guest artist, South blends reverence and originality in equal measure. As Dan Bilawsky writes in All About Jazz, “New Orleans is inextricably linked to Randal Despommier's sound and sense of self, and he pays due respect with this highly agreeable appreciation… A sincerely felt musical homecoming, South is remarkably satisfying from every angle.”
In addition to his work as a jazz musician, he is also an active composer of contemporary classical music, with works spanning chamber music, immersive polyphonic forms, and stylistically diverse variation sets. Recent projects include commissioned works such as Adrian’s Atlas, premiered at the Lake George Music Festival, and his latest Lake George Music Festival commission, Stellaria: Variations on “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” It is both a homage to and a rethinking of the theme-and-variations form, reflecting his broader artistic approach of exploring the interplay between constraint and freedom, tradition and innovation, and beauty and distortion.
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With his training in both classical and jazz piano, Cyrus von Hochstetter straddles the musical worlds as a pianist, composer, educator, lecturer and presenter. As a pianist, he has performed internationally and with various ensembles such as the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, toured the US and produced records with diverse musicians including Larry Campbell, Ryan Keberle, Stéphane Wrembel and David Taylor. He has composed music for the stage and for commercials and has brought his seven-piece ensemble, Hat Music, to Joe’s Pub in New York, performing music ranging from arrangements of Arnold Schönberg and Duke Ellington to his own compositions and songs.
With a passion for storytelling, he frequently speaks about the language of music through his educational YouTube series, My Music Notes. He is the founder of Piano on Park, a nonprofit that creates opportunities for musicians to connect with diverse audiences. As director of the Two Bridges Music program in 2017 and 2018, he launched a free concert series for New York’s Lower East Side community and developed a composition curriculum for young students.
A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with jazz pianists Garry Dial and Jason Moran, Cyrus von Hochstetter continued his classical piano studies with Zitta Zohar and pursued further studies in counterpoint and composition. He also holds a master’s degree in Interactive Telecommunications from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and is currently pursuing a doctorate in composition at Rutgers University.
