Sitsky has always had a life-long interest in extramusical pursuits and has sought to infuse mystical and visionary themes in his works. But in contrast to other like-minded contemporaries (such as Pärt and Górecki), Sitsky's music is far more rugged and demanding (for both listener and performer alike). Utilizing a wide compositional palette that evokes an amalgam of twelve-tone techniques with the splashy brass and percussion of Varèse and late Stravinsky, the First Violin Concerto is an incredibly detailed work of shifting meters and colors and