My father's death in December of 1970 caused me to produce three works in which I paid tribute to his sweet soul and loving kindness. Chicago Songs for piano and Benedictus for mezzo soprano, tuba and piano were both composed in 1971. Sinfonia III completes the tribute and, being more playful in nature, balance the seriousness of the previous two pieces.

An earlier subtitle for the work was Quodlibet à 25. A quodlibet is usually defined as a succession of several tunes, often humorous, select...