Composed for violinist Miranda Cuckson and pianist Blair McMillen, to be included on an album with pieces by Elliott Carter and Roger Sessions, Stromkarl was intended to compliment the other two works. Eckardt notes that the violin "seemed to speak to Carter's penchant for stratification," while the piano "attempted to embody the muscularity and melodic inventiveness found in Sessions' piece." Cuckson, apparently delighted, said, "Jason Eckardt is an artist whose music impresses with its combination of intellectual thoroughness, vigorous physicality and spontaneous volatility. His enthusiasm for complexities and his sincere assimilation of a variety of musical genres have given his music an individual and distinctly American cast." Recorded on Urlicht AudioVisual.
