Comfortable Music was commissioned by the 2007 Stratford-upon-Avon Music Festival, with the support of Arts Council England. The piece is in three movements which are marked “Restrained and Elegant”, “Gritty (like some roadhouse music)” and “Tense”. The piece is dedicated to the memory of William “Winkie” Padel (1915 – 2007) who was my violin teacher from the age of nine to eighteen.