“Just as I am” was written for the violinist Ayano Ninomiya, whose enthusiasm for our joint recording project and her lyrical, singing violin playing inspired me. It is based on the old Southern hymn “Just as I am, without one plea.” The two-movement sonata bears a superficial resemblance to Beethoven’s Sonata for Piano, Op. 90. Here the first movement centers around G major and the second movement around E major. A fragment of the hymn is quoted Lontano, at a great distance, in a very high register at the beginning and end of the whole piece.