ABOUT THE MUSIC
And the Waves Sing Because They are Moving (2004) for solo piano
Thomas Osborne
"I wrote this piece for Jason Hardink in 2004. The title comes from two lines by Philip Larkin:
And the waves sing because they are moving,
And the waves sing above a cemetery of waters. "
-Thomas Osborne
Many of Osborne's works focus on painting sonic images of the elements, most notably in works such as "And the Waves Sing Because They are Moving,' among others. Other works draw on the music of other (sometimes very, very old) cultures. "The Burning Music," for orchestra, incorporates Persian music, and "Songs of a Thousand Autumns," a song cycle for soprano and piano quartet, is based primarily on Gagaku, ancient Japanese court music. Osborne's latest work, "Tumbling from the Ninth Height of Heaven," written for violin and koto, continues in that creative vein.
Osborne is assistant professor of composition at the University of Hawai'i, where he is the director of the University of Hawai'i Contemporary Music Ensemble.
For more info on Thomas' music visit www.thomas-osborne.com
Tres Lent (Hommage a Messiaen)(1994) for cello and piano
Joan Tower (b. 1938)
Tres Lent was written as an homage to Olivier Messiaen, particularly to his Quartet for the End of Time, which had a special influence on my work.
When I was the pianist for the Da Capo Chamber Players, we frequently performed Messiaen's quartet over a seven-year period. During this time, I grew to love the many risks Messiaen took - particularly the use of very slow "time," both in tempo and in the flow of ideas and events. Tres Lent is my attempt to make "slow" music work. It is as affectionately dedicated to my long-time friend and colleague, who never stops growing as a musician and cellist, Andre Emelianoff.
-Joan Tower
Gravitations (1995/2006) for clarinet solo
Michael Johanson (b. 1968)
Gravitations explores various aspects of musical motion, especially the idea of moving to and away from central focal points. Although the application of this idea as it relates to the element of pitch is perhaps one of the more obvious manifestations of this concept, the general idea of motion between extremities is utilized in other contexts as well.
These additional contexts include register (conjunct motion versus angular, disjunct motion), duration (long, sustained tones versus athletic passages), meter (pulsed versus non-pulsed passages), and character (the music is in turns introspective, serene, strident, and playful). The dramatic shape of the work is largely determined by the ways in which contrasting elements interact within these various contexts.
-Michael Johanson
90+ (1994) for solo piano
Carter, Elliott (b. 1908)
90+ for piano is built around ninety short, accented notes played in a slow regular beat. Against these the context changes character continually. It was composed in March of 1994 to celebrate the ninetieth birthday of my dear and much admired friend, Goffredo Petrassi, Italy's leading composer of his generation. Its first performance was given by Giuseppe Scotese on June 11, 1994, at the Pontino Music Festival dedicated to Petrassi's birthday.
-Elliott Carter
Morte Tamburo (1999) for solo flute
Salvatore Sciarrino (b. 1947)
"My music calls for performers who are out of the ordinary. Not only virtuosi but with the power to transfigure. In order to rediscover the essence of our daily actions, one needs to cut through to the wonder: the wonder of a utopia which reveals itself."..."We don't want to appear perfect, inhuman: we want the music to speak with the poetic enchantment of Orpheus, moving even the stones. Otherwise, what is music for?"
-Salvatore Sciarrino, trans. Jane Fraser
Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues (1979-80)
Rzewski, Frederic (b. April 13, 1938)
In this fourth and final movement of the North American Ballads, Rzewski literally imitates the grinding of the cotton mill machines of South Carolina, building tremendous relentless power. The 'blues' then emerges from within the ambient 'factory' noise.
-taken from Bang on a Can's website.
"Four Seasonal Interludes" from All About Love (2004)
David Schiff (b. 1945)
In 2004 I composed a song cycle called All About Love for mezzo-soprano, tenor and chamber ensemble (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano.) The songs set poems and prose passages by women and men from the fifteenth to the twentieth century, and trace a line from youthful ardor to mature acceptance. To make the dramatic shape of the cycle clearer I composed four short instrumental movements just for flute, clarinet, violin and cello. The first movement, "Spring" is a prelude to the whole cycle. The second, "Summer" is a passionate interlude between the songs about youthful infatuation, and more sophisticated, mature texts. "Fall" marks a turning point in the cycle and serves as an introduction to the only duet in the cycle, "Proust", which is really a miniature opera. "Winter" sets up the final song, a setting of Elizabeth Bishop's great poem "One Art." After hearing several performances of the complete cycle, including performances using an expanded orchestra for the songs but not the interludes, I decided that the interludes could be played on their own, either separately or as a suite. With a nod to Benjamin Britten I called them Four Seasonal Interludes.
-David Schiff - For more information on David's music visit www.davidschiffmusic.com
A Glimpse Retraced (1999) for piano, clarinet, flute, violin and cello
Jason Eckardt (b.1971)
The title of this concerto for piano with four instruments is a metaphor for its formal design: a fleeting observation, made in passing, is retraced and elaborated, then condensed and distilled.
The figurative glimpse is represented by an introductory section of brief ensemble episodes, which together feature all possible combinations of the four instruments -- from solo to quartet -- that accompany the piano solo. After all instrumental combinations are exhausted, more detailed sections follow that are themselves generated from the material of the opening episodes; and, with regard to their instrumental combinations, they appear in the same order. The most extended of these are duets between a single instrument and the piano, which offer the opportunity for a second soloist to emerge and a foil to the piano's relentless activity throughout the rest of the work. The finale, an extended cadenza, is animated by a structural process similar to that heard in the introduction and main body of the piece, but reversed: the piano reiterates a radically imploded version of its former material, concluding with the same music, further compressed and retrograded.
A Glimpse Retraced was commissioned by Carnegie Hall and is dedicated to Marilyn Nonken who gave its first performance in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York City on April 12, 1999.
-Jason Eckardt
- For more info on Jason's music visit www.ensemble21.com
|
