Product Description
Composed between January and March 2003, the Suite for Piano
was written for a recital by pianist Qi Liu (1976-2017), at Stony Brook University,
in March of 2003.
The opening
of the first movement evokes bells, not unlike those in Rachmaninoffs "Russian
Easter" (the finale of his First Suite for Two Pianos). This is contrasted with
a short and murky rising gesture. The middle section incorporates pianistic
patterns (some reminiscent of Debussy), a yearning Iberian melody, and a
barely-recognizable snippet of Chopin used for a climax. The murky gesture
eventually returns, introducing a triumphant statement of the opening bells.
Early on, I had decided the
piece should include references to the other pieces on the recitals program:
Beethovens Piano Sonata No. 18 (op. 31, No. 3) and Brahmss F minor Sonata
(op. 5). As soon as I had word from Qi that she was going to play the
Beethoven, I immediately wanted to hear it. I wasnt familiar with the piece,
and since I didnt have a score or a recording of it at home, I decided to
download it in MIDI format from the internet. Unbeknownst to me, the computers
rendition transformed the lively second movement scherzo into a slow-moving
hymn which reminded me of the Ode to Joy. I was quite surprised the next morning
when I went to the music library and listened to a recording played by a
human. Nonetheless, I was drawn to the melody, and I found the slow effect interesting,
so I decided to base my middle movement (the slow movement) around the theme
of Beethovens scherzo, making it the hidden theme for a short set of
variations. The end of the movement also contains less direct references to
the music of Brahms (very short allusions to the Sonata and to the Variations
on a Theme by Haydn).
The last movement explores fast and light fingerwork, in a
sort of toccata or capriccio, providing a flashy ending to the piece. As in
the first movement, the form is A-B-A. Before the return of the first section,
a little dance evokes the opening of the piece. (The "murky" gesture from the
first movement also finds its way into this last movement).
Each of the three movements experiments at one point with
using the sustain pedal in order to create a wash of sound. This effect is used
most prominently in the second movement.
Movement I: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-NKcs076UI
Movement II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSxkOcdlpiY
Movement III: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CntmWYdOA9Y
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