MUSIC FOR KEYBOARDS
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MUSIC FOR KEYBOARDS | |||||||
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| My grandmother played the piano. She played a concerto with the Fort Worth Symphony before marriage and motherhood drew her away from the ivories. My father remembers resenting her practicing. She was a tough, Calvinistic Texan, stronger than she liked to appear. Her drive to make music went underground and resurfaced in accompanying the family singing Broadway songs and Xmas carols while pushing her sons and grandchildren to excel with grim fortitude. |
| It was probably in reaction to her that I refused to study piano. My sister dutifully struggled through Hanon while I took ballet and flute lessons. When no one was listening I sat down at the piano, put the sustain pedal down and listened to the notes blur into kaleidoscopic harmonies but none of my family considered such experimentation worthy of note. Today I know otherwise and advise parents to encourage kids to experiment and find sounds and combinations to call their own. |
| Even though my composition originated in the keyboard, I have been wary of writing for it. I have felt that the keyboard was too rigid and predictable, imprisoning in its intonation, timbre and conception, and a standardbearer for the tonal empire. Lately as people have asked me to write for it, I've started to question my anger and wonder if my grandmother isn't still driving me. |
| Kathy Supové has taken my pieces and made me realize that the piano is much more molten and fluid than I had any idea. I wrote Leg Vague for her birthday January 1999. She made it a breakthrough with her performance at the Flea Theater in NYC. Pianist/composer Jed Distler has invited me to sing with him and he's fun! With my piano duo Yalum' I found a way to make the two pianos deconstruct each other. I'm writing for organ and harpsichord. Here's to ya Grandma! |
| NAME OF WORK | DESCRIPTION | DATE COMPOSED | LENGTH | INSTRUMENTATION | PERFORMANCE(S) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| solo piano | |||||
| Leg Vague | Composed for Kathleen Supové for her birthday, January 1999. | 1999 | 10 min. | solo piano and pianist's voice | The Flea Theater, NYC, April-May 1999 (N.Y.Times 4/26/99) |
| Liszt in the Murk | for piano. Premiered by Elizabeth Rodgers; repeated by Kathleen Supové | 1986 | 3 min. | piano solo | Columbia Composers, 1986; Roulette, 1994; CB's Lounge 1998. |
| solo harpsichord | |||||
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Suite for Fred Anderson & his Velvet Lounge | Composed during Music At Omi Jazz Residency, for solo harpsichord. | 1997 | 8 min. | solo harpsichord
| Premiere by Cal Johnson, October 3, 1999, Bethesda MD |
| piano duo | |||||
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Yalum' Ta Vinahel (Roots of the Sky) |
Premiered by Double Edge (N. Y. Times 10/96, and Improviser 10/96) | 1995 | 10 1/2 min. | piano duo
| Whitney Museum at Philip Morris Duo Piano Mini-Festival, May 10, 1996. Repeated Sonic Boom '96, Miller Theate |
| piano and one instrument | |||||
| Goin' Home | chamber duo with klezmer and other unexpected influences | 1996 | 7 min. | for clarinet and piano | Context Studio, August 1996, |
| Sonata for a Musical Marriage | 3-movement suite for piano and electric guitar commissioned by Bernadette Speach and Jeffrey Schanzer. | 1995 | 15 min. | piano and electric guitar | Brooklyn, May 13, 1995 |
| organ and voice | |||||
| But Ruth Said | A setting of the passage from the Bible where Ruth refuses to leave Naomi. | 1998 | 5 min. | for organ and soprano | unperformed |
| Polly's Wedding Music | The Bride's Advent , Sun-Worship (text by James Russell Lowell), Polly's Wedding March composed for my sister's wedding in June 1991. | 1991 | 9 min. | for organ and singer (primarily for organ) | The Unitarian Church in Barnstable MA, June 1991 |
| electric keyboard and one instrumentalist/vocalist | |||||
| i touched your cheek | Developed at Columbia University Computer Music Center from conversations between composer and performers. Commissioned by twisted tutu (Eve Beglarian & Kathleen Supové) through American Composer Forum's CCP Program (substantially funded by Jerome Foundation). Recorded for o.o.discs, Copland Recording Program; released fall 1999. | 1995-1997 | 10 min. | for twisted tutu: voice, microphone, synthesizers, CMIX-processed "found" or sampled material, MIDI sequencing and DAT soundtracks | Pittsburgh, September 1997. CUMC Interactive Arts Festival 99, The Kitchen, April 1999. |
| piano in small group context | |||||
| Fishy Wishy | A re-texting of the 4th mov't of Schubert's Trout QuintetŃtext from or based on my own translation of text from Schubert's lied "Die Forelle". Recorded for CRI CD "Alternative Schubertiade" spring 1999. | 1997 | 7 min. | for 3 sopranos, vibes and piano | "Alternative Schubertiade," Downtown Arts Festival, American Opera Projects, NYC 9/19/97 (reviewed in N.Y.Times 9/22/97 and Voice 9/30/97). |
| Queen of the Rain | Art song revised for quintet | 1978-1999 | 10 min. | for voice, flute, horn, cello and piano | Music Under Construction, May 18, 1997. First Avenue, January 1999. |
| piano in mid-sized group context | |||||
| EAR Exposition, Development & Recapitulation | 3 detachable movements deconstructing sonata form---is it valid?---Exposition establishes motives a and b in multiple configurations; Development encourages the players to improvise on these ideas; Recapitulation restates and wraps up with a bang. | 1999 | 10 min. | for the California EAR Unit (http://www.earunit.org): flute, bass clarinet, violin, cello, 2 keyboards (pano and sampler using processed dialogue by EAR members), marimba and drum set. | Los Angeles County Museum, October 13, 1999 (reviewed Los Angeles Times 10/99). Released on CRI-Emergency "Chamber Music for the Inner Ear", April 2002 (reviews: Time Out New York, Los Angeles Times, NPR, All Music Guide, Gramophone, SplendidEzine, Educational Digest, All About Jazz, Classics Today, and The Wire (UK), among others). |
| The Battle of X and Y | An algebraic battle between ostinato x and bridge y. Structured ensemble improvisation. Virtuosic rhythm. | 1999 | 7 min. | for Rel‰che: oboe, tenor sax, bassoon, viola, piano, double bass and drum set | Relâche, Institue of Contemporary Art and Ethical Society, Philadelphia, PA May 2001, (reviewed Philadelphia Inquirer 5/01) |
| piano in large group context | |||||
| Sleeping Out Of Doors | A semi-concerto for piano and orchestra. Commissioned and premiered by Kristjan JŠrvi and Absolute Ensemble with soloist FangYu Liao. | 1998 | 15 min. | winds 2-2-2-2 (w/ b. cl. & cbsn.), brass 2-1-1; 1 pc. (kit), pno., acoustic gtr. (ampl.), voice (as accomp. only, replaceable with like timbre), strings 4-4-4-4-2 min. (1 bass if ampl.) | Merkin Hall, New York, May 5 1998. |
| Love, I Know Beyond A Doubt | Motet including text and melodies from traditional & Occitans chants and a monophonic chanson roial from the"Remede de Fortune" by Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300-1365), in memory of Professor Peter Gram Swing. | 1997 | 14 min. | for SATB chamber choir, 5 soloists & jazz quartet (tenor saxophone, piano, double bass and drums) | unperformed |
| piano also figured prominently in the repertoire of Musica Orbis (1972-79) | |||||
| Back In The Air | Concert of songs and instrumental pieces for MUSICA ORBIS, recorded by dbx, Inc. for demonstration album; September, 1977. | 1977 | 90 min | for bells, chimes, timbales, claves, marimba, vibraphone, piano, organ, harp, flute, recorder, cello, double bass, electric bass, drum set and voices | Zellerbach Theater, Annenberg Center, University of Pennsylvania with live broadcast by WXPN-FM; Sanders Theater, Harvard University, live broadcast on WBUR-FM |
| Sound in Space | MUSICA ORBIS collaboration with architects using alternative audience-performer spatial configurations, inflatable sculpture, tunnels and microphone "forest" to alter concert ambience. | 1977 | 90 min. | portable acoustic instruments as well as harp, flute, drums, cello, bass, hammered dulcimer | University of Pennsylvania, March, 1977. |
| Fire Opal Suite | Performed and recorded by MUSICA ORBIS on "To The Listeners" (Longdivity Records 1977. National reviews. National television broadcasts.) | 1976 | 12 min. | for pipe organ, flute, cello, double bass, harp, marimba, drums, piano and voices | The Bijou, Philadelphia; CBGB's, New York City; Berklee Performance Center, Boston. |
| Evergreen Festival | annual concert on acoustic instruments by MUSICA ORBIS for the winter Solstice | 1974 | 70 min. | for pump organ, flute, recorder, cello, double bass, Irish knee harp, marimba, hand percussion, piano and voices | The Painted Bride Art Center, every December 1974-77 |
contact me: mail@kitbraz.com
