Catalogue

Erupt/Erode

Program Note:

Commissioned by James Palmer as part of his "What Is a Prelude?" project.

When I first think of a piano prelude, my mind goes towards Chopin. Studying piano growing up, I remember working through several of the preludes and being captivated by their elegance and immediacy. Years later, I returned to the short pieces and rediscovered that same magic. Like in many effective miniatures, the music is typically confined to a single musical thought. I was interested in turning this concept on its head. Rather than the entire piece being comprised of one idea, I decided to compose two separate, small gestures that ultimately converge into one: both gestures erupting and then eroding into the other. The two ideas are abstractions of Chopin-esque gestures: my way of subtly nodding to him.