Contrastes

piano
2015
8’

Written for Carlos César Rodríguez
First Performance: September 2015 (The Church of the Epiphany – Washington, D.C.)

Other notable performances: November 2015, Daniel Koppelman at the 50th National Conference of the Society of Composers (Gainesville, FL)

Notes

Written at the request of Washington DC-based pianist Carlos Cesar Rodriguez as part of his American Pianismo, Vol.2 project, the piece attempts to create a uniform flow of musical materials that are, however, dissimilar in nature. The gestures that generate the composition are, therefore, contrasting in regards to their articulation, pitch collections, ranges, tempo, rhythmic regularity, and dynamic levels, as well as the use of repetition (as opposed to the constant evolution of a musical idea). Yet, the frequent interpolation of these gestures leads to the seemingly inevitable unfolding of the music.