Keys To The Machine
When presented with the opportunity to write a solo piano work for the Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium, I immediately knew I wanted to write something intense and energetic, like a flashy “encore.” The bulk of this “raucous” piece—arpeggiated figures in the bass, jagged rhythms and crunchy chords—is contrasted by a much calmer and introspective middle section, whose harmonies have a cooler “jazz” quality.
The title is a tongue-in-cheek play on words. Car keys and the internal combustion engine seem like a fitting comparison to the mechanistic beast known so ironically as the “piano,” whose 88 keys offer a myriad of choices in getting the machine “fired up.”
DATE
2007DURATION
3 minutesINSTRUMENTATION
PianoPREMIERE
July 7, 2007University of Oregon
Eugene, OR
Lisa Moore (pno.)
ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCES
June 27, 2019Fellowship at Cross Creek
Branson, MO
Clara Christian (pno.)
March 29, 2019
College of the Ozarks
Point Lookout, MO
Clara Christian (pno.)
AWARDS
Winner, 2007 Oregon Bach Festival Composer's Symposium Piano CompetitionFinalist, 2011 ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composers Competition