Album Notes

A self-produced album of live acoustic piano music, "Etudes" offers new pieces that study various elements of piano performance, composition and improvisation. Influenced by the works of many composers and visual artists, each piece combines traditional concepts with progressive and experimental ideas.* Information about each piece is as follows: 1. Etude in A minor This piece was written as a study of harmony and voice leading. With use of a chordal and percussive format, this piece studies harmonic and melodic relationships while introducing a kinesthetic approach to performance technique and interpretation. 2. Prose Originally for harp, this freely-written composition was inspired by the music of Morton Feldman. It features special pedaling techniques and the final passage is played directly on the strings of the piano. 3. Austa The title of this piece refers to the rising of the sun in Lithuanian. Impressionistic in character, this work correlates to the painting, "Daybreak" by Jane McKay (used as album cover art). This piece focuses on the resonating natural hamonics of the piano and features a melody supplementing this timbre. Originally written for violin, flute and piano. 4. Temsta Translated as "nightfall" in Lithuanian, this piece is the consequent to Austa. Inspired by the music of Messaien, this piece was originally written for violin and piano. Temsta studies lyricism through interplay of tonality and atonality. 5. Reflections (Etude in C major, mvt I) Inspired by Arvo Part's Spiegel im Spiegel, this piece contains its own "reflections" with mirror images created in the melodic contour of the score. It also seeks to create new harmonic progressions and time-feel from traditional harmony, meter and interpretation. Originally written as a violin and flute duo. 6. Etude in C, mvt II Originally for flute, violin and cello, this movement explores polytonality with "C" as the central pitch. Also multi-metered, this movement focuses on distinct phrasing of juxtaposed motifs and underlying sonorities. 7. Etude in C, mvt III Performed as originally intended on flute, this movement studies and explores the natural harmonics, multi-phonics, pitch bending and other special techniques for the flute. Like the previous movement, this piece evolved from the simply stated pitch of "C". 8.,9. String Etude '01, mvt II (Invention) and mvt III (Chorale) Composed in 2001 as a violin and cello duo in four movements, this etude was inspired by Bartok and Webern, among others. The full etude was written using a simple intervallic relationship and each movement offers varying developments of this idea. Two movements are included here on piano. 10. Kumoijoshi Written as an experimental piano sketch to study basic aesthetic elements of Japanese classical music, this improvisatory piece freely explores the very subtle special techniques of the piano such as resonant pitches, "ghosted" notes and strummed chords. The title is the name of the Japanese melodic mode that is used throughout this impromptu. 11. Etude in A minor reprise This piece is an additional live take of the first track of this album. Here, improvisation is used to infuse new jazz/Third Stream elements into the original piece. *My goal as a composer/performer is to create music for many listeners including the intellectual/scholar as well as the intuitive/artist. Therefore, I strive to strike a balance in composition and improvisation in order to keep music structured and informed yet evolving, organic, personal and free. This album is currently featured at www.contemporary-classical.com as well as Modern Era Radio, New Edge Radio at MIT in Cambridge, MA and womensradio.com. Also available for download and purchase at iTunes: (direct link below) http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=183284226&id=183284157&s=143441