Album Notes

This recording consists entirely of pieces by living American composers, and provides a diverse sampling of contemporary American music.

China Gates was composed in 1977, and (along with its larger-scale companion Phrygian Gates) constitutes a sort of “Opus One” for composer John Adams, being one of his first representative works. The use of the word “gates” depicts the moments in the music when the patterns shift suddenly and unexpectedly.

The Sonata No. 3 by Emma Lou Diemer was written in the late 1990s and premiered in 2001. The first movement, entitled Serenade/Toccata, is alternately lyrical and driving, and demonstrates wonderfully idiomatic piano writing. The second movement, Interlude, is just that: a brief meditative link between the outer movements. The third movement, Tango Fantastique, was inspired in part by a trip to Argentina. Tango rhythms and percussive chords appear throughout the piece, interspersed with lyrical sections and string-dampened ostinatos.

Agu was written for pianist Andrew Russo in 2004. Each movement is inspired by a poem by Ioana Ieronim, and the piece can alternately be performed with text spoken by the pianist while playing. Audio, the first movement, begins with high bell-like sounds, which give way to warmer, darker sonorities. The second movement, The Triumph of the Water Witch, is an intense, rhythmic study of repeated chords. This is followed by the third movement, entitled You’re a Fake, which is a tender, lyrical statement of musical reflection.

Lori Laitman’s Nocturne was composed in 1992 as a birthday gift for her son, James Rosenblum. This lovely little piece is melody-driven and tonal.

Earl Wild’s set of Seven Etudes on songs by Gershwin are at once a tribute to and transformation of the original tunes. The Etude No. 6, based on Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm, combines imaginative use of texture with formidable virtuosity.

fathom, by Bonnie Miksch, is the only piece on this recording written for prepared piano. It emulates the sounds and timbres of gamelan music, and also incorporates the use of many extended techniques. It was written in 2001 for Roger McVey.

Wichita Vortex Sutra was composed by Phillip Glass in 1988 to accompany Allen Ginsburg in a live reading of his antiwar poem of the same name. However, it certainly stands on its own as a musical work, gradually evolving from a meditative opening to a frenzied middle section, before returning to the initial calm.