Playlist
Night Music for piano (2021) was created during the Covid-19 pandemic. Feeling nostalgic, I was drawn to night themes and music from the past. The composition is in the form of a piano sonata, but each of the four movements also functions as an independent character piece. Night Music was written for and dedicated to the wonderful Argentinian/Canadian pianist Alexander Panizza. Due to Toronto’s restrictions concerning live concerts, it was composed to be premiered on the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra’s YouTube channel.
1. Echoes of Film Noir
was inspired by the dramatic, gripping, and multi-layered music commonly found in this genre. Film noir was commonly set in dark locations and shot in black and white. In creating music for my fantasy nighttime crime drama, I used a traditional sonata allegro form for the structure. The movement starts with a first theme representing a hardboiled detective, followed by a second theme representing a “femme fatale”. The rest of the movement allows for the music (and the story) to develop, build to a climax, and come to a conclusion. I invite listeners to create their own stories.
2. A Nostalgic Waltz
was inspired by music of the early 1900’s, especially Maurice Ravel’s Valse nobles et sentimentales. I imagined the music being played in a Parisian cabaret at night, during The Belle Époque. The movement starts with nostalgic, calm, and elegant music, builds to a faster and more agitated middle section, and then returns to the calm music of the beginning.
3. A Nocturne
A Nocturne is a form that is inspired by the night. The music represents a person climbing into bed, hoping to quickly fall asleep, but instead thinking of the day’s activities. After a struggle to doze off, sleep finally comes. The music is partially inspired by Frederic Chopin’s nocturnes. In addition, there are three short sections using a whole-tone impressionistic scale, giving a questioning feel to the music, and providing a nod to Claude Debussy’s atmospheric Nocturnes.
4. Bartók Meets the Blues
Bartók Meets the Blues aims to mix musical styles derived from Central-Eastern European folk music and Afro-American music. First, I used musical elements from Béla Bartók’s Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm (and other pieces from his Mikrokosmos) and mixed them with major and minor Blues scales. I imagined this piece being debuted in a late-night jazz club, by a pianist who was not sure if this venue was the best place for this composition. The music begins in playful manner and becomes more intense and virtuosic as it goes along. My goal was to create a slightly quirky and humorous showpiece for the piano.