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Reflets dans la Glace (2003) |
For piano duet - c. 6'
The title is a direct reference to Debussy’s Reflets dans l’eau. As a tribute to one of the finest composers for the piano, figurations have been deployed which are directly related to Debussy’s piano music, but, like the transference of his imagery from water to ice, the harmonic and rhythmic aspects are also transformed into a different musical language. The purpose of composing for four rather than two hands at a single keyboard is to create a sound world unrelated to that of a single pianist. In pursuing the textural characteristics suggested by the title, the work indulges resonances and rhythmic cross-currents only possible with two performers, the whole of the keyboard being deployed either for reverberation sonorities or complex counterpoints. Having been commissioned by the outstanding Tong/Hasegawa Duo to compose this work I have taken the opportunity to indulge the performers’ virtuosity and sensitive artistry to an extreme.
© Edwin Roxburgh