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Six Etudes (1980) |
For piano - c. 12'
These six contrasting pieces were completed in December 1980. They are studies in both the pianistic and compositional sense. The work is unified by an intervallic cell, stated chordally at the outset and developed with the utmost resourcefulness.1. Croccante e incisivo: The chordal motif is elaborated linearly by scale passages played by alternating hands.
2. Flautando, leggiero: A toccata in which a brief chromatic figure is elaborated by transfer of material between hands, contrast of register, and inversion.
3. Adagio, piangevole: A study in choral balance. The cantabile lines, derived both melodically and rhythmically from the opening of the first piece, are developed into a powerful central climax.
4. Allegro ritmico: A brilliant study in repeated notes with added rhythm.
5. Inpetuos e pesante: A return in mood to the rhapsodic character of the first piece and yet in compositional technique this is the most rigorous of the studies consisting of an exact palindrome. Statements of the interbolic theories in the left hand are separated by cadenza-like elaborations in the upper register.
6. Tempo giusto e deciso: A study in cross-rhythms which exploits further the technique of transfer of material between the hands and elaborates the motivic patterns across the entire register of the piano.
© Edwin Roxburgh