Surface Inventions
Keith Kothman
About this work:
The Surface Inventions are a set of virtuosic character pieces. Each of the movements start with some variation of the opening gesture found in the first movement. Movements II, IV, and VI move in an increasingly linear direction, while movements III and V gravitate towards vertical sonorities. Compositionally, there are two semi-repetitive background structures that run throughout the inventions. One controls pitch emphasis while the other controls registral placement and range. Each invention derives its own “surface” pitch and rhythmic materials from a common reservoir. These materials are influenced both by intuitive goals and the interactions of the background structures present within the boundaries of each movement.
Year composed: 1994
Duration: 00:13:30
Ensemble type: Keyboard
Instrumentation: 1 Piano