(mini-)winding down
Ketty Nez
About this work:
At the request of composer and toy piano virtuoso Rodney Lister, "(mini-)winding down" was written in March of 2007. I found it quite a challenge to "discover" something un-cliché, and realized that the final measures of wind down would lend themselves well to the toy piano. I had initially wanted to evoke bell-like timbres in this duo for cello and piano, itself inspired by sonorities of the Ravel Trio. Glancing over Rodney’s program for a recent performance of toy piano premieres, I was struck by composer Dai Fujikura’s inventive use of violin pizzicato and toy piano. An idea was sparked: to use the well-known effects of Henry Cowell’s piano piece "Aeolian Harp" (1923). My composition is thus a "mini-" homage to the early twentieth-century innovations by both Cowell and Ravel.
Year composed: 2007
Duration: 00:02:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Keyboard plus One Instrument
Instrumentation: 1 Piano, 1 Other Keyboard Instrument(s)
Instrumentation notes: duo for toy piano and piano (2 performers)