Four Characteristic Pieces
Douglas Townsend
About this work:
World premiered in Manhattan's Town Hall, Clifford Herzer, pianist, on September 19,
1947. The Musical Courier found them "interesting" (10/15/47), and Harold Schonberg
said "one noted quite a few stylistic resemblances [to the preceding Brahms sonata] in the Prelude, especially in the rhythms and the thick writing." He found the Contra Dance and the Waltz to be "stylized treatments of the dance forms," with the Toccata being a "study in repeated notes with a lyric middle section." (NYTimes 9/20/47)
Year composed: 1947
Duration: 00:10:00
Ensemble type: Keyboard:Piano
Instrumentation: 1 Piano