Ixtlan for Two Pianos
Barton McLean
About this work:
Premiered by Yvar Mikhashoff at Buffalo North American Music Festival, 1983, this is a 2 piano version of my Ritual of the Dawn, composed in 1982. It follows the latter closely, and bot have an innovative rhythmic technique where in most sections the performers play the details out of sync with each other, forming a cloud of sound. They move from section to section via one cueing the other. The result is an often ethereal wash of sound, unencumbered by the grid of measures or beats. At climactic moments, they do come together and play in meter.
Version: C. & P 1983 Barton McLean
Year composed: 1983
Duration: 00:15:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice
Instrumentation: 2 Piano
Instrumentation notes: 2 pianos, four hands