Persona for piano
Elizabeth Vercoe
About this work:
"a haunting atmosphere" (Boston Phoenix)
The title, Persona, refers to the artist's search for a 'voice' and was inspired by Louise Nevelson's pivotal sculpture, First Personage. Imbedded in the music are quotations from pieces that had a strong and very personal significance. Structurally, the piece moves from fantasy to a more rigorous and intense music and then toward fantasy once again with echoes of the intervening sounds.
Commissioned in 1980 for premiere by Vivian Taylor at the First International Congress on Women in Music in New York City, the piece received support from Smith College, Meet the Composer and a private patron, Mrs. Gardner Cox. In 1986 Beth Soll choreographed the work for her own solo performance in Paris and in 1987 reworked the choreography for three members of the Beth Soll Dance Company for performances in Boston and Washington, D.C.
Year composed: 1980
Duration: 00:12:00
Ensemble type: Keyboard:Piano
Instrumentation: