after gravity (2007) 5'
piano 4-hands, or two pianos
the Yvar Mikhashoff Foundation
program note
‘gravity’ and ‘after gravity’ are both for piano four hands, and they may be played together or separately.
With ‘gravity’ I had the image in my head of how to make a kind of music that would always be falling. The material is in a state of slow perpetual motion, moving inexorably downwards and yet never really resting or landing.
‘gravity’ was commissioned by the Italian pianists Carlo Boccadoro and Andrea Rebaudengo, and is dedicated as a wedding present to Jane and Richard Stewart.
In my piece ‘after gravity’ I wanted to make something floating, something weightless, something airier than ‘gravity’ but still structured in such a way that would keep the music from landing anywhere, or at least put the landing off as long as I could.
‘after gravity’ was commissioned by the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust for New Music for the Bugallo-Williams Piano Duo, and is dedicated to Karen Sander and Ernest Adams, in honor of their marriage.