dialogues in black and white (2019) for solo piano
As someone who is fascinated by the transformation of tiny, simple ideas into complex pieces of art, I find the work of Ellsworth Kelly captivating. Kelly, a painter and sculptor known for the minimalist abstraction and geometric austerity of his work, spent much of his career fixated on the endless permutation of certain color palettes and patterns. One of Kelly’s specific preoccupations was with black and white, and the sensation of viewing his monochromatic paintings is often surreal: viewed against the backdrop of the white gallery wall, the juxtaposed geometric shapes take on an expressivity and a sense of lightness and heaviness. Many of his black and white works are on view at the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas, including an especially wonderful set inspired by the 14 Stations of the Cross.
Just like the infinite permutations of Kelly’s work, dialogues in black and white is about the complex juxtaposition of simple musical ideas. Each movement of this set of four preludes is a conversation between two distinct musics: the first between a low, distant thunder and a lyrical chorale, the second between a high, wandering twinkle and a reckless, thorny sound world, the third between a syncopated scherzo and the resonance of the piano, and the fourth between a trembling repeated note and a shimmering, cascading run.
dialogues in black and white was written for pianist Wesley Ducote in Spring 2019.
Performed by Wesley Ducote
Created with scorefol.io
15 июн 2024
