[solo piano]
Timing: 6’30”
Listen:
Program note:
The Waking is the title of a poem by Theodore Roethke (1908-1963). This poem was introduced to me some time ago by my friend Bil Anderson and has remained important to me ever since. I believe the idea of accepting fate as it comes and learning everything possible from it, while not being fearful, is very important. Nothing lasts forever, good or bad. This work for piano is not a programmatic representation of the text, however, it is the first composition of mine written at a time when I was leaving behind a comfortable part of my life for something I was very unsure of. It was the choice of this poem as a starting point, rather than the composition itself, that was a commentary on that point in my life.
The goal of this piece was simply to take advantage of the full range of the piano in a strong and forceful way, something I have always admired in the piano music of Frederic Rzewski.
Available from Woodyard Music Publishing:
Performances:
November 10, 2001 Martin Kennedy, piano Auer Hall / Indiana University
April 4, 2000 Winston Choi, piano Auer Hall / Indiana University
