- “the sharpest Australian intellect at the keyboard” The Age
CD recording of the complete piano music of David Lumsdaine to be released by Tall Poppies in 2008.
The Freshwater Trio will perform Knoop’s transcription of three Scriabin Preludes in their 2008 concert series in November.
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About the excerpts
Michael Finnissy´s Alkan — Paganini (1997) is the fifth part of The History of Photography in Sound and is a three-part construction after Alkan´s Trois Grandes Études opus 76. The first section, for left-hand alone, is inspired by Alkan´s fugue Jean qui rit, itself based on the aria “Fin ch’han dal vino” from Mozart´s Don Giovanni. The second section, for right-hand alone, is drawn from Schumann´s transcription of the Paganini Caprice opus 1/12. The hands are then brought together in the third section where the material is swapped and then merged. This excerpt begins towards the end of the right-hand section.
Kelly Ground (1966) is one of David Lumsdaine´s earliest acknowledged pieces, composed when he was in his mid-30s. Its title refers to one of Australia´s most famous historical figures, Ned Kelly, a bushranger whose defiance towards the colonial authorities eventually resulted in his dramatic capture and execution. The work is written using strict serial techniques, skillfully manipulated to create a narrative of Kelly´s execution day. This excerpt is from the end of the first strophe: “Kelly´s return to conciousness on the morning of his execution”.
- photo: Yatzek
Incisioni Rupestri (2004) is a piano solo from David Young´s Val Camonica pieces. The work is notated entirely graphically using fragments from rock carvings found in the Camonica Valley in northern Italy.
Lullabaababyt (2006) is one of Adam de la Cour´s Nursery Rhyme miniatures. It is a (loose) transcription of Brahms´ Lullaby Wiegenlied “Guten Abend, gute Nacht” opus 49/4 and was written for Arthur Underwood.
John Cage´s Sixteen Dances (1950-51) was the last work he composed before he began using chance operations. Written for the dancer Merce Cunningham and his company, the work charts the eight “permanent emotions” of Hindu aesthetics. An interlude is interspersed between each emotion and the work ends with a ninth emotion, tranquillity. This excerpt is from a performance by the Libra Ensemble, conducted by Mark Knoop.
