by Tim Flores

This project was originally going to incorporate selections from Tyler Kline’s monumental work for piano, Orchard. Each piece created a sound world around a particular botanical fruit using a variety of piano techniques and styles. The presentation of these works was to include pairings of the fruit that each piece represented, a truly immersive experience for all your senses. Imagine being able to hear a piece of music as you smell, touch, and taste the fruit that inspired it!!

 

Due to the current global pandemic, creating an experience that could be digitally consumed seemed much more important than one that required individuals to buy uncommon fruit during a period of food shortages and financial hardship. During this time of quarantines and toilet paper shortages we seem to forget about the beautiful things that surround us and focus on statistics and the unknown that may follow the next couple of months. Through the use of Philip Glass’ music and the beauty that surrounds us everyday I hope to transport the listener to a moment of distraction and allow them to remember that there is beauty to be seen right outside of our windows. The music that follows unfolds as life does, slowly and without too much flash, this music is present and alive.

 

The music of today is often saturated with fast rhythms, thorny harmonies, and complex sounds that some listeners may not be used to. Music written by living composers allows us to connect with music that was written for today’s audience but it is often hard for us to get used to the sound world that they live in. Philip Glass is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and his music has become incredibly popular with audiences around the world. His use of minimal material and familiar harmonies create a timeless quality that can cause time to stand still as we become enveloped in his sound-world.

 

The Piano Etudes of Philip Glass explore a large variety of tempo and textures and although not reminiscent of the Etudes of Chopin or Liszt, do require the upmost concentration from the performer. The simple texture and need for the upmost control over the instrument in soft and loud dynamics while maintaining a sense of timelessness make these Etudes deceivingly difficult to pass off and sound polished and deliberate. Each Etude inhabits a different atmosphere that captures a single idea and in the true nature of minimal music allows it to develop naturally as if it were a flower unfolding as it blooms, slowly, purposefully, and with poise.