About the Piece

A Winter Landscape was written as a companion piece to Reflections on an Autumn Sky (2007). In titling the piece, I imagened an object trapped within a winter landscape, perhaps struggling to escape. The piece is filled with dark sonorities and aggressive sounds, starting with the opening

6-pitch sonority that includes the lowest A of the piano. The primary melodic material is a 4-pitch motive (up a m2, up a m7, down a M2) that is generated by the linear unfolding of the opening chord. Repeated pitches, repeated harmonies, trills and tremolandi are of particular interest throughout the piece. Effects such as silently depressing keys, muting strings and glissandi on the strings contribute to the atmospheric soundworld. 

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