Noggin

Description

Piano — Noggin [premiered as Four Pieces for Piano] is a set of miniature studies, each reflecting a different way of enjoying the piano.xa0 The first movement, entitled Alarum, is a stately introduction punctuated by the sound of alternately grave and bright-sounding bells.xa0 Lighter and more deliberate, Transit takes off precipitously from its opening turn figure.xa0 Although it is initially brash and somewhat obnoxious, the piece ends up evaporating quietly in the upper register of the piano.xa0 Lush Light forms the gestural and emotional centerpiece of this collection.xa0 I is darker and more brooding in nature, with the occasional plaintive sound of a falling melodic third peeking through.xa0 The last movements, Re-uptake, recalls the urgency of Transit, but the ideas are fleshed out, becoming increasingly fractured and eccentric.xa0 A snippet of the second movement, a surprise “guest”, ends the piece.Four Pieces for Piano was commissioned through the Anthony P. Checchia Composers Project of the the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and is dedicated to William M. Hollis, Jr., and Andrea M. Baldeck, M.D., with gratitude. Noggin is a four-movement suite for piano with a sonata-like grandeur and architecture underlying its elegant wit. The movement titles (Alarum, Transit, Lush Light, and Re-uptake) lure our curiosity to discover what’s lurking beneath the fascinating surface, just as the suite’s title and music do. Noggin was commissioned by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society which presented pianist Marcantonio Barone in the work’s premiere in 2013.