 |
 |  |  | | | | Track Listings | | | Piano Concerto (1993) | | | 1 Allegro | 10:42 | | 2 Moderato | 8:19 | | 3 Jazzy, Energico | 9:59 | | Piano Sonata (1996) | | | 4 Premonition | 18:02 | | 5 Scherzo | 2:58 | | 6 Pussy Willow | 3:39 | | 7 Finale | 4:39 | | 8 Passacaglia (1982) | 5:48 | | Total time: | 64:32 |
| | | | | |
| | | | | | Nicholas Underhill | | | Our Price: $9.95  | | | | Item Number: MMC2077 | | Audio Format: DDD | | Genres: Concerto\Piano | | | | Description | | Excerpts from the Liner Notes (by Alexander Carpenter)
Piano Concerto
The Concerto’s opening gestures are, in Underhill’s words, “minimalistic,” though this pointillisic first theme soon gives way to a more lyrical theme. This juxtaposing is important to note, as, from the beginning, the concerto is a study in contrasts: dynamic, timbral, and registral extremes are presented constantly, with orchestral bombast set against short, reserved statements. To highlight this contrast, the minimalist writing from the opening measures is soon, quite literally, set against the lyrical, romantic theme that follows, as the former becomes an ostinato accompaniment to the latter.
The second movement of the concerto, entitled simply “Moderato,” is based upon a song set to a Stephen Crane poem, the text of which “depicts a distant mountain peak that is forever unattainable.” Parallel thirds derived from the first movement make up the basic musical material of this movement, which begins with short, ethereal piano passages alternating with the homophonic texture and lush harmonies of the tutti.
Piano Sonata
Composed in 1996, Underhill’s Piano Sonata is, as the composer indicates, a work of “unusual proportions”: the first movement, entitled “Premonition,” is as long as all three of the other movements combined. In most other respects, however, Underhill’s sonata follows traditional form very closely, with its fast outer movements (the first in sonata form), a scherzo, and a slow movement.
Passacaglia
Underhill’s Passacaglia was composed in 1982 as a commission from the Bicycle Shop Dancers. As its title suggests, the piece features a recurring chord pattern which forms a ground bass. Underhill’s Passacaglia is also serial, using the intervals from the opening measures horizontally and vertically as the basis for the rest of the piece. The Passacaglia follows closely in the footsteps of earlier twentieth century composers who used the passacaglia structure, including Webern, Schoenberg, and Stravinsky. |
| | | | | | | Reviews | | “…Underhill writes music that carries an immediate impact, but which draws the listener back for subsequent hearings.
-Cleveland Free Times: Mark Satola |
|
|
