Three Mini Etudes in C (2011)
for piano
Commission:
Renée B. Fisher Piano Competition
Premiere:
Apr 2012, New Haven, CT
Lloyd Chen (piano), high school division competition winner
Recording:
Live Recording, Apr 2014, Washington University in St. Louis
Juri Seo (piano)
Program note:
Each movement of Three Mini Etudes in C is based on a simple idea that quickly goes awry. The first movement begins with Hanon-exercise-like scalar motions. It builds on the idea of mistakes: hands fail to coordinate, fingers stumble on wrong notes, and keys get stuck. The second movement is based on triadic chords and resonance. The differences between sustained and short tones create harmonic ambiguities in an otherwise simple texture. The violent third movement is rock-inspired; its tempo changes create a sensation of continuous accelerando.
Three Mini Etudes in C was written in the Fall of 2011 for the Renee Fisher Piano Competition, High School Division.