SHOULD THE WIDE WORLD ROLL AWAY (2018)
For Piano Solo
Duration ca. 4:00
PROGRAM NOTES
Should the Wide World Roll Away was composed for pianist Jenny Lin, as part of her Etudes Project, Vol. 1. The piece is very much an etude, in the sense that it explores multiple aspects of virtuosity (specifically emphasizing irregular beat groupings and cross-staffed accompaniment figures). However, I strove in the piece to depict a nuanced emotional palette as well. The title comes from Steven Crane’s poem of the same name:
Should the wide world roll away
Leaving black terror
Limitless night,
Nor God, nor man, nor place to stand
Would be to me essential
If thou and thy white arms were there
And the fall to doom a long way.
Commissioned and premiered by Jenny Lin. Premiered by Jenny Lin at (le) Poisson Rouge, New York, NY (January 2019)
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