Flourishes (2020)
for piano
Duration: ca. 12'
First performed: February 8th, 2021 at The Juilliard School by the composer
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I. Fluido, energico
II. Arietta. Largo, dolente
III. Estatico
Program Note
This work represents my first true attempt at what I hesitate to call a “pure” piano piece: an abstract work focused mainly on exploring the musical possibilities and historical baggage of the instrument and its repertoire. The title refers to a capricious, virtuosic, improvisatory feeling displayed throughout the work. My endeavor to precisely control the free-flowing, organic qualities found in a performer’s interpretation of any work—to take interpretive qualities and wrangle them into the boundaries of meter and tempo—has also made the work a kind of compositional etude. The first and second movements are mainly lyrical in character, with the second movement imitating the form of a da capo aria. The third movement explores a more archaic definition of the word flourish with a main theme that takes on the character of a fanfare.