solo piano
Premiered by Richard Mapp
In tempo di guerra, in tempo di tristezza is a statement of both public and private sadness. As I wrote this piece, I struggled to contain my feelings about world events, and about personal difficulties facing me at the time. I also struggled to write this piece: my feelings towards the piano as a contemporary instrument have been ambivalent in the past, and I found it difficult to formulate something that satisfied me artistically. I also found it hard to create a tangible emotional quality, without becoming sentimental. Now I think I have made an uneasy peace with the piano, and this piece guided me there.
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