Description

Eleven More Escapes for Piano offers the intermediate pianist a progressive range of graded contemporary pieces characterised with international, jazz and classical influences. Where locations …are evoked in Shifting Sands (India) Blues for Mrs Sippi (USA) and Antje’s Wood (Germany), Elk Dance and Twitter Feed connect with the the natural world, along with two abstract ‘space’ pieces in White Dwarf I & II. With more besides, pianists are guaranteed a unique musical journey full of colour and adventure. 1. Twitter Feed: Birds jostling for space at a feeding frenzy, knocking each other off and flying around in circles before landing again for more crumbs. 2. Shifting Sands: The swirling sand formations on an Arabian Sea coast. Evoking the spirit of a meditative raga, this piece was written after a tour of southwest India. 3. Elk Dance: The agile Elk deer with its two distinctive ivory tusk-like teeth can be found in the mountains of North America. All the notes are on the white keys of the piano, sometimes referred to as the “ivories”. 4. Melops: What you get if you cross a melon with a pair of flip-flops! Thanks to my seven-year-old son for the concept. 5. Atlantic Coast Express: Until 1964 the “ACE” ran the route between London and the coastal resorts of North Devon and Cornwall. Jump on board as it builds up steam, plunging through gullies and tunnels, emerging suddenly to dramatic vistas of cliffs, moors and sweeping bays, until it sighs to rest at its destination. 6. White Dwarf I: A “white dwarf” is a star at the end of its life that gives off a very faint luminosity. This piece can be played making full use of the pauses between each line. 7. Blues For Mrs Sippi: A river delta synonymous with the Blues, the mighty Mississippi lumbers its way through Memphis, Tennessee to the Gulf of Mexico. 8. Antje”s Wood: On the banks of the Rhein in Düsseldorf a small wood was planted in 2014 after a storm uprooted hundreds of trees. The plantation, and this piece, are dedicated to a friend – a wife and motherof two – who lost her battle with cancer tooearly in life. 9. Stopwatch: A short but rhythmically challenging piece with decrementing time signatures. 10. White Dwarf II: The second of two abstract “space” pieces explores the effect of over-ringing harmonics. This will only work on an acoustic piano! 11. Swan Song: An Epilogue.