Corgliano's Etude Fantasy

I have been completely consumed by a piano work by the American composer John Corigliano. The piece is called Etude Fantasy and it addresses a series of modern technical difficulties through the form of a fantasy, which is essentially free form and almost improvisatory in its writing. This week I invite you to check out a recording (one of the few) of the fourth movement of this work performed by David Jalbert.

There are not many recordings of this work and I've set the piece in my sights because I believe I have some unique ideas in terms of my own interpretation. I have been working on the first movement which is for the left hand alone and have yet to tackle this fourth movement. All of the movements are connected by a common thread, a group of six pitches (a tone row) and a "melodic germ" as the composer refers to it. If you enjoy this movement and are interested in hearing the rest let me know and I will post it for you. Or better yet, pick up the recording, it is exceptional and includes other modern works by Rzewski.

This is an important example as it is the first of my "clips of the week" to address modern notation. Just a quick look at the first page and it is obvioius we are not dealing with Beethoven here. What are some of the interesting and unique notational issues you notice when following along?

Corigliano - Etude Fantasy (mov 4) PDF (BEGINS ON PAGE 19)
David Jalbert, piano mp3