sumtone

:

st13.1.15st13.1.15

michael edwards

Stückchen

for piano

michael edwards

Stückchen

for piano

michael edwardsStuckchenfor piano

st13.1.15

sumtoneNeckarhalde 38D-72070 TubingenGermanyinfo@sumtone.comwww.sumtone.com

copyright c© 2003 sumtoneall rights reserved

programme note

Stuckchen is a set of five short piano pieces I wroteduring the spring and summer of 1995. They range inlength from 1:20 to 6:00 and in style from highly com-pressed and thematically obsessive to expansive, calm,and, perhaps, even soothing. What they demand of theperformer is both an accomplished technique with whichto effect the pianistic explosives of the faster, more ag-gressive pieces, as well as a creative and thoroughly mu-sical imagination to conquer the problems posed by amusical semi-vacuum: it is only through extremely sen-sitive musicianship that the performer is able to sustainlife within the stark musical texture of the final piece,whose purely technical demands, it must be said, wouldhardly exceed the abilities of an average seven-year-old.Success in performance then, relies on the subtle tonalshading and rhythmic placement of the piece’s slowlyrepeated notes. On the other hand, without a consid-erable ability to rapidly pound the keyboard (as well asa certain joy in doing so), the visceral urgency of thefirst and fourth pieces will not be adequately expressed.(The second and third pieces are of an altogether differ-ent nature, being concerned, as they are, with mattersharmonic and contrapuntal respectively.)

Overall, the set represents five rather diverse views ofthe piano, albeit views we already know from the abun-dant, perhaps even saturated, corpulent repertoire thatexists for the instrument. But this was my brief: to con-sciously attempt, in these days of digital technology andorganised noise, to extract something expressive from(only!) the keyboard and pedals of the piano, withoutregard for the grail-like search for the new, and with-out a grand unifying principle with which to bolster mynotes and rhythms, which, after all, add up to just fiveshort pieces of music for piano.

notes

• A concert grand with middle (sostenuto) pedal is required. The lidshould be open.

• Notes that appear with diamond heads are to be depressed silently.

• All of the important pedalling is indicated but additional pedallingmay be used as seems necessary to the player and the acoustic ofthe performance space.

• Accidentals carry throughout the bar but are repeated in parenthe-ses as deemed necessary.

approximate timings

I 1’20”II 3’00”III 2’00”IV 1’30”V 6’00”

Total 13’50”

33

3 sub. 3

8(cresc.)

3

dim.

sempre 3 3

( ad lib.)

5 cresc.

3 3

33

I

Rambunctious ( = 52)

3

tenuto

Stückchen

Michael Edwards 1995

copyright c© 2003 sumtone | all rights reserved st13.1.15

2

3

3 3 3

(dim.) cresc.

3 3

(cresc.)

(cresc.)

cresc.

sempre

sempre

11

14

16

19

st13.1.15

3

27 pochiss. 3delicato

8ba *

* Catch resonance of previous attack.

23Meno mosso ( = 40)

molto tranquillo e dolce

pochiss. pochiss.

22

3

3

21

(16th April)

st13.1.15

4

tre cordesost.

una corda

3

3

11

sub.

3

Fast yet delicate.

33

3

3

( ad lib.)

3

3

3 3

3

3

9

Piu Mosso ( = 48)

3

stringendo

33

3

a tempostringendo

3 3

Tempo I

sub.

3

5

3

3

una corda

Very slowly; freely; without time ( = 40 max.)poco

3sempre molto espressivopoco

8va

II

st13.1.15

5

una corda

sub.

18

tre corde

14

3

(1st May)

st13.1.15

6

5 3

7 3

35

5

3

3

5

5

33

3

56

5

(delicate)3

3 3

3

3

5

3

3 5

3

5 3

Smooth and precise; with an even tempoand as little pedal as possible ( = 40)

3

5

sempreIII

st13.1.15

7

3 3

sost.

18

3

( )

5

3

15

sub.

56

3

sub.

3

5 5

3

5

13

5

sub.

3

5

3

sub.

5

3

(Con Ped.)3

3 3

12

3 33

st13.1.15

8

(sost.)una corda

(Catch resonance)

poco

28poco 8va

(sost.)

poco

26Savagely

3

delicate

3

(sost.)

33

21

5

poco

(7th August)

st13.1.15

9

( sempre)

sempre

8va

sost.(left foot)

sempre

8va

(c.5-6")(loco)

sim.

Nimble ( = 84)

spikey

floating

(sost.)

(sost.)

(sost.)

8va

4

7

10

.

3

3 3 3 3 3

3 3 3 33

3 3

Lunga

IV

st13.1.15

10

13

16

19

22

(sost.)

(sost.)

(sost.)

(sost.)

8va

8va

8va

8va

3 3

3

3

sim.

st13.1.15

11

8ba

3 3(loco)

sost.

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

8ba

3 3 3 3 3 33 3

sim.

8ba

25

27

30

32

(Move on as quickly as possibleafter release of the damper pedal.)

st13.1.15

12

(sost.)

43

5:48va

(sost.)

40

(sost.)

37

5:4 8va

(sost.)

34( = )

8va

legato

sim.

st13.1.15

13

(sost.)

46

8va

20x

8va 8va

(19th May)

st13.1.15

14

una corda

tre corde

poco

12 (rit.) a tempo (senza rit.)poco

Meno Mosso ( = 42)

8 a tempo rit.

poco poco

4 a tempopoco

rit. a tempopoco

dim.

rit.

pocopoco

Very Simply ( = 52)

poco

rit. a tempopoco

rit.

V

st13.1.15

15

una corda

tre corde

dim.

una corda tre corde una corda tre corde

(sempre)

poco

Tempo I ( = 52)

rit. a tempo rit.

(rit.) a tempo a temporit.

*

* All accented notes in this measure are to be struck sfffz.

rit. a tempo

18

22

25

29

(25th July)

st13.1.15

16:59:09 Wed Sep 10 2003 GMT Standard Time