Walter H. Rubsamen Music Library

9 Expressions for Piano (2021) was finished during Covid-19 lockdown, though the opening piece was written in 1990. Expression No. 1 “Dark” is based on an octatonic scale and the Fibonacci sequence. Expression No. 2 “Whimsical” is a bitonal, bittersweet waltz, with the left hand in G major and the right in C# minor. Expression No. 3 “ Presto: Too many things happening at once, can’t cope and can’t keep up…. ” utilizes all three octatonic scales, opening with groups of five figuration against the melody in the left. Expression No. 4 “Slow in time and space” uses parallel seventh chords as a backdrop for a melody reminiscent of empty streets on a cold winter’s night. Expression No. 5 “ Moving on different planes, in seemingly different universes” is contrapuntal, with the opening melody developed in a four-voice fugue. Expression No. 6 “Fleeting” uses seconds (dyads) for melodic and harmonic material. The chromatic melody for Expression No. 7 “Quizzical” was taken down in a sketchbook after the composer’s daughter asked her a question, with her inflection reflected in the opening musical line. Expression No. 8 “Leisurely” is based on a tone row and inspired by the first piece of Schoenberg’s Op. 19. Expression No. 9 “Fast” utilizes quartal harmonies and patterns.

Recorded on Expressions: Piano Music by Kirsten Johnson (CRC 4095).

This music score was submitted for Resonate 2024: An Open Access Call for Scores by the UCLA Music Library.