by Bruce Stark solo piano, about 22 minutes (51 pages) Belle-Kane Publications $19.99 (US) |
 2. Fugue 3. Interlude 4. Waltz 5. Chorale 6. Finale |
Suite For Piano was recorded by British pianist Seann Alderking on his 2006 release entitled Vivid, available on-line through Red Kite Records. | 
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Program Notes
Suite For Piano could have been titled Sonata, as its outer movements possess many sonata-like characteristics, and the piece was conceived as a unified whole in which certain themes and motifs permeate all movements. While its scale and technical formidability are also suggestive of a sonata, I favored suite because of the baroque roots of movements two (Fugue) and five (Chorale), and do to its six-movement form.
The piece opens with a robust, proclammatory Fanfare, rich in materials used throughout the work, followed by Fugue in which a syncopated, jazz-inspired subject is woven into an extensive contrapuntal tapestry. The "B-A-C-H" signature motif (B flat, A, C, B natural) appears along the way (a salute to the master), influencing the fugue and subsequent movements. After a strictly 4-voice exposition the texture becomes more flexible, mixing counterpoint with pianistic elements, and several fugal techniques also appear in the writing such as augmentation, inversion, and stretti. At one point the harmonic tension reaches its peak as the subject's opening 4-note motive is played in dense clusters, like large drums stubbornly pounding out its contour. The first 4 notes of the themes in both Fanfare and Fugue serve as primary motivic material for the suite as a whole (the BACH motif itself is a compression of the fugue theme's opening notes).
Interlude is an offering of meditative repose after the outpourings of the first two movements. It is introspective, touched with longing, and improvisational in character. An underlying element of subtle harmonic tension interacts with passages of beauty and resonance, imparting a sense of uncertainty. Though not a conscious intention, I have been told that this movement possesses a Japanese sensibility, no doubt resulting from my many years living in Tokyo.
The pace picks up again with Waltz, perhaps lightest in character of the movements, the theme of which is a re-working of the fanfare's opening melody. Developing with shimmering, decorative passages where barlines seem to dissolve then re-focus, the music is fickle and flamboyant, but never betrays its identity as a waltz.
Like Interlude, Chorale brings tranquility and composure to the sequence, and with its hymn-like lyricism it gives us a place to breathe deeply before the final movement takes us for a ride. More songful than its close companion Interlude, Chorale represents the heart, the soul of this composition. In the center of the movement, a quiet contrapuntal passage serenely ascends to the extreme high register, ending with a subtle reference to the Bach motif, as though his spirit was briefly passing through the musical fabric.
In keeping with its title, Finale is a virtuosic piece in which elements from previous movements are focused into a fast, syncopated culmination of the suite. Its primary theme, aggressive and bluesy, derives from part of the fugue's subject, while its second theme, dancing along with child-like innocence, borrows from the opening theme of Fanfare.
Suite For Piano was composed in 2003 for pianist Seann Alderking, in gratitude and appreciation of his long-term friendship and his extraordinary gifts as a musician. A special thanks goes to pianist Chika Nagisa, who premiered the work in Tokyo and has given it numerous performances throughout Japan, and to Seann Alderking for his assistance and advice in editing and preparing the final manuscript.