Karim Al-Zand

composer

date

1995

duration

12 minutes

instrumentation

piano

awards

SOCAN National Young Composers Competition;
NACUSA Young Composers Competition, Honorable Mention;
Composer’s Guild Competition (Honorable Mention);
Harvard University’s ‘Bohemians’ Music Prize

movements

I. Quickly [Whirligig]
2. Extremely Slowly [Swan Song]
3. Ominous [Juggernaut]

premiere

March 20, 1995
Harvard Group for New Music:
David Horne, piano;

Paine Hall
Cambridge MA

Piano Sonata

for piano solo

about the piece:

Piano Sonata was written in the spring of 1995 for the composer and pianist David Horne, who gave the work its premiere. The titles of the three contrasting movements were important in my conception of the work; they are meant to be suggestive though not necessarily programmatic.

Whirligig n (Middle English, 15c): 1. a child's toy having a whirling, spinning motion; 2. a merry-go-round
Swan Song n (1831): 1. a lyrical melody of great sweetness said to be performed by a dying swan; 2. a farewell appearance or pronouncement
Juggernaut n (Hindi, from Jagannath; 1841): a massive inexorable force, movement or object that crushes whatever is in its path