Piano Pieces
listed chronologically, oldest to newest
Impromptu in B Minor
I. Carton
The first step in cooking eggs is usually to remove them from the carton. This movement begins with a 12-note melody, which gradually loses 1 note at a time (as each egg is removed from the carton). This reduction in eggs is also depicted by the shrinking interval of the left-hand ostinato, from an octave (12 half steps/eggs) down to a unison ‘E’ (by which point the carton has been completely emptied). [Mvt. 1 of The Egg Suite]
II. Eggshell Waltz
It takes a careful cook to handle eggs—with one careless move, your egg may splatter onto the floor. This waltz reflects the precarious nature of an egg. Picture an uncracked egg wobbling weirdly on a countertop, or the jagged, fragile edges of a freshly cracked eggshell. [Mvt. 2 of The Egg Suite]
III. Benedict
We’re skipping past sunny-side-up and plunging into poached territory. A difficult dish, requiring patience and precision, brought to my mind the poise and elegance of a royal character. Let’s call him King Benedict. This quasi-invention, built off of a subject which begins with “E, G#, G#,” seems to capture the stately nature of the king. [Mvt. 3 of The Egg Suite]
IV. Scrambled
A 12-tone row led to this musical scramble. It’s serialism at its most literal: the pitch class order was derived from serial codes from three egg cartons, with a starting pitch of E—for “EGG” of course! [Mvt. 4 of The Egg Suite]
V. Devilish
The most sinister of egg preparations. Within the piece are numerous instances of bedeviled devices, namely the diabolus en musica (a.k.a. the tri-tone) and metrical groupings of 6-6-6 (e.g. 6/4 time signature). [Mvt. 5 of The Egg Suite]
