On the branch/ Auf dem Ast (2023)

Performance Notes

I began writing this piano piece in the second semester of my composition studies. My teacher gave me the challenging task of writing a piece that incorporated complex, modern rhythms. When imagining such rhythms, I thought of birds, which have very diverse and unusual motifs in their calls. With one exception, all the bird calls in the piece are imaginary. I only included a real bird call in the character who first appears in bars 141 and 143. The call of the bird musician Wren impressed me greatly, which is why I wanted to include it. I based my work on the following recording: https://youtu.be/vvZVcvxmOgo?si=9RJLi6kv3AY_f6O6&t=4
The piece is in a sequence form: A (mm. 1-57) B (mm. 58-86) C (mm. 86-141) D (mm. 142-195) E (mm. 196-end). The B section is based on an ostinato with call and response that runs throughout the entire section. As the piece progresses, I tried to steadily expand the register, especially in the lower register, so that by the end the entire keyboard is utilized and the entire range is reached.