Louis Karchin

Solo Piano

Composer's Note:

Boston pianist Stephen Drury premiered the Sonata-Fantasia at the height of the Omicron wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in January of 2022. The piece is in four parts played without pause; further, much of the music of the 1st section returns in the last one. The opening section is alternately declamatory and propulsive and leads into a lighter but equally energetic 2nd part, with a recurring theme in triplet rhythm centered on E flat that builds to a climax on an E Major chord overlaid onto a G sharp minor one. The air clears for a slower, more atmospheric 3rd part that sustains momentum with trills that form their own melodies and then transforms into a stately march. A second climax leads to the final section, introduced by a short, rhythmically incisive motif (this was the first idea I imagined in the creation of the Sonata). Further new motifs gradually arise and then begin to blend into the opening material to round out the form. The Sonata-Fantasia lasts approximately 15 minutes.