Ann Silsbee

Piano

2nd prize winning composition - David Burge' Contemporary Piano publication.

"Doors (1976) while it is not as difficult as Richard Wilson's Eclogue, Doors' unique timbral qualities require extraordinary sensitivity from the performer, who must quite literally, make the instrument "talk". The composer aptly uses the designation "quasi parlando" ("as if speaking").

The piece is in two parts, both of which make continuous use of the sostenuto (middle) pedal for various resonance effects that are essential to the work's effectiveness. The first part begins with tone clusters, some covering just a few notes, others covering several octaves. These are rolled, sometimes up, sometimes down, in a wide variety of combinations. The scoring makes sensible use of a combination of traditional and graphic notation. Soon these clusters are combined with single-pitch diatonic material in a dialogue between contrasts that is very effective. The first part concludes with a passage in fast notes and trills concentrated near the center of the keyboard.

Nearly all of the first part is quiet; the second part begins even more quietly with rapping sounds, under the keyboard at first, then on the fallboard, then on the keys but without pitches sounding and finally with very very soft pitches "graduatlly coming to life" as the composer specifies. This part builds up gradually, arriving at a climax with increasing abandon and fervor before recapitulating a short portion of the first part to bring the work to a close." (--David Burge)