Landscape of Shadow and Light (download)

Description

Landscape of Shadow and Light

Piano solo – 5′
2012
In honor of the 88th birthday of Thelma Hunter from her family and friends,
whose lives have been enriched by her musical talents.
Premiere—2012 by the composer, St. Paul, MN.
8 pages

Program Note

Thelma Hunter and DET at Thelma’s 88th Birthday Party

Looked at abstractly, the keyboard is a little black-cliffed Dover coast. Or is it a delta, fed by thirty-odd rivers? It is certainly a landscape, the apparent contours of which change with the season and time of day. This piano work traces a Chopinesque path from F minor to A-flat major, but it moves through many other keys on its way, touching each of the 88—a requirement of the commission—and even implying some that aren’t there. And is that a Hardanger fiddle tune that pops up en route?

Thelma commissioned several pieces over the years, including The Belford Waltz, the song, Du bist die Zukunft, and the Cello Sonata, Pathways of Desire.

What an honor to be asked to write a piece in celebration of Thelma Hunter! What a pleasure to contemplate her many contributions to our musical life in Minnesota, and the grace of her friendship.

Thelma Hunter passed away in August of 2015, just shy of her 91st birthday.