For the Turn of Another Century
In 1997 I had the pleasure of meeting Alan Rea at a film scoring seminar at UCLA Long Beach. At the end of the month long session, Alan and his duet partner commissioned a work for piano, four hands (which means both players are using the same instrument and I have to make sure I’m not writing their fingers on top of each other).
For the Turn of Another Century was the happy result. That experience taught me many things, not the least of which is that a professional manner, even in casual company, will be rewarded by respect and work!
This performance was recorded in 2003 by UMKC doctoral candidates Vincent van Gelder and Inara Zandmane. I hope you’ll enjoy listening!
Here are the program notes from that 2003 recital/concert:
For the Turn of Another Century was commissioned by Alan Rea and Sylvia Park O’Neill in 1997. It is a series of reflections on a very simple 2 measure “lick” that separates and introduces each new section and contains the thematic material for the whole work. This idea, taken from a jazz ensemble performance at KU, adds to the fun and whimsical nature of the music. The influences of Debussy and Scott Joplin in the harmonic language of the piece determined the title, and were enthusiastically received by the commissioning duo who are regular openers at the annual West Coast Ragtime Festival. This work has been performed several times in the San Francisco bay area.
Copies of the score are available upon request.