Sunday, September 7, 2014

William Duckworth - The Time Curve Preludes

William Duckworth was the founder of Post-minimalism and his important Time Curve Preludes (1977-1978) define the style. I heard the whole work (24 preludes for piano, lasting almost an hour in entirety) on a nyc radio show years ago and I was instantly entranced. Enjoy. 




A champion of American new music, pianist Neely Bruce beautifully performs these now classic studies in a repetitive, yet highly engaging minimalist style. Each of the preludes expands upon an initial figure or pattern and travels through modalities suggesting world music of all sorts and, at times, historical periods. Some preludes are elegantly lyrical, some are plaintive and elegiac, and others rush along with whirling dance velocity in an eternal universe. Taking a cue from Cage's Études australes, Duckworth has the pianist depress selected lower keys, resulting in an accumulating drone that reverberates throughout each composition. This nearly hour-long series certainly bears comparison with, and arguably belongs with, the repertoire of other keyboard classics such as the Shostakovich Preludes and even the J.S. Bach Well-Tempered Clavier



http://www66.zippyshare.com/v/51425935/file.html


5 comments:

theblueamos said...

Sounds very promesing.All the very best from jerusalem

Tzadik said...

Hey theblueamos yes I hope you enjoy it, it's an important work stylistically and in the piano repertoire in general. -Do you ever go to see any of the Orchestras/Ensembles in Israel? I know there's several very fine ones. -Regards

Anonymous said...

I always wanted hear this!! Thanks from Spain

Tzadik said...

Happy I could help! Greetz from the States

Joe said...

Thank you so much for posting this! I have been looking for a copy for years... it's surprisingly difficult to track down for how important it is. Thanks again.