Northern Spire

About Three Etudes:

Three Etudes (1998) is a set of three pieces composed both as compositional and piano technical studies.  While they are "etudes", they are composed in the tradition of challenging studies that are also suitable for concert performance, like the etudes of Chopin or Gershwin.  The focus of Etude 1 is on rhythmic and pitch accuracy between the two hands, with the piece being mostly in 5/8 meter and utilizing jagged harmonies and melodic shapes.  Etude 2 is a slow piece which focuses on the keyboard tremolo, and it can be very tricky to keep the wrists relaxed enough through the entire piece to keep the tremolos smooth and effective.  Etude 3 presents several challenges to the pianist, while rounding out the set of three with an enjoyable rhythmic groove.

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Please click on the title page image above for sample pages from the score. (Only a page or two from each etude is included here.)

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The piece has never been publicly performed in full (it is rather challenging!), but below is a MIDI rendering.