Repertoire
John McGuire: 48 Variations for two pianos (1976-80) 55’
Artists
Mark Knoop and Roderick Chadwick, piano
Program
John McGuire is one of the outstanding figures of post-70s music, influenced by his years working in the Westdeutscher Rundfunk electronic music studio in Cologne and by the pioneering experimentalism of the US music scene. His music draws together American experimentalism, total serialism and the world of Karlheinz Stockhausen to create the fascinating and unmistakable blend that many refer to as “post-minimalism”.
48 Variations for two pianos is a work commissioned by Herbert Henck, constructed on a series of patterns, building up the rhythm over time in a multi-layered structure. A complex, but intimate, universe of sound drawn from a harmonious sound source, immersing the listener in an ecstasy of perceptual uncertainty.
