CHARACTER PIECES FOR SOLO PIANO
This page explores a diverse collection of contemporary piano music and solo piano compositions. The repertoire features modern piano pieces and character studies, suitable for both recitals and solo performances.
VISIONS
for solo piano
Duration:
14:30 minutes
Instrumentation:
piano solo
Year Composed:
2018
Movements:
Camels and Arak
Road Bumps
Fur Hats
Flock & Smoke
Campanile Bugs
About Visions
Visions is a 14½‑minute cycle for solo piano that drifts between reality and mirage. Composed in 2018, the work unfolds like a sequence of heat‑haze illusions — fleeting images that shimmer, distort, and dissolve as quickly as they appear. The five movements offer glimpses of scenes that feel half‑remembered, half‑imagined, as though perceived through the wavering air of a mid‑hot day.
For the Performers
Level: Ideal for professional pianists; also suitable for advanced students exploring coloristic writing, atmospheric pacing, and character‑driven miniatures.
Programming: Works well in contemporary piano recitals, themed programs about illusion, perception, or dreamlike imagery, and concerts featuring short, evocative cycles.
Style: Five concise movements that behave like mirages — fleeting, distorted, and slightly surreal.
Program Notes
Visions explores the phenomenon of seeing what is not entirely there — the strange, playful, and sometimes disorienting images that arise in the mind when heat, light, and memory collide. Each movement presents a brief apparition: a momentary picture that flickers into view before dissolving back into the haze. These are not literal scenes but mirages shaped by atmosphere, imagination, and the instability of perception. The cycle invites the listener to wander through these shifting impressions, allowing each vision to appear, shimmer, and fade.
Movements:
-
Camels and Arak
-
Road Bumps
-
Fur Hats
-
Flock & Smoke
-
Campanile Bugs