Nocturne for Solo Piano
Performed by Anna Shelest (Piano)
The Nocturne genre is connected predominantly to the Romantic period and imposes certain established associations. This piece continues the traditional line of the nocturne as night music while trying to “sing” this “night song” in a new musical language. Night is a time when all sounds become more expressive: when the bustle of the day subsides, the quietest and most inconspicuous sounds of nature appear more intense. To reflect them, the work uses the extended timbral capabilities of the piano — traditional playing on the keys, chromatic clusters, playing the strings to create a harp-like timbre, muted sounds bringing out the overtones, and playing on the wood of the instrument like a percussion instrument. The piece was written for the composing competition “Creative Workshop on Interpretations of Contemporary Music” in 2019 and received the grand prize.