All the composers on this CD share two things in common: their ties to Alberta, Canada, and their connection to a series of student-teacher relationships that spans three generations. Pianist/composer Heather Schmidt provides a compelling programme of Canadian piano works written during the last decade of the 20th century.

INTRODUCTION

All the composers represented on this CD share two things in common: their ties to Alberta, Canada, and their connection to a series of student-teacher relationships that spans three generations. All of us have lived in Canada as "Alberta composers" for a significant portion of our musical careers. I was born in Calgary, Alberta and lived there until I was 18 years old. Calgary was also the home of composer Allan Bell. I first met Allan Bell when I was 8 years old, and I later studied composition with him as a private student in Calgary for several years prior to leaving for university. Allan Bell continues to play an important role in my life. He is a kind and wise mentor, and I have the greatest respect and admiration for him as a teacher and person. Allan Bell stands in the middle of the lineage of student-teacher relationships. He studied with Malcolm Forsyth and he also taught Kelly-Marie Murphy.

The three solo piano works of my own on this CD are presented in reverse chronological order, beginning with the most recent. Although some elements of my music have changed over time, I believe that other aspects of my style have remained constant. My compositions exhibit many different levels of intensity, mood, color, and expression, but all of my music is derived from emotional inspiration and vivid imagery.

As a pianist, my interpretation of all music, including my own, grows and develops with time. My performances of Solus and Chaconne have changed dramatically in the process of performing them numerous times in concert. Although I have not made any significant changes to the written scores of these two pieces, within the limits of what is indicated in the score, I have made many adjustments in performance details such as tempo, dynamics, pedaling, and voicing. I do not consider my newer interpretations to be superior by comparison to the earlier ones - they are simply different in the sense that they reflect my evolution as an artist through the experience of multiple performances. In contrast to Chaconne and Solus, I finished composing Sprint only a couple weeks before the recording session. My interpretation of Sprint will undoubtedly evolve over time as well, but my initial vision of the piece was captured by recording the piece so soon after I composed it.

I hope you enjoy the CD. If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you. My website contains my e-mail and up-to-date contact information at: www.heatherschmidt.com.

HEATHER SCHMIDT

Pianist and composer, Heather Schmidt, has emerged as one of the most exciting and versatile musicians of her generation. She has received national and international recognition through performances, broadcasts, commissions and awards in Canada, the United States, Europe and South America. Originally from Calgary, Alberta, Ms. Schmidt is now based in the United States.

Ms. Schmidt received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from Indiana University with double majors in composition and piano performance. In 1996, at the age of 21, she became the youngest student to ever receive a Doctor of Music degree from this institution. She also completed two years of professional studies at Juilliard in New York City, studying composition with Milton Babbitt and piano with Yoheved Kaplinsky.

Having begun piano lessons at age four, Ms. Schmidt made her first public appearance at age six and has performed extensively ever since. She regularly performs solo recitals and concertos across Canada and abroad. Her awards in piano performance include first prize in the 2001 Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition, and First Place, the Audience Choice Award, and the Maestro's Choice Millennium Foundation Award at the 2000 Canadian Concerto Competition.

Ms. Schmidt has been composing since the age of five. At age six, she received her first recognition in composition and at age nine, one of her piano compositions was published. She has since won many prestigious national and international prizes in composition including: a Juno nomination for her Cello
Concerto in the category of "Best Classical Composition" (2003); prizewinner of the Polytech Choir's 100th Anniversary Composition Competition (Finland, 2003); 3 consecutive BMI Awards (1993, 1994, 1995); SOCAN Composer Awards (1994, 1997); a Fleck Fellow Award from the Banff Centre (2001); the Zwilich Prize in the International League of Women Composers Competition (1994, 1996); the Dean's Composition Prize at Indiana University (1993, 1994); and the 1994 Robert Fleming Prize from Canada Council. She has received commissions from sources such as the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), Canada Council, the Alberta Foundation, WDR (Westdeutsches Rundfunk in Germany), the Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center, and the New York State Council for the Arts.

Other commercial recordings of Ms. Schmidt's music include: her string quartet Phantoms, performed by the Amernet Quartet on a CD entitled "Music from Banff - Live from Carnegie Hall" (Marquis label, EMI Canada), and, her Cello Concerto, recorded by cellist Shauna Rolston with the CBC Vancouver Orchestra under Mario Bernardi on "This is the Colour of My Dreams" released by CBC Records.

In addition to maintaining a busy performing schedule, Ms. Schmidt is also composer-in-residence for the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra in Ontario, Canada (2002-2005). She has previously been composer-in-residence for numerous festivals, including the Strings of the Future Festival in Ottawa and the Schloss Elmau Festival in Germany, and has had short-term residencies with the Niagara Symphony, Orchestra London Canada, and the Banff Centre.

Sprint (2003) - I wrote Sprint for Dan Galper (who was my fiancé at the time, and is now my husband). Dan is particularly fond of fast, virtuostic works, so I wrote the piece as a concert etude for piano. The main connection specific to Dan, is that both Dan and I owned Sprint cell phones. Since I travel frequently, cell phones are a common form of communication for us. When the Sprint phone is first opened and turned on, it plays four notes: CCC-G. These same notes became the “sprint motive” for my piece. This motive is found at the very opening of the work and serves as the basis for the musical material throughout the entire composition.

Although I rarely rearrange a composition for instruments different from the original version, this piece is one exception. In fact, my initial concept for this piece arose when I was asked to compose a work for brass band and orchestra as part of my composer residency with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. With these instrumental forces in mind, I had the idea of the brass band and orchestra being pitted against each other as if in a race. I simultaneously had the thought of composing a piano version of the same piece in which the two hands, rather than the two ensembles, are racing against one another. I first composed Sprint in the version for piano solo, and I premiered this version in Toronto at the Music Gallery on May 3, 2003. Although the work is clearly written as a virtuosic showpiece specifically for piano, at times, a simulation of the sound of brass instruments is present, especially in the chordal sections at the very beginning and very end. I composed a modified version of the piano piece and named it Sprint II for brass band and orchestra. The premiere of this version took place on November 8, 2003 and it was performed by the Hannaford Street Silver Band and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Michael Reason.

Chaconne (1999) - Chaconne was composed in New York City, and completed January-February 1999. It was commissioned by the CBC as the imposed work for the piano category of the 1999 CBC Young Performers’ Competition. As a “test piece,” the composition was designed to provide numerous musical and technical challenges through which the personal artistry and technical skills of each performer would be revealed.

In Chaconne, the concept of variations based on a series of chords is loosely applied to various levels of the composition. The chords in the opening several measures recur throughout the work, appearing in various configurations as solid chords and/or as broken arpeggiated figures. The series of chords are subjected to many changes involving elements such as register, voicing, and dynamics. They appear alone and in juxtaposition with other material. Although the opening chords are not the only harmonies to be subjected to variation, they serve as a unifying element and most often appear with the same pitches as the initial presentation.

On the largest scale, the Chaconne principle is applied to the overall structure of the piece. The Chaconne is divided into two halves, with the second half consisting of a variation of all the harmonies in the first half of the composition. Although there are some sections from the first half which are omitted, expanded, or re-ordered in the second half, the general outline of harmonies between the two halves can be followed from beginning to end.

On the smallest level, the idea of varying harmonies occurs within phrases and even individual measures in which brief series of harmonies will appear consecutively with changes of transposition, voicing, or added or deleted notes.

The most important aspect of the Chaconne is the emphasis on change. This appears in everything from subtle harmonic changes to dramatic shifts in tempo, dynamics, and register. The continual shift of color and character occurs from section to section, and also between the initial presentation of an idea, and its recurrence later in the piece. Passages in the first half of the Chaconne return in the second half with the same harmonies, but in a completely new context, and with a very contrasted character.

Solus (1996) - Solus was composed in New York City in November 1996. It was commissioned by the Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center and was premiered by pianist Emma Tahmizian in January 1997 at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City. The word “solus” means “alone, by oneself.” In composing the work, I imagined a flow of thoughts and vivid images passing through a person’s mind, with the freedom and ease that comes from being alone, without external distractions. This concept of thoughts flowing from one idea to the next is reflected in the free form of the composition, with frequent shifts in mood, rhythm, tempo and texture. Although many aspects of the music are constantly evolving, the thematic material in the piece is closely related, with musical connections and relationships being established through constant development and variation of gestures and motives introduced in the opening section.

KELLY-MARIE MURPHY

Kelly-Marie Murphy was born in 1964 in Sardinia, Italy and grew up on Armed Forces bases all across Canada. She began her studies in composition at the University of Calgary and later received a Ph.D. in composition from the University of Leeds in England. After living and working for many years in the Washington, D.C. area, she is now based in Ottawa where she lives with her husband and young daughter.

In addition to many academic scholarships awarded in Canada and England, Dr. Murphy has also won prizes for her music. She was awarded first prize in the New Works Calgary Composer's Competition in 1992; was shortlisted for the Cornelius Cardew Composition Prize, and was awarded first prize in the Bradford Young Composer's Competition for Electro-Acoustic Music in Dance in 1993; won first prize and the People's Choice Award at the CBC Young Composer's Competition in 1994 (string quartet category); received 2 honorable mentions in the New Music Concerts competition in 1995; earned fifth place at the International Rostrum of Composers in Paris in 1996 for her first orchestra piece, From the Drum Comes a Thundering Beat…; was awarded first and second prizes in the Maryland Composer's Competition at Loyola College in Baltimore, 1998; was awarded third place in the Alexander Zemlinsky Prize for Composition in 1999 for her work, Utterances; won first place in the International Horn Society’s Composer’s Competition in 2001 for Departures and Deviations; and won first prize in the Centara Corporation New Music Festival Composer’s Competition in 2003 for her harp concerto, And Then At Night I Paint the Stars. Dr. Murphy has completed short residencies at the Snowbird Institute for the Arts, Utah; Tapestry Music Theatre/Canadian Opera Company, Toronto; rESOund Festival of Contemporary Music, Edmonton; Strings of the Future International String Quartet Festival, Ottawa; Encounters/Soundstreams, Toronto; and the Banff Centre for the Arts.

Star Burning Blue (2000) - Star Burning Blue was commissioned by the Esther Honens International Piano Competition for Maxim Philippov who was the first laureate of the 1996 competition. It is a single movement work lasting approximately eight minutes, and roughly depicts the life cycle of a main sequence, supergiant star. Main sequence stars, such as the sun, make up 90% of the stars seen from Earth. Some supergiant stars are of a high luminosity and shine with a blue light which indicates their high temperature. The strong gravity of the massive star attracts more and more matter to it, giving it greater mass. This, in turn, magnifies the star’s gravitational influence, which increases the rate at which it can gather more matter. The bigger the blue star becomes, the brighter it shines, and the faster it burns its nuclear fuel, until the inevitable stellar explosion. Then the cycle begins again in the remnants of the supernova.

This piece explores a musical cycle of power and energy, where stability spins out of control and then is regained. The tempo increases, the range becomes more and more extreme. When the shattering finally occurs, time is slowed by relativistic effects as high energy fragments rush out into the vacuum. The irony is that this peaceful moment is created by violent destruction. As the particles of music drift, they are eventually caught in their mutual attraction and coalesce once again.

ALLAN GORDON BELL

Allan Gordon Bell was born in Calgary in 1953. He received a Master of Music degree from the University of Alberta where he studied with Violet Archer, Malcolm Forsyth, and Manus Sasonkin. He also did advanced studies in composition at the Banff Centre for the Arts where his teachers were Jean Coulthard, Bruce Mather, and Oskar Morawetz.

He has created works for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, orchestra, band, and electroacoustic media. His works have been performed by the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Orford String Quartet, the Purcell String Quartet, the ensembles of Toronto New Music Concerts, Arraymusic and the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec, and many other professional and amateur organizations in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, West Germany, Israel, and Japan. In 1988, his Concerto for Two Orchestras was performed at the Olympic Arts Festival; in 1989, his Arche II was performed by the finalists at the Banff International String Quartet Competition and was sent by the CBC as the English Network submission to the International Rostrum of Composers in Paris; in 1992, his An Elemental Lyric was performed at Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kennedy Centre in Washington, D.C., and Symphony Hall in Boston; and in 1996, his Danse sauvage was the imposed piece for the 1996 Esther Honens International Piano Competition. The Association of Canadian Choral Conductors presented him with an award for outstanding choral compositions in both 1994 and 1999. In February of 2001, the Calgary Opera Association and Quest Theatre presented the premiere performances of his chamber opera Turtle Wakes, and in August of 2001, Ensemble Resonance presented the Asian premiere of his a great arch softening the mountains at the Cantai International Festival in Taipei. In February of 2002, Bell was the distinguished visiting composer at the Winnipeg New Music Festival where four of his compositions were performed by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. CBC Records has released a CD entitled Spirit Trail: The Music of Allan Gordon Bell that contains five of his orchestral pieces.

Bell is Professor of Music at the University of Calgary. From 1984 to 1988, he served as President of the National Board of the Canadian Music Centre. His music is available from the Canadian Music Centre, Alberta Keys and Gordon V. Thompson Music.

Danse sauvage (1996) - Danse sauvage is a challenging piece, characterized by a rapid tempo and energetic syncopated rhythms, providing the pianist with the opportunity to unleash some muscular passion. With its stabbing chords, rapid arpeggiation, abrupt changes in dynamics, and jagged melodic lines replete with mini-canons, this piece makes use of the keyboard’s complete range. The musical language is tonal, but non-triadic, freely using all the twelve notes in all of its phrases.

Formally, the piece is highly sectional with a quasi-spiral structure (ABCACDC…) After it reaches its climax, the performer is given a short progression of ten slow chords that, in the manner of a chaconne, forms the skeleton for a series of improvised variations. After finishing the improvisation, the performer returns to the composed music at the low end of the piano. The improvisation for this recording is created by Heather Schmidt. The structure then follows a reverse spiral of the previous material. The work ends with a couple of surprises.

Danse sauvage was commissioned by the Esther Honens International Piano Competition with the assistance of the Imperial Oil Charitable Foundation. It is dedicated to Andrew Raeburn, John Roberts and Steve Shu.

MALCOLM FORSYTH

Canadian composer Forsyth continues to enjoy a distinguished international career as a much-performed writer of more than one hundred works, including three symphonies, much other orchestral music, chamber music (especially for brass and strings), vocal and instrumental solos and more recently, choral music.

He was named "Canadian Composer of the Year" by the Canadian Music Council in 1989, and has received many other awards, including three JUNOs for "Best Classical Composition" -- 1987, 1994 and 1998 since his arrival in Canada from his native South Africa in 1968. He took up his post as Professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton in the same year, and is now Composer-in-Residence there. Distinguished performers such as Maureen Forrester, Charles Dutoit and Judith Forst have commissioned and premiered his works; his works have seen performances on six continents. The year 1995 saw the première of his new JUNO-winning Cello Concerto, Electra Rising, by his daughter, star cellist Amanda Forsyth, and more recently Siyajabula! We rejoice! for orchestra, premiered by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. A celebratory CD of Electra Rising, his saxophone concerto Tre Vie, and Valley of a Thousand Hills for chamber orchestra, was released in 1997, and one of Sun Songs, with Judith Forst (mezzo-soprano) in 2000. The years 1999 and 2000 were especially prolific ones for Forsyth, with no fewer than ten new works entering the catalogue.

Other Centrediscs compact discs featuring the music of Malcolm Forsyth are Masquerade (CMCCD 3488), Quintette (CMCCD 5595), and Canadian Composers Portraits: Malcolm Forsyth (CMCCD 8802).

All of his music is administered by the Italian publishing house Casa Ricordi, Milan.

Je répondrais… (1997) - The work contains three pieces, and in the spirit of a response to three great composers, Forsyth has written these pieces either with a real title by that composer, the nickname of a work or, in the case of the second, with a cryptic reference to the composer himself.

à Purcell: Fantazia upon One Note. Purcell's famous piece of this name for string quintet has the second viola play the pitch B in whole-notes exclusively, while the others take the music to the boundaries of harmonic variety as they weave their contrapuntal web. Forsyth chooses the same pitch, B, one octave higher, and challenges the pianist to create an expressive richness in a sparse texture.

à Schumann: Thumb-piano. Robert Schumann's huge lexicon of pianistic inventions exploits the expressive character of the player's thumbs to an unprecedented degree, melodic material frequently appearing in the middle of the texture. The name of a uniquely African musical instrument supplies the title as well as a veiled reference to Schumann's manual problems which destroyed his career as a pianist by disabling several fingers. Forsyth here weaves a web of arabesque-like figures built around the player's two thumbs.

à Chopin: White-key Study in African mode. The Etude op.10 nº5 in G-flat major is commonly known by its nickname, The Black-key Study. Forsyth has written his piece entirely on the white keys of the piano and with the character of an African improvisation, recalling his earliest musical experiences in his native South Africa. Asymmetrical measures and contrapuntal cross-currents abound.

The work was commissioned by Stéphane Lemelin through Radio-Canada, and was first performed by him on November 27, 1997 at Convocation Hall in Edmonton, Alberta.

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