for piano (2020)

Duration: [4:30]

 

Program Notes

“That was heavy”, like so many other phrases, depends on context for definition. For this piece, I choose to embrace two contexts: 1) the more literal meaning, and 2) as referring to an emotional or serious event.

After purchasing our first home, my wife, Kia, and I dove straight into multiple fix-up projects. Many of these involved solo trips to Menards and Lowe’s for Kia. On two momentous occasions, she was told by an older man that she could set a 5lb tire down on the ground before she got tired and by a younger assistant that he was surprised she could carry a few sheets of 2×2 plywood and fit them into her car by herself. Let the record show that both she and I are rock climbers used to pulling up most of our body weight on 1⁄4” crimps, so no need to be concerned about her strength.

In a sarcastic response to the described assumptions, That Was Heavy calls for the performer to play virtuosic gestures on the piano with an air of calm and also represents the importance of fun in a cluttered atmosphere of “heavy” global happenings.