Non Sequitur Music Publishing: Twelve Miniatures for Piano

Twelve Miniatures for Piano

Play I. Ginastera from
Twelve Miniatures for Piano.

Play III. Games from
Twelve Miniatures for Piano.

Play V. Dunes from
Twelve Miniatures for Piano.

Play VI. Pulse from
Twelve Miniatures for Piano.

Play VII. Playful from
Twelve Miniatures for Piano.

Play XI. Ragged from
Twelve Miniatures for Piano.

Play XII. Birds from
Twelve Miniatures for Piano.

These recordings are from a live
performance by James Lowe.

Composer: David Heuser
Instrumentation: Piano
Year Composed: 1999
Duration: 21 minutes
Pages (score): 32 pages
Cost: Purchase: $10.00

Movements:
I. Ginastera
II. Going By
III. Games
IV. Bells
V. Dunes
VI. Pulse
VII. Playful
VIII. Nocturne
IX. Thorn
X. For Gwyneth
XI. Ragged
XII. Birds

Reviews:

Performance by James Lowe (2/2001) of ten of the Miniatures (Thorn and Bells were not performed) reviewed in the San Antonio Express News by Mike Greenburg:

"In the course of a revelatory solo recital on Thursday, pianist James Lowe gave the premiere of David Heuser's Miniatures for Piano, 10 short pieces composed between 1985 and 1999.

"Heuser's idiom is in the modernist mainstream of stretched tonality and clear expressive purpose.

"His miniatures reflect back on several important currents of the past century. One is a percussive, rhythmically vibrant homage to Alberto Ginastera; another is a nervous rag. Others are variously jaunty, tender or pensive. All are exceptionally well-crafted, and all contain a lot more music than the term "miniature" might suggest."

Program Notes:

These twelve short piano pieces were written between 1985 and 1999, although all of the earlier ones were revised and refined around 1998-1999. The impulses which led to the composition of each piece were varied, as were my original intentions for quite a number of them. Games, Bells, Ragged, Birds and Playful were all culled from a piano suite. Ginastera and Dunes were the only successes in an aborted attempt to create a set of twelve-tone preludes all based on the same row (but all radically different). The other five were all written at various times for various reasons, most notably number X, which was written after my daughter Gwyneth was born. The Nocturne was the last to be composed.

Why twelve? It seemed that it was time to put these in order, give them all names and send them out in the world. If I write some more (and I suspect I will), they can begin the next set.

Non Sequitur Music Publishing
2112 Ontario Street
Bellingham, WA 98229
USA
(360) 733-7145
Email: nsm@nonsequiturmusic.com