(Full Score). Composer note: The idea for a piano concerto for the
Boston Symphony was instigated by Robert Levin, the great Mozart scholar
and pianist. The idea was evidently embraced by BSO Artistic
Administrator Tony Fogg and supported by Music Director James Levine.
Much of the concerto was composed during the summer of 2004 at the
American Academy in Rome in a secluded studio hidden within the Academy
walls. While much of the composing took place far from home, the
concerto comes out as a particularly "American" piece, shot through with
vernacular elements. As in many of my compositions, simple, familiar
musical ideas are the starting point. A shape, a melodic fragment, a
rhythm, a chord, a texture, or a sonority may ignite the appetite for
exploration. How such simple insignificant things can be altered,
elaborated, extended, and combined becomes the exciting challenge of
composition. I also want the finished work to breathe in a natural way,
to progress spontaneously, organically, moving toward a transformation
of the musical substance in ways unimaginable to me when I began the
journey. Transformation is the goal, with the intention of achieving an
altered state of perception and exposure that I am otherwise unable to
achieve. "Chiavi in mano" the title of the concerto is the mantra used
by automobile salesmen and realtors in Italy: Buy the house or the car
and the keys are yours. But the more pertinent reason for the title is
the fact that the piano writing is designed to fall "under the hand" and
no matter how difficult it may be, it remains physically comfortable and
devoid of stress. In other words: "Keys in hand." Yehudi Wyner, December
13, 2004
