Nine Piano Pieces
for
piano solo

Between
Kids
Had
To Wit
Loose Canon
Rising Early
Figurine
Fever
Glimpse

by
Robert Morris

Program Notes

I didn't intend to write nine piano pieces. First came Rising Early, in five parts. I recomposed the middle part and called it Between. This was in the summer of 1999. But in the autumn I became interested in exploring the material further. So I kept composing a piece a week until I had nine--actually ten, since I composed another related but independent piece called Still in the summer of 2000.

All nine, while contrasting in mood and technical difficulty, are based on related 35-note strings, four of which are presented at once. The titles were added after composition, but each seems to fit its piece well. For instance, Kids is playful, Had suggests loss, Loose Canon is canonic, Rising Early slowly goes up.

Nine Piano Pieces was written for and dedicated to Margaret Kampmeier.