Programme Note
Related works: my lips from speaking for piano
my lips from speaking for 2 pianos
my lips from speaking for 6 pianos
Composer note:The Huddersfield Festival in Northern England asked me to write a piece for Piano Circus, a British ensemble of 6 pianos. They were young pianists who had studied together in music school and with tons of brilliant energy formed the group fresh out of school. Since there aren’t many pieces written for 6 pianos they began commissioning new work. When I began writing
my lips from speaking I drew inspiration from a piano riff that Aretha Franklin plays at the top of her song “Think”. I took the 5 second ‘riff’ and elaborated on it for 17 minutes. The pianos become like large dancing beasts — clamoring out rhythms, bass lines, and fragmented overlapping tunes. Listen closely to this recording and you can hear the fiery pianist Lisa Moore, who plays all 6 parts, pound so hard on the keys that the strings rattle. During the recording session I thought the piano was going to fall apart.
— Julia Wolfe