Rapids (Piano Concerto No. 2), Joan Tower

Work Information

Joan Tower : Rapids (Piano Concerto No. 2)

Publisher	Associated Music Publishers Inc
Category	Soloist(s) and Orchestra
Year Composed	1996
Duration	15 Minutes
Solo Instrument(s)	Piano
Orchestration	2.2.2.2/2.2.1.0/timp.perc/str
Availability	Hire Explain this...

Programme Note

Digital perusal score available from ScoresOnDemand

Rapids was commissioned by the University of Wisconsin in honor of their 100th anniversary and is dedicated to pianist Ursula Oppens.

Composer Note:

Ursula had asked me to write a more "difficult" piece than my Piano Concerto (a work she is recording in May with the Louisville Orchestra) — one that was technically more challenging. I decided to see if I could write a fast and short piece (well, not that short — the piece lasts around 13 minutes) that very rarely stopped or slowed down in intensity. In fact, there is only one place where Rapids gets a little more relaxed. Before the first cadenza, there is a brief trio of two flutes and a violin that is slow and soft, but once the piano comes back in, the notes are soft but fast again. The title also suggests a river that is moving fast and furiously.

— Joan Tower

Reviews

The third piece was Rapids, composed by Joan Tower, professor of music at Bard, in response to a request by Ursula Oppens for a technically challenging piece. The pianist was another undergraduate — Shun-Yang Lee, who played with great virtuosity. The excellent program notes — written by another undergraduate, David Bloom — claim the intense forward motion of the piece comes from the soloist. But in this case the unstoppable beat that powers the piece came from Botstein. The piece was short, powerful, and fun.
David Griesinger, The Boston Musical Intelligencer, 06/05/2011
Ursula Oppens, piano soloist, was a powerhouse, bringing explosive sound to this colorful and very dramatic work… Cascading sound, rippling up the piano and down the strings, flew off into the other sections with musical material that grabbed this listener’s ear and didn’t let go. The piece was driven as much by linear movement as by the powerful rhythmic figures.
Howard Vogel, Woodstock Times, 11/09/1997

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