Alternative World-versions for Piano and Orchestra: Remembering to forget, forgetting to remember

Back in 2007 I composed my first orchestral work: “Alternative World-versions” for piano and orchestra through transfiguring some of my piano “Etudes Mystérieuses” (from early 2007). One might relate such composing strategy to Boulez’s “Notations. Unlike Boulez’s approach, the transfiguration process was radically different: Five of the seven “Etudes Mystérieuses” were pasted literally(!) into an empty orchestral score, after that I began to add the orchestral material.

This “strange” compositional strategy of adding orchestral layers to pre-

existing piano solo material offered obviously some aspects and challenges to consider:

1- The challenge to continue forgetting (remembering to forget/forgetting to remember?) that the sound world of the solo etudes is complete and comprehensive in itself.

2- The challenge not to change the material of the solo etudes while adding the orchestra; something which predetermines and imposes (forces remembering?) the musical parameters used in the solo etudes (harmony, structure, time-span, rhythm, energy, color etc.) on the orchestral material.

3- Not to feature the piano part as supremacist standing boldly in the front ground without substantial “integration” with the orchestra especially within such a quasi-concerto context.

4- Not to create for the orchestra unnecessary overloaded materials, neither to present the orchestra as superficial ornamental background.

5- The challenge to preserve the possibility of having two identical, yet different, pieces simultaneously, i.e. the piano solo etudes, and the newer piece with the orchestra.

6- When some changes in the material of the solo piano are impossible to avoid, the challenge would be to incorporate these minor changes, yet while keeping in mind the objectives and challenges explained above. While adding the orchestral layers, the material of piano etudes VI & VII (in “Alternative World-versions” No. III & V) indeed did not change at all (see Example No. 2). Etude No. IV (in “Alternative World-versions” No. I) passed one simple change: Two notes/intervals were taken from the piano and were given to the orchestra (see

the rfffz in Example No. 1). However, etudes No. I & III (in “Alternative World-versions” No. IV & II) did pass a few minor changes in order to fit in within the orchestral context.

Example No. 1: Extract from Etude Mystérieuse No. IV versus its orchestral transfiguration Listening: Audio section at the website, middle of extract No. 15

Example No. 2: Extract from Etude Mystérieuse No. VII versus its orchestral transfiguration Listening: Audio section at the website, end of extract No. 16

Despite that “Alternative World-versions” has already received many performances I hope

one day to have a performance which juxtaposes/alternates each solo etude with its

orchestral transfiguration thus offering the possibility of contemplating the mysteries of

memory and oblivion while listening to the literally-identical yet the substantially-different.