Hommages for Piano, Book 3

for Piano solo

Duration – 20′

commissioned by Holly Roadfeldt

Hommages for Piano is an on-going project of very short, concise character pieces in homage to various people that have inspired me over the years. These pieces can be performed as a complete suite, individually, or in any combination.

Hommage to a Broken Fairy Tale – This Hommage was like the others – written for a specific person. This author, who is a master of fantasy, whimsy, the fantastical and the morbid, wrote a poem called Instructions (on How to Survive a Fairy Tale) that my wife and I both love.  In 2012, I set that poem for soprano and chamber orchestra and the music for this Hommage is inspired by that original song. In 2025 (shortly before the album’s release) some very disturbing revelations came out about this author which greatly disturbed and saddened me.  As a result, I decided to disassociate from this author and look at this piece as more of a tribute to those stories that once fascinated my imagination.

Hommage a Kehinde Wiley (b. 1977) – I’ll never forget the first time I saw Wiley’s work – giant paintings of modern day African Americans in this Imperialistic European style. The message was incredibly thought provoking and it was stark – it stared you in the face, not giving you the slightest chance to misinterpret. And the skill – the skill that went into these huge canvasses was just mind blowing. Several years later, Wiley was commissioned by Interscope Records to paint a new cover for a remastered version of Dr. Dre’s 2001 album. He painted Dre in this same context, decked out in golden medieval armor. This hommage is full of Easter eggs – from West Coast rap, especially Dr. Dre, Domenico Scarlatti, J.S. Bach and Handel, and even Beethoven.

Hommage a Neil Peart (1952-2020) – One of my earliest true musical influences was the Canadian prog-rock band Rush. Considered by many to be one of the greatest rock drummers in the history of the genre, Neil Peart introduced me to many advanced musical concepts long before I stepped into the halls of a music school. These concepts included odd time signatures, mixed meters, metric modulations, thoroughly composed rhythms, and intense but metered virtuosity. I have always been captivated by his drum solo from their 1988 live tour release A Show of Hands. Neil plays a masterfully composed and executed drum solo in the middle of their legendary instrumental YYZ. In it, Neil created a simple melody on the glockenspiel in opposition and contrast to the thundering drum rhythms of the rest of the solo. It’s this melody, the rhythms from the drums, and the YYZ Morse Code rhythm that I focused on in this Hommage.

Hommage a Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) – I have been fascinated by Nadia Boulanger for a long time now. How did this person inspire and produce so many of the 20th century’s greatest composers? After reading about her life, I think at least part of that dedication to composers was born out of her relationship to her younger sister Lili, and the circumstances surrounding her early death. From what I understand, Nadia was a great lover of the rigors of counterpoint, but also had the rare ability of helping composers find their own voices during a time of strict dogma in the composition landscape. This piece is inspired by Lili Boulanger’s “Theme and Variations”, and also by Nadia’s love of counterpoint, and by her voice in my head telling me, “Just be yourself.”

Hommage a Gary Gygax (1938-2008) – Given all of the artistic and scientific people I’ve covered so far, why write an Hommage to Gary Gygax, the creator of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons? When I set out to write these Hommages, I wanted to pay respects to people that have inspired me to create. Gary was the first. I was introduced to D&D in the 3rd grade, and I became fascinated with it immediately. I used to sit in class drawing dungeon maps on graph paper instead of listening to my lessons. This was my first real creative outlet, and where I first encountered the mechanics of telling a story. For instance, if I drew a long hallway on the graph paper, and then drew in a secret door halfway down on the left wall, this in itself posed many questions – questions that I had to answer. Why is there a secret door here? What is it hiding? Is it an object of significance relating to the rest of the story? Is it a dangerous monster, sealed away forever? How does that relate to what the adventurers are going through? My 3rd grade mind was sent wandering with almost endless possibilities. Through Gary’s creation, I learned to craft a narrative – a skill that became invaluable in writing music. How could I not write an Hommage to Gary?