Fork, Knife, Spoon (2018) ~12’
2 percussionists and piano
Written for the Yellow Barn Young Artist Program
Fork, Knife, and Spoon was inspired by the different metallic sound qualities created by piano preparations from putting a fork, a knife, and a spoon between the piano strings. The piece explores a variety of combinations of wood, metal, and “skin” percussion instruments against the sonorities of the piano’s preparations. The first movement juxtaposes stillness and motion through held notes of the lower register of the piano interrupted by loud and brash percussion hits. The second movement builds an atmosphere of serenity, broken by foreshadowing of the steady pulse of the third movement, and the third movement’s incessant drive is paired with an amorphous resemblance to the material of the first movement.