Piano Sonata (1986; revised 1987) (1986)

Composer note
Since the early 1970's, I have been interested in the ways literature and painting influence musical ideas and form-how literary images or use of color can inspire everything from the smallest melodic shape to a work's overall structure.

The structure of Piano Sonata (1986; rev. 1987) is based upon Jasper Johns' Voice 2. Voice 2 has gone through three transformations: originally an oil and collage tryptich (1971), later a three-panel lithograph (1982), and, in a final version, a nine-panel interchangeable series made of the 1982 lithograph. Johns borrows material from earlier works and utilizes overlapping, extension, and repetition as the main ingredients of form. Piano Sonata is divided into three sections which reflect three musical textures: angular and pulsating; fast runs and chords; and lyrical. As with Johns' series, the three sections of Piano Sonata evolve into nine interactive sections and a coda.

Piano Sonata was written for Anthony de Mare and premiered on his New York debut recital in 1986.

— Chester Biscardi