November 19, 2016
In preparing Takemitsu’s Muir Woods for a few recital recently, I spent time thinking about how the piece is put together, which helped me create a logic for how I then express/perform the music. Often I find understanding the structure a very helpful window into understanding what the composer is on about. In classical music this is usually through tonal relationships and thematic ideas. In contemporary music, things like the literal repetition of a phrase or a particular interval can be the key.
In Muir Woods I found two important gestures that I thought unlocked the music as a whole:
Has anyone else found helpful ways of thinking through this piece?