Sonatas and Interludes ... and Interludes Amy Williams, prepared piano Guest Artist Series Katzin Concert Hall I February 9, 2020 12:30 pm Program John Cage (1912-1992) Sonatas 1-4 inter luna Joann Cho Interlude I John Cage Sonatas 5-8 John Cage Kevin Laskey Interlude John Cage Interludes 2-3 Adam Vidiksis Interlude John Cage Sonatas 9-12 The Inevitable Jeffrey Weeter Interlude 4 John Cage Sonatas 13-16 John Cage The groundbreaking Sonatas and Interludes by John Cage (1912-1992) is made up of20 short pieces: 16 sonatas (structured in two-part or three-part forms) and 4 freely structured interludes. School of Music 1 ASU" o;;s1g� i�d'the Arts Arizona State University There are dozens of screws, bolts, pieces of rubber, coins, strips of plastic, that are inserted into the strings of the piano to create sounds that are reminiscent of percussion instruments (gongs, woodblocks, cymbals). The unique prepared sounds-sometimes combined with unprepared notes-create a breathtaking array of colors. The piece is literally an emotional journey­ through the eight permanent emotions of Ancient Hindu aesthetics: the ''white" emotions (the heroic, the erotic, the mirthful and the wondrous) and the "black" emotions (fear, anger, disgust, and sorrow). Today's performance will be played on a set of preparations that John Cage himself approved of (it was given to Amy Williams by pianist Bennett Lerner). Amy Williams is a composer of music that is ''simultaneously demanding, rewarding and fascinating" (Buffalo News), "fresh, daring and incisive" (Fanfare). Her compositions have been presented at renowned contemporary music venues in the United States, Australia, Asia and Europe by leading contemporary music soloists and ensembles, including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, JACK Quartet, Ensemble Musikfabrik, Wet Ink, Talujon, International Contemporary Ensemble, h2 Saxophone Quartet, Bent Frequency, pianist Ursula Oppens and bassist Robert Black. Her pieces appear on the Albany, Parma, VDM (Italy), Blue Griffin, Centaur and New Ariel labels. As a member of the Bugallo­ Williams Piano Duo, Ms. Williams has performed throughout Europe and the Americas and recorded six critically-acclaimed CDs for Wergo (works of Nancarrow, Stravinsky, Varese/Feldman and Kurtag), as well as appearing on the Neos and Albany labels. Ms. Williams has been awarded a Howard Foundation Fellowship (2008-2009), Fromm Music Foundation Commission (2009), Guggenheim Fellowship (2015-2016), Koussevitsky Foundation Commission (2017), the 2016 Goddard lieberson Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a Fulbright Scholars Fellowship to Ireland (2017-2018). Ms. Williams holds a Ph.D. in composition from the University at Buffalo. where she also received her Master's degree in piano performance. She has taught at Bennington College and Northwestern University and is currently Associate Professor of Composition at the University of Pittsburgh. She is Artistic Director of the New Music On The Point Festival in Vermont. www amywilliamsmusic.com School of Music 1 ASU. 0;;1g� ;�d'the Arts Arizona State University