Al Fine

for piano four-hands (2010)

Duration ca. 7'

iv + 15 pp.

Website: http://alexstephenson.com

Al Fine

The term "al fine" ("to the end") appears often in editions of classical music as a technical instruction: the performer is told to play from a designated spot in the piece until reaching the marking "fine," at which point he or she will know the piece is over. This idea was, in a general sense, the starting point for the present work. I conceived of the work as a struggle to reach an end—to develop musical material and follow it through to its logical conclusion. The struggle is often manifested as a sort of war between the two pianists: one attempts to present musical material, only to have it scratched out by the other. The ending itself does not, I think, offer a comfortable resolution. Various motifs heard throughout the piece are fragmented, overlaid, and juxtaposed—a final, frenzied attempt at reconciliation. —A.E.S.

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