Program Note for "Connection Piano"


It is certainly a cliche to assert that contemporary technology has helped
create a true "global village", but (as with all cliches) there is an
underlying truth -- we enjoy a world communication and awareness 
unprecedented in human history.  In "Connection Piano", I take the 
"global village" cliche at face value, using it in various real and
metaphorical ways.  In the piece, there is a tangible musical connection
between New York and Tokyo:  Digital recordings of the sonic
environments from both locations (including my home in suburban New
Jersey) form the basis of the computer sounds heard in the performance.
I use the technology of digital signal processing to meld the acoustic
ambience of one location into the other, combining and altering
each to build a musical "superenvironment" incorporating features from
both aural landscapes.  There is also a very real technological
connection established between Tokyo and New York.  During the performance,
sections of the piano part are digitally recorded and sent via the
Internet to computers at the Columbia University Computer Music Center.
The digitized sound is then processed in various ways and returned
to Tokyo, where it reappears as modified echoes of the piano performance
later in the piece.  I am also taking advantage of the kind invitation
from NTT to participate in this concert to employ specialized sound-synthesis
software developed by NTT researchers.  The sustained tones heard towards
the end of the piece are the result of this "global village" collaboration.

Finally, I have intentionally written a relatively non-virtuosic piano part.
My goal was to compose a piece that could be performed by pianists --
especially younger students -- with a reasonable level of musical skill, but
not necessarily highly-developed professional pianist abilities.  The various
technological bridges that we build between nations and cultures will
ultimately prove only as good as the individuals making use of them.  I
sincerely believe that those of us working with new technologies
should seek to make them as open and transparently-usable as possible.
When individuals can connect with each other, no matter what their skill
or expertise might be, then we can truly begin to enjoy benefits accruing
from a "global village".  I hope that "Connection Piano" can help promote
these ideals.