Mary Dullea, the pianist on this recording, is an Irish pianist and chamber musician who has released recordings on labels such as NMC, Delphian Records, and Métier, and is known for interpreting new music.
Composer Biography
Eric Craven, the composer, taught music and mathematics in secondary schools in Manchester and composed music since his teenage years, but only recently began to introduce his music to a wider audience.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Eric Craven's music is inspired by quantum physics, particularly the concept of "Entanglement," where particles react unpredictably to changes in entangled particles, which he parallels to the composer-performer relationship.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Eric Craven's concept of "Non-Prescriptive Music" challenges the traditional hierarchy between composer, artist, and audience, giving equal importance to the pianist's role.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Eric Craven's Pieces for Pianists are designed to be non-prescriptive, allowing the performer significant interpretative freedom rather than imposing the composer's specific intentions.
Compositional Technique
The scores for Eric Craven's Pieces for Pianists deliberately omit traditional musical instructions such as titles, key signatures, tempo markings, pedalling, and dynamics.
Interpretation
Mary Dullea, the pianist, notes that the pieces gently increase in difficulty as the volume progresses, encouraging pianists to explore parameters like tempo, articulation, and dynamics.
