The orchestral version of Joaquim Homs' Presències was described by composer Ramón Barce as schematic, profound, and beautiful, and won the Premi Ciudad de Barcelona (Barcelona City Prize) in 1968.
Composer Biography
Joaquim Homs, a Catalan composer, was the only student of Robert Gerhard, who was himself a direct pupil of Schoenberg, linking Homs to the Vienna School.
Compositional Technique
Joaquim Homs' Piano Sonata No. 2 is based on the continuous rotation of a series of twelve different notes, with their mirrors and retrogressions appearing both vertically and horizontally.
Performer Biography
Jordi Masó, the pianist on this recording, has a wide repertoire with a special emphasis on 20th-century music and has made world premiere recordings of complete piano works by Roberto Gerhard and Federic Mompou.
Composition History
The work Presències (Presences) by Joaquim Homs was written in memory of his wife, the painter Pietat Fornesa, and distills a deep pain for her death.
Album & Artwork
This album is the third and final volume of the complete piano works of Joaquim Homs, a Catalan composer, recorded by Jordi Masó.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Joaquim Homs preferred the term 'Derivations' over 'Variations' for the second movement of his Piano Sonata No. 2, as it better describes the intellectual approach of serial technique.
You might also enjoy...
Homs: Piano Sonata No. 2 / Presences / 9 Sketches
Eller: Complete Piano Music, Vol. 3
Earth: Music for Solo Piano by Stephen Barber
Mordecai Shehori Plays the Complete Moschelès and Fétis “Méthode des Méthodes”: 20 Études de Perfectionnement
