Water Lilies Piano Solo - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.1025143

Water Lilies for Solo Piano is the second in a series of Water Lilies pieces, which also includes versions for chamber winds and orchestra. Each version is based on the same melodic idea; in each piece this idea is developed using different compositional procedures. The result is a series of noticeably related but distinct pieces. The idea for these pieces comes from my impressions of an exhibit of Monet's Water Lilies at the Musée de L’Orangerie in Paris. The room that these magnificent works are displayed in is in the shape of an oval; and when sitting in the middle of the room one has the distinct impression that one is in the middle of Monet's pond.

My Water Lilies are not necessarily an attempt to reproduce each painting in sound; rather, they represent the attempt to reproduce the feeling of being surrounded by these images, which from far away seem perfectly clear and photographic but up close are rather blurry and repetitive. Indeed, Monet's genius lies in his ability to make his audience look upon his art from afar, taking in the whole view at once rather than focusing on the details of its construction. This series of pieces attempts to recreate this effect in sound.

Water Lilies was composed for pianist Holly Roadfeldt. Her recording of the work appears on the CD Strange Flowers (Ravello Records).