Overview
Introduction
"Piano Distance", of approximately 5 minutes duration, was composed in 1961. It's musical language is a mix of Takemitsu's later sensual, Messiaen and Debussy-influenced chords and the angular, dissonant sensibilities of the European avant-garde of that time (Stockhausen / Boulez). The imagery of the piece, however, is entirely that of Takemitsu, carried out in his usual clearly outlined yet deeply poetic manner.
The music is built around gestures that are immediately mirrored in some way and contrasted, traveling along a pitch, amplitude or event sequence (tempo) dimension: for example, at the beginning we hear a distant tone followed by a sharp repetition of the same tone, much nearer. Then, a simple three-note motif becomes much quicker upon its repetition. Sometimes the sequence is reversed, and the louder series is played first with the quiet repetition arising from the resonance. Thick chords are played emphatically descending and then are mirrored by chords (not much quieter) arising from the deep bass and ascending. At the end, a quiet repetition of the motif, and only a hint of an answer on two chords that are held and fade away into the distance.
