Piano Sonata No. 2

I wrote my Piano Sonata No. 2 for Israeli pianist Einav Yarden. She premiered the piece at the 2001 Aviv Competitions in Israel and won both the top piano prize and the prize for performance of an Israeli composition. In both movements of the piece I tried to create a sense of improvisation, even though the music is fully notated. The first movement is of a lyrical nature. Its embellishments and exploration of colors grows out of the melodic line. In the first movement I imagine a pianist who begins to play a known piece but cannot remember it fully, and therefore, begins to improvise. By contrast, the second movement is fast and rhythmically driven. Its quasi-improvisatory sections are more similar to a Jazz pianist showing off her technical and musical abilities over a driven rhythmic texture. The second movement is inspired by Art Tatum’s incredible pianism, as well as by the works of Olivier Messiaen and Conlon Nancarrow.

—Avner Dorman

(Ofra Yitzhaki analyzes Piano Sonata No.2 in her Doctorate Dissertation: Israeli piano music after 1985: analysis and comparison in historical perspective).