Suite Dérivée

First Performance:
September 15, 2026
Duo Quattro Mani: Susan Grace and Steven Beck, pianos
Packard Hall, Colorado College — Colorado Springs, CO

Composer Note:

Suite Dérivée brings together three movements exploring ecstatic devotion, lyrical introspection, and virtuosic dance across two pianos:

1. Dancing with the Torah at Mount Meron
   Inspired by Israeli painter Reuven Rubin’s painting of the same name, capturing the essence of devotion, joy, and sorrow in Jewish tradition. The music begins slowly and mournfully, steadily building momentum into an ecstatic, celebratory dance.
2. Intermezzo After Brahms
   An arrangement for two pianos of the third movement from After Brahms (originally for solo piano). Elegiac and introspective in character, this movement embraces the signature spirit of Brahms—descending lines, suspended lyrical inner voices, and expressive cross-rhythms—explored through contemporary harmonic language and dialogue between two pianos.
3. Karsilama
   Named after the Turkish couple’s folk dance in 9/8 meter meaning “face-to-face greeting.” Because a piano duo sits facing one another, this piece unfolds as a series of variations, each presenting a different rhythm, mood, and greeting across the two instruments.

— Avner Dorman