Piano Suite No. 1

Originally composed alongside numerous paintings of Paul Klee, this work is in seven movements, and serves as an ode to Italian culture. The work was completely rewritten in April of 2023, although its original form was from 2019.

Duration: 17’ 30”

Piano Sonata No. 1

Composed for solo piano, this composition is intended as a celebration of Azerbaijani culture by incorporating elements of traditional dance forms throughout the work.

IMPROVISATION
The first movement is composed in the manner of the Turkic ashik: a poet/musician, similar to the bard. The movement is also in an arch sonata-allegro form with aspects that also coincide with sonata-rondo form. Moreover, the first movement serves as the exposition in relation to the global sonata form of all the movements in combination. Within the movement each section can be divided into subsections, with "Theme A" adhering to binary form and "Theme B" being a ternary structure. All the aforementioned elements are developed in further movements.
FORM: Section 1 (Subsection: AABB) 2(CDC) 3(E) 4(D/B) 5(A)

BALLAD
The second movement is a type of threnody also found in ashik traditions. Theme B is developed here, and the work is in a global ballad form (with substructures in ternary form). Figurations based on two, three, and five are prevalent throughout, and the music is somber in tone.
6(CD) 7(F, D/B, F) 8(C/E) 9(C)

SCHERZO & RONDO
The third and fourth movements are both short and they are conjoined, though they are conceptually distinct in their respective forms. Both, however, serve to develop Theme A, with the third movement developing subsection I and the fourth movement working subsection II of the first movement.

First, a through-composed scherzo in a rough rounded binary form. Then, a dance that depicts the motions of a gazelle, in the form of an eight-part rondo.
10(A) 11(D) 12(A/D) + 13(B) 14(A) 15(B) 16(A) 17(B) 18(F/E) 19(B) 20(F)

TOCCATA
The final movement is a poem as opposed to a dance that is an ode to fire, with the final motion being an illustration of the creation of fire. It can be viewed as a toccata with a form the emulates that of the first movement (a symmetrical arch form of ABCBA), but with the final two sections being inversed in order (ABCAB), thus removing its symmetry. On the global level, this movement is the recapitulation.
21(ADAA) 22(E, A/D, B/D) 23(A) 24(F) 25(A)

Duration: 28’

Piano Suite No. 6, “Czech”

A set of fifteen works for piano that I originally improvised in 2018. Each was then dedicated to various Czech historical figures, as well as some personal acquaintances.

The whole set is dedicated to Zuzana Wienerová.

Duration: 43’

Piano Suite No. 3

Written to accompany four paintings of Edgar Degas, in four movements.

Duration: 10’ 00”

Piano Suite No. 2

A set of five pieces set to paintings by my favorite artist, František Kupka. Most of the pieces are short and concise preludes, while a few are longer and more introspective.

The "humoresque" is a spasmodic short piece, with a grotesque and comical sense of direction. The "Neapolitan" is delicate and graceful, quoting the popular "Funiculì, Funiculà." The "meditation" is the longest and slowest of the set, being introspective and contemplative. The "waltz" teases at the traditional Viennese waltz, with the occasional recitation peeking through. And finally, the "toccata" is the fastest and most tactile piece of the set, utilizing the entire range of the keyboard.

Duration: 12’ 00”

Xanadu, for piano

Based on Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “Kubla Khan,” this piece is a dream-like depiction of an opium-fueled state of sleep.

Duration: 5’ 10”