Matsudaira, Yoriaki : Michelangelo's Pup
Work Overview
Instrumentation：Piano Solo
Genre：Various works
Total Playing Time：2 min 10 sec
Commentary (2)
Author : Sudoh, Eiko
Last Updated: April 24, 2018
[Open]
Author : Sudoh, Eiko
"Michelangelo's Puppy" was composed in 1993. "Michelangelo" refers to a computer virus that was prevalent at the time. The piece begins with the melody of Chopin's "Minute Waltz". However, this elegant melody is soon distorted and rapidly disperses. Amidst this chaotic state, the beautiful tune suddenly reappears. The fragmented "Minute Waltz" is incorporated throughout, and the piece develops in an unconventional manner.
In the score, notes are colorfully marked:
- Sections from the original "Minute Waltz" are yellow.
- Chromatic melodies are pink.
- Loud chords are green.
- Soft chords are blue.
- Phrases with many leaps are orange.
It is said that the colored pencils used for this differentiation were those included with a coloring book titled "Michelangelo's Name," a souvenir from Europe belonging to the premiere pianist, Hatsue Nakamura.
The composer, Yori-Aki Matsudaira, has developed his unique compositional techniques by incorporating avant-garde music such as total serialism and indeterminacy. In this work, he employs the technique of quoting music from existing pieces, depicting a state where various phenomena occur completely independently.
Author : Sudoh, Eiko
Last Updated: April 24, 2018
[Open]
Author : Sudoh, Eiko
“Michelangelo’s Pup” was composed in 1993. ‘Michelangelo’ is the name of a computer virus that was prevalent at the time. The song begins with the melody of “Waltz in d flat, Op.64, No.1 (‘Minute’)” by Chopin. However, the elegant melody is quickly deformed and diffuses violently. In the confusion, Chopin’s beautiful melody appears sometimes suddenly. While fragmented “Waltz in d flat, Op.64, No.1 (‘Minute’)” is incorporated everywhere and the song develops insanely.
In the music, notes are very colorful. The original melodies of “Waltz in d flat, Op.64, No.1 (‘Minute’)” are yellow, the chromatic melodies are pink, the loud chords are green, the quiet chords are blue, and the leaping phrases are orange. The colored pencils used for the notes were attached to the painting, ‘Michelangelo’s Name’, which was an European souvenir from pianist Hatsue Nakamura who premiered this song.
Matsudaira has pioneered his own composition technique while absorbing avant-garde music such as Total Serialism and Music of Indeterminacy. In this work, using the technique of Musical Quotation, he expresses a scene where various events occur completely irrelevantly.
