In refracted modulations, the inability of the two pianists to play a unison becomes a main structural feature of the work. Chords and motives, offset by quarter-tones, take on a life of their own. The piece applies this process to variety of musical material and is built as a set of very loose variations.
Two pianos tuned in quarter-tones. Piano II is tuned one quarter-tone lower than piano I.
Jeffrey Arlo Brown is a composer from Brookline, MA. His works have been performed in the U.S. and throughout Europe by ensembles such as Ensemble Phoenix, Stadler Streichquartett, Argento Chamber Ensemble, Ensemble for New Music Tallinn, österreiches Ensemble für neue Musik, and EnsembleTHIS|EnsembleTHAT, among other groups. He graduated from Universität Mozarteum Salzburg with distinction in 2011, where he studied with Reinhard Febel, and from the Hochschule für Musik Basel in 2013 as a student of Georg Friedrich Haas. Recent projects have included the premiere of his opera Love and Hydrogen in Berllin by Ensemble Essenz and a microtonal work for the label Umasan at Berlin Fashion Week 2014.