The Red Studio

The Red Studio explores two research questions: (1) to what extent is the 19^th century practise of ‘preluding’ applicable in music composed today, and (2) how might the genre of the ‘artist’s studio’ painting be transposed into music?

The Red Studio work falls into four large sections, each characterised by a different mode of pianism and each organised around a different compositional system. Each section is preceded by a short prelude or interlude which may be improvised by the pianist but the score also includes composed examples.

This juxtaposition of closed compositional systems and open, fluid connections is perhaps the work’s most striking feature. It demonstrates the difference between composition and improvisation as modes of music-making, and in effect recreating a 19^th century piano recital in a condensed version for the 21^st century.