A.  Last year I recorded Prelude for a new Powell CD that is coming out soon.  The piece is very kaleidoscopic, changing mood, color and character every few seconds.  I knew I wanted to begin my 'Spheres recital with this piece.  But then a few months ago I ran across this Etude of Mel's that dates back to the mid 40's when he was first exploring classical composition.  Etude has obvious germs of what was to become Mel's later style but it is more focused around specific tonal centers than his later works.  In fact, Etude moves from D to E flat, and Prelude starts on E flat - so despite my resolve to open the program with Prelude I'm going to play Etude first, as a sort of prelude to the Prelude.  Mel's career started as a jazz pianist and he played with Benny Goodman and other jazz notables before transitioning to classical avant-garde music.  Even though you do not hear obvious references to jazz in these pieces, you might find gestures speeding by that bring different styles to mind.

Q.  How did you discover Morton Feldman's Nature Pieces?

A.  I unearthed them a couple of years ago in the David Tudor archives at the Getty Museum.  David Rosenboom, (a wonderful pianist and Dean of the School of Music at Cal Arts) and I were invited to look through the archives and extract interesting pieces from the collection for a performance at the Getty.  The premiere was done in 1952 at Hunter College with choreography by Jean Erdman called Changing Woman.  The work is early Feldman, so even though the pieces contain many of his later signatures, they're also quite surprising in a variety of ways.

Q.  You will perform the World Premiere of Shaun Naidoo's no man's land, a piece written for you.  Tell us about this piece.

A.  This is a darkly ironic piece written in four movements but played as a continuous whole.  The movements are titled Goodbye, A Bullet for Breakfast, no man's land and Torched (again).  The piece is driving, rhythmic, virtuosic and has elements of cabaret and rock sensibilities interwoven in a subtle and unique way.  Shaun's music is deeply serious and tongue-in-cheek at the same time.  You're never quite sure which way to take it.

Q.  Tell us about the two bird pieces you have paired together.

A.  The Golden Bird (after Brancusi) by George Antheil and Le Loriot (The Golden Oriole) by Olivier Messiaen were written 37 years apart yet they share some intriguing commonalities.  The Golden Bird, written in 1921, glitters with beautiful colors and adventuresome harmonies that travel over the entire keyboard.  Messiaen's Le Loriot is from his Catalogue d'Oiseaux and besides featuring the birdcalls of the golden oriole (and many other birds!), is a subtle pun on the name of his wife, pianist Yvonne Loriod.

Q.  You are giving the World Premiere of Due (Cinta)mani, a piece written by Eric Chasalow.  Tell us about this composer and the piece he has written for you.

A.  Eric teaches at Brandis University and specializes in electroaccoustic work.  I fell in love with his music last year when I was conducting a piece of his for ensemble and tape that the E.A.R. Unit played.  Due (Cinta)mani means "two hands" in Italian.  It is also a Buddhist word that symbolizes three flaming pearls rising out of the waves.  The piece is for piano and tape and is in two movements: Three Symbolic Gestures and Cloudbands.  The tape is sparse, subtle, funny and wickedly elegant with all kinds of gestures mixed together.  The second movement is more atmospheric with washes of sound coming from the piano. I love playing piano with tape - it's like playing chamber music by yourself!

Q.  Your World Premiere of Jay Cloidt's Span will end the evening on a high note.  Tell us about this imaginative new piece he wrote for you.

A.  I talked with Jay a few years ago about composing a piece using rock 'n roll techniques and Span was his reply.  In this piece he uses boogie, blues, stride, rock 'n roll and gospel feels.  Span is often structured with the left hand playing in one tonal and time center and the right hand in another - but when they are played together, the piece grooves.  If you listen carefully you'll hear quotations from other works woven into the piece…not all of which are rock related.  Span is named after blues pianist Otis Span and also alludes to the span of the hand.

Q.  How does this program differ from your previous programs?