Search - George Flynn :: Derus Simples

GEORGE FLYNN - DERUS SIMPLES? GEOFFREY DOUGLAS MADGE, PIANO THE SOUTHPORT COMPOSERS SERIES S-SSD 0085 ??Flynn composes and plays ruggedly articulate piano music..a vivid essay? (comments about Flynn's piano solo "Trinity,")Julian Cowley, The Wire We begin 2001 with the world premiere of Chicago composer George Flynn?s piano solo ?Derus Simples.? The extended composition is performed on this disc by the Australian born pianist Geoffrey Douglas Madge, who currently is professor of piano at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, Netherlands. Flynn?s 1999 Southport release was the 2 CD set ?Trinity? (S-SSC-5501-2). George Flynn (b. 1937) was raised in Montana and Washington. He considers Charles Ives ?Concord Sonata? one of his earliest influences. Since 1977 Flynn has chaired Music Composition at DePaul University?s School of Music, in Chicago. ?Derus Simples,? in the words of Flynn, ?is a continuous work whose gestures, shape and character result from expansions of simple sounds or ideas -?simples?- into complexities that frequently revert back to their simple origins.? The composition was commissioned by the philosopher Kenneth Derus as a way of celebrating the centenary of the composer Kaikhosru Sorabji (1892-1988). There is lyrical beauty and energy in the various levels of ?Derus Simples? as it builds its extended structure with a variety of pianistic textures and gestures. Pianist Geoffrey Douglas Madge, who is admired for his interpretations of difficult 20th century music, including Sorabji?s ?Opus Clavicembalisticum,? inhabits Flynn?s musical world and captures its essence in a compelling manner within his 41 minute seamless execution of ?Derus Simples.? Melody, silence, space and dissonance create a diverse palate of symphonic pianism. The Southport Composers Series was formed to record and distribute ?classical? contemporary solo, chamber, orchestral and electronic works generally not available elsewhere in the recording industry.