As a sightreader, I have an insatiable appetite to discover new music. Now and then, I receive a score that I want to sightread and perform for others. Such was one by the Chicago-based conductor Kim Diehnelt. Her music preceded her.
Impromptu for solo piano by Kim Diehnelt
This is one way musicians get to know each other — through music.
At first I thought she was a conductor. She thought I was an agent or arts manager. Once I premiered her piece in Maui, I then got to know her as a composer.
Over an afternoon snack at Chicago O’Hare Airport recently, the first time we met face to face, I asked her about this piece.
The Impromptu was born out of a desire to capture a moment. Although a unique moment, it may very well be one we all have experienced. A friend shared a brief description of a morning scene where Bach’s Prelude No. 1 flows from the radio, a glance towards the piano where this piece sits open, a memory from long ago surfaces. In a flash, all these combine into a new awareness of how the current self may meet the tasks of the day.
It is the moments of Between-ness that fascinate me. I hope performers – and listeners – will savor the ‘between-ness’ created with the appearance of each new note.
Because I love the wine-tasting approach to music, the back page of the score has remarks similar to a wine label – “Austere counterpoint of quiet, timeless reflection punctuated by pauses of full, warm harmony. A captured moment – it lingers in the morning air.”
What’s interesting is that when Kim Diehnelt composes an ensemble work, she actually sees the score as an ensemble — not from a keyboard like many composers do. We discussed the importance of readability for playability down to the size of the measure. If it’s too long, the player may think it’s slower than usual. As a conductor, she knows what she’s looking for and what she wants to hear. When she sits down to compose, she can see it and hear it.
Listen to my recording of Kim Diehnelt’s Impromptu below.
Impromptu by Kim Diehnelt, as interpreted by Anne Ku (recorded on Steinway Grand model A, 1909 New York) in Utrecht, Netherlands, 4th August 2011 (mp3)
Lovely. Impromptu weaves vulnerability and innocence. This sweet composition played with my breath and inner sense of sensorial rhythm, inspiring anticipation (what’s next?!) and delight. Thanks, Kim, a beautiful end to my day.
Kathleen,
Thank you for pausing to reflect on the piece. Sometimes creating feels all too one-way. Your words warm my soul.
Kim Diehnelt
Anne,
Thank you for the post and recording. Your ability to play softly which such warmth and grace took me by surprise until I remembered you perform regularly with a guitarist. Definitively a skill most pianists overlook.
Our brief meet-up at the Chicago airport was a delight. I had no idea you were such an expert concert producer –I will implement some of your ideas for House Concerts here in Chicago. You certainly bring high-energy and creative spark to all you do!
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