Anger Management

Description

Piano 1, Piano 2 — Anger Management is a study in aggression and heartbreak, rejecting Tennyson’s maxim “Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”xa0 My goal was to combine the narrative of romantic loss – with its elements of anger, nostalgia, despair and ultimately defiance – with a strict compositional technique and economy of material.xa0 The piece is based on two motives: the gruff, ascending three notes of the first bar and a descending half-step sigh, which is eventually transformed and intensified into an ascending major seventh. Composer and violist Michael Boyman is always searching for the perfect balance of form and expression. His music often tells a story, whether from literature, visual art or personal experience, and he aims to present that story in the most vivid and emotionally intense way. Michael is the recipient of the BMI William Schuman Award ("Tightrope Walker") and was recently featured in the 2017 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute. His music is published by Theodore Presser Company.