Chess.

for Piano and 2 Chess Players

ca. 1 to 10 minutes

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Inspired by my love of the game, I found that the excitement and creativity found in a chess game could yield a fun musical composition. I set out to accomplish this. Each piece on the board has a coordinating melodic theme or gesture that is played on piano when that piece is moved on the board. Music between moves is usually improvised and based on the piece motives and the general tension of the game. A "White Theme" and a "Black Theme" are present in all of the pieces from each side and played against each other in the introduction of the composition. Likewise, there are three different endings for the composition for when white wins, black wins, or the game ends in a draw.

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Premiered April 2017 by Mary Katherine Schober, piano and Robert J. Coe and Victor Rangel, chess players. Multiple subsequent performances.

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