Paul Schoenfeld

3 Intermezzi

From program notes by Christina Dahl: 'Schoenfeld has described his Three Intermezzi (for Piano Solo) as one of a very few works he has written simply to please himself. In his words, 'Here is music my hands feel like touching with sounds my ears enjoy perceiving.' Its three movements were written at different times, but coalesced into a single work. The Three Intermezzi explore an interior world devoid of anything ostentatious. Schoenfeld's signature counterpoint - echoing both Bach and Brahms - is evident throughout. The music is intimate, serene and contemplative. 'It's the sort of music I improvise at night with the lights out and the house empty,' he says. The first Intermezzo quotes a bit of a Bach prelude, then develops it in waves and spirals that course up and down the keyboard. The second Intermezzo emerges from a single repeated note into an oscillating minor third and finally into a dark and soulful Sicilienne. The third Intermezzo, as long as the other two combined, explores the boundaries where decidedly crafted music and mediation combine.'