Joan Tower blends borrowed material wither her own compositional voice in her piano concertos Homage to Beethoven (1985) and Rapids (1996), which was later revised in 2013 and renamed Still/Rapids. These works are representative of Tower’s mature compositional style beginning in the 1970s as she turned away from a serial techniques towards a more accessible, energy-driven style. Tower characterizes the influences of older composers on her work as fingerprints and states that her most important musical model is Beethoven. J. Peter Burkholder’s categories of borrowing, particularly modeling, paraphrase, and setting, illuminate how Tower manipulates existing material in Homage to Beethoven. Tower acknowledges that her Homage to Beethoven does not sound like the Beethoven piano sonatas it borrows from, but rather shares their same core idea.

Works: Joan Tower: Homage to Beethoven (1, 4, 12, 14-15, 17-51, 78, 93, 95-98, 100-101, 121-23, 125, 127), Still/Rapids (1-2, 12, 15, 104-121, 123, 125, 127), Rapids (1, 3, 12, 14-15, 52-91, 94-106, 125-27), Black Topaz (9, 13, 94, 100), Petruschkates (12, 39, 78, 93, 97), Breakfast Rhythms I and II (13, 50, 92), Tres Lent (93), Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman (93), Fascinating Ribbons (93), Big Steps (93), Fantasy for Clarinet and Piano (101).

Sources: Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 17 in D Minor, Op. 31, No. 2 (“Tempest”) (20-23), Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53 (“Waldstein”) (23-24, 26, 28, 30-31, 40-42, 95, 101), Piano Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111 (31-33, 101), Piano Sonata No. 13 in E-flat Major, Op. 27, No. 1 (102); Messiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du temps (50, 93); George Crumb: Vox Balaenae (50); Stravinsky: Petrushka (93); Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man (93); George Gershwin: Fascinatin’ Rhythm (93); Debussy: Préludes, Livre 1, Des pas sur la neige (93); Hugh Williams and Jimmy Kennedy: Harbor Lights (101).

Index Classifications: 1900s, 2000s

Contributed by: Sarah Kirkman