A fantasy for virtuoso piano inspired by a surreal lunch. Premiered by Jeanne Golan.
for virtuoso piano / 12 min.
Program Note
When I returned from a year’s study at Cambridge University, I was very conscious of my American musical impulses, in contrast to much of what I had experienced and enjoyed in England and Europe. I wanted to embrace the loud diversity of American life in my music, and I got a wonderful inspiration in the first few weeks back in the U.S. when my wife and I were invited to lunch by a Filipino lady named Pacita.
The year was 1989, and as luck would have it, President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines had died the day before. So lunch with Pacita turned out to include a bevy of Filipino ladies in a high state of excitement. Pacita herself was an artist whose primitivist wall hangings, paintings, and sculptures added to a delirious scene. The opening motive of Pacita’s Lunch recalls Pacita’s whooping laugh and tendency to slam the table at hilarious moments. I imagined the whole scene reaching a boiling point where it would simply lift off into orbit.
I originally envisioned Pacita’s Lunch as a noisy orchestral piece, but the virtuosic solo piano version seems to capture the sweaty excitement of that day far better.
—Theodore Wiprud
“…evokes the high energy of the gathering as it wends its uproarious way through eleven lively minutes. From slapping the piano frame to dreamy and percussive episodes, the piece registers as both fantasia-like tapestry and showcase.”
—Review of Jeanne Golan’s CD “It Takes One to Tango” on Textura
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