Kennan, K :: Night Soliloquy

Night Soliloquy

Kennan, K

Kent Kennan presents his Night Soliloquy, here for flute and piano. This unique modern piece is great for study and performance, focusing on rapidly ascending and descending upper-register passages which create an impressive tone painting.

'Night Soliloquy was written in 1936, a year that saw Kennan earn his Master s degree from the Eastman School of Music and receive the Prix de Rome award. It is his best-known and most performed work (followed closely by his Trumpet Sonata). Night Soliloquy s popularity was cemented when Arturo Toscanini chose to perform it with the NBC Symphony Orchestra in 1943, a rare honor for an American composer at the time. Originally composed for flute, strings, and piano, it was later transcribed by Kennan and now exists in version for flute and piano, as well as flute and wind ensemble. All versions have been recorded by such flutists as James Pellerite, William Kincaid, and Joseph Mariano.

The single-movement work opens with pulsing quarter notes against languid, dolorous melody in the flute, gradually growing in intensity before holding forth with brief monologues. The echoing strains at the end fade to nothing, into the night.'

- Program Notes; Rena Urso-Trapani, soloist; 2012