Piano Quintet

Psathas’ Piano Quintet is now available for percussion ensemble and piano with this new arrangement by Dr. Omar Carmenates, Assistant Prof. of Percussion, Furman University, USA. It features piano with percussion and mallet quintet, primarily playing xylophone, glockenspiel, vibraphone, and two marimbas.

The Piano Quintet was written during the millennial changeover. It is inspired by and reflective of four composers by whom I have been influenced: Arvo Pärt, Alfred Schnittke, Jack Body and Johann Sebastian Bach. There is a fifth element of inspiration functioning here also; the collective ‘composer’ made up of a great many unknown musicians who live in the folk music traditions of the Greek Islands. This island music has always moved me in both its simplicity and refinement. The second movement of this piece is based on a transcription I made of a recorded improvisation by the brilliant Greek violinist Stathis Koukoularis.

The third movement is an expression of the wonder and luminous joy I experience when looking at our beautiful daughter, Zoe, who came in to the world as I was working on this piece. The Piano Quintet is dedicated to Jack Body. - John Psathas

At the onset of this massive arranging project, John and I had many discussions about which pieces from his catalog to include. At the point in the conversation when John mentioned Piano Quintet as a possibility, my immediate internal reaction was “Absolutely Not!”, as I believed that the multitude of extended string techniques, particularly in the second movement, would not be possible to reproduce on percussion instruments. However, John then continued to speak about how much he loved this piece and how he has long believed that it would make a great percussion piece. So, I remember saying reluctantly saying “Yes” (probably with a fake smile on my face) and then immediately stressing out over just how I was going to accomplish a faithful arrangement of this incredibly complex and colorful work. Upon hearing this arrangement live for the first time in our recording sessions, the Piano Quintet quickly became my favorite arrangement on the album and I am incredibly proud of how it came to life. So much so in fact that I have referred back to some of the extended techniques used here (chimes/triangles/crotales dipped in water, scordatura microtonal guitar, and vibraphone “side harmonics” - borrowed from a fellow percussionists Jamie Whitmarsh - etc…) multiple times in my writing since.

A special note of thanks goes to my friend and colleague Daniel Koppelman for lending his incredible talent in recording the piano part to this piece. - Omar Carmenates