With Recollections, pianist and composer Olivia Bennett illuminates the vast range of emotions the piano alone can express. Traversing between contemplative moments of stillness and chaotic moments rife with virtuosic techniques, her music is textural and explosive, painting a roller coaster of feelings in four compact movements.

This is Bennett’s first time working with Metropolis Ensemble. She’s currently a freshman at Rice University in Houston, where she studies composition. Recollections is dedicated to her friend and piano teacher, Esther Guy, and takes its inspiration from childhood memories. The piece, which uses every pitch on the piano, is a personal exploration that builds a bridge between Bennett’s current life as a college student and past remembrances. She funnels memory through music, painting a highly personal picture of her life and work up to this point.

For the House Music Series, she presents four movements of the work—”of somber,” “of contemplation,” “of restlessness,” and “of anxiety.” These movements are part of a larger collection that she’s in the process of writing. Ultimately, the piece as a whole is a way for her to connect her ambitions as an amatuer musician and her budding career while taking us on an all-encompassing journey of the piano. — Vanessa Ague

 
Episode: 64
Date: November 10, 2020
Artist: Olivia Bennett
Instrumentation: Piano
Work: "Recollections"
Composer: Olivia Bennett
 

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