Stoicism

Stoicism (2018) was written for pianist Suzanne Polak for a concert featuring dance. “Stoicism” is defined as, “the endurance of pain or hardship without a display of feelings and without complaint.” I took this concept and translated it into what was originally an improvisation at the piano, but now exists as a freely unmetered piece. The work’s unpredictability evokes conflicting feelings and angst. Eventually, these conflicting feelings have great impact, and the performance drifts into a sort of numbness – just no longer feeling each individual emotion, but instead absorbing it all without displaying any reaction and just becoming simply acquiescent.

Purchase the sheet music for Stoicism here!