Description

Introspection was initially composed during my graduate studies in composition at Boston University during the 1970s. As an atonal work embracing a non-conventional harmonic, melodic and formal approach, it stylistically reflected much of the “new music” of the later 20th century.

As a “serious” work for solo accordion, Introspection was, I believe, somewhat innovative for its time. The piece was composed, in part, to demonstrate some of the inherent musical and expressive possibilities offered by the free-bass accordion. Some of these include: the use of rich, varied complex harmonic structures with unusual voicings incorporating both left and right-hand keyboards; utilization of vibrato and tone clusters; unusually long, sustained harmonic passages; the use of extreme dynamic contrasts and a variety of articulations, and the use of extreme registers in each hand/keyboard, taking advantage of the accordion’s wide range.

Introspection’s first public performance was by the composer in 1976 at a master class under the direction of Hugo Noth. The event was part of the 1976 International Accordion Symposium held in Toronto, Canada.

Richard Romiti