The PIANO SONATA by American composer Aaron Robinson is a programmatic work on a grand scale. Composed in four movements representing four areas of Maine: Machigonne (Portland), Down East, Malaga Island and Katahdin, each paints a detailed portrait of a specific time and place in the State’s history. Its compositional structure draws heavily on the sights and sounds associated with each region while weaving original themes throughout. Mimesis is used to represent the native calls of the indigenous birds found within the state, such as the phoebe, bobolink and the pileated woodpecker; while hymns, songs and sea shanties are incorporated to represent various time periods.

Movement I – MACHIGONNE – Native Americans originally named what is today the Portland peninsula of Maine “Machigonne”, which translates “Great Neck”. The movement quotes several sacred and ritual songs of the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Maine. The struggle between centuries of habitation by the native peoples of the area is represented by the arrival of early settlers and illustrated by juxtaposing hymn tunes and dance music of the past eras.

Movement II – DOWN EAST – is the eastern coastal area of the state closely associated with the French territory of Acadia. Replete with historic sea shanties and tunes, the sound of tolling ship and buoy bells, lighthouse fog horns, and ocean winds are intertwined to create a high-spirited journey which culminates in the familiar Shaker tune from Alfred, Maine.

Movement III – MALAGA ISLAND – Today an uninhabited reserve, Malaga Island was once the home to an interracial community dating from the 1860s to 1911, when its residents were forcibly evicted by the State. The opening theme represents the remnants of the island in its present state; haunted by the memories and unsettling muted solitude of the past and its historical injustice. A peaceful hymn depicting simpler times becomes slowly unraveled, erupting in a traumatic chaos that is never resolved. A ghostly refrain can be heard in the distance as the movement concludes.

Movement IV – KATAHDIN – Mount Katahdin (“Catahdrin”), called “Great Mountain” by the Penobscot Native Americans, is located within the Northeast Piscataquis County, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. The grandeur of its majesty is portrayed by the original themes depicting epic rising and falling passages traversing over centuries. Native Americans believed the mountain to be the home of the storm god Pamola (a place to be avoided), which is characterized by ever-changing major and minor keys within the often times turbulent motifs. The sonata ends in a tonal key: bringing the atonality and discordant change of the work and its representation as a whole to a final resolve.

PIANO SONATA lasts approximately 25 minutes.
It was written between June 2020 and February 2022.

PIANO SONATA is dedicated to pianist Eric Xi Xin Liang.

Stay tuned for the release of the musical score and future premiere performances of this work!