Written in 1913, this piece is described by the composer as a study "in rhythm, time, duration, space, pulse, meter, accent, together and in various ways." This astoundingly dense and complex work is based on a palindromic series of prime numbers, with continuously changing time signatures.

Nevertheless, it is neither a cold nor a ponderous work. In its duration of slightly over four minutes, it first shows itself as dramatically aggressive (in re: con moto), and then, in the second half, works itself into obsessively looping passages with thrilling variations (et al). There are wild versions of march and ragtime syncopation with ascending bass patterns. Amazingly, there is also an optional drum part.

The initial divisions are simple sub-divisions, and then work toward unison rhythms in more complex ratios. A brief introduction ends in a single octave. The rhythms then start to stretch away from each other, marked with ensemble accents at certain points. The gestures become larger and arpeggiated, stretching between registers, especially in the piano part. Dramatic tremolos and florid glissandi. A loud mutual dissonance. A loud mutual octave, like at the beginning. Pause. A medium soft dissonance, as an afterthought, or maybe just to show that the music really could keep going, and that loud octave was no coda.

© All Music Guide

Portions of Content Provided by All Music Guide.
© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.