Préludes Book I was written in August to November of 2010. For reasons that escape even the composer, every title in the Book is a palindrome. Every piece also briefly quotes a piece of public domain music — you can find out exactly which music is quoted by buying the Book.
Karl Larson premiered the entire book on April 20, 2011 at Bowling Green State University. The book is published and © by CF Peters, New York, Edition 68329a.
The first three and a half préludes in the book were written at home; the rest were written at Yaddo, to whom many, many thanks are due.
#1 Moody, My Doom (to Rick Moody) This uses the melody of a song written by Rick Moody as a sort of middleground line.
#2 Never Odd or Even (to Karl Larson)
#3 Too Hot to Hoot (to Anthony de Mare) — the first half of this prélude is taken from the opening piano solo from the final movement of Stolen Moments, whose premiere Tony played.
#4 Pull a Wall Up (to Geoffrey Burleson)
Here's Geoffy playing it in 2016.
#5 No, It Is Opposition
#6 In A Regal Age Ran I This one rather obviously uses the repeated chord texture in the E-flat minor prélude from Book I of the Well-Tempered Clavier.
#7 Dr. Awkward
#8 So Many Dynamos A compositional response to a tremendous windstorm at Yaddo the day it was begun.
#9 Puff Up (If I Puff Up) I must have been mad at something.
#10 Air an Aria
