Kyle Gann: List of Compositions

Kyle Gann: List of Compositions

For recordings, scores, and program notes,
visit the music index page
Vermilion Highway (2024)
for two pianos, two percussion; 15 minutes
The Afterlife of Sitting Bull (2007/2024)
for soundfile; 7 minutes
Marvelous Accidents (2024)
for piano and percussion; 8 minutes
The Pensive Morning (2024)
for Disklavier and live pianist; 12 minutes
Ballad for Harry (2024)
for Partch Chromelodeon; 6 minutes
The Days Fly Away (2024)
for viola and piano; 14 minutes
Commissioned by Elisabeth Smalt
Bedazzlation (2024)
for mechanical piano (Disklavier); 7 minutes
Nocturne No. 11: Managing Expectations (2023)
for piano; 7 minutes
Nocturne No. 10: The Eddying River (2023)
for piano; 7 1/2 minutes
Nocturne No. 9: Am Grab von Bruckner (At Bruckner's Grave) (2023)
for piano; 6 1/2 minutes
Trieste (2023)
for cello, vibraphone, piano; 19 minutes
Commissioned by House on Fire
Piano Concerto No. 2 (2023)
for piano solo, orchestra (2-2[EH]-2-2; 2-2-2; 2 perc [vib, wdblk, glock], harp, strings); three movements, 29 minutes
Commissioned by Emanuele Arciuli
Nocturne No. 8: Homage to Clementi (2023)
for piano; 6 1/2 minutes
Nocturne No. 7: Night Sky (2023)
for piano; 7 minutes
Nocturne No. 6: Spectral Dance (2023)
for piano; 6 minutes
Nocturne No. 5: The Argument of Innocence (2023)
for piano; 6 minutes
Nocturne for violin and piano (2023)
for violin, piano; 8 minutes
Nocturne No. 4: Nora in the Night (2022)
for piano; 4 minutes
Amateur California Prune-Picker (2022)
for Harry Partch instruments; 10 minutes
Commissioned by John Schneider
But Even So (2022)
for flute, clarinet, string quartet, piano; 14 minutes
Consolatio Solitudinis (The Comfort of Solitude, 2021-22)
for computer-run piano; 12 1/2 minutes
Nocturne No. 3: Crepuscule sans fin (Twilight without End) (2022)
for violin, piano; 8 minutes
commissioned by Francois Mardirossian
Nocturne No. 2: Souvenirs d'un tango (Memories of a Tango) (2022)
for violin, piano; 6 minutes
commissioned by Francois Mardirossian
Nocturne No. 1: Collines de lavande (Lavender Hills) (2022)
for violin, piano; 8 minutes
commissioned by Francois Mardirossian
Inexact Tango (2022)
for piano; 4 minutes
Anaconda (2022)
for retuned electric keyboard; 18 minutes
Hyperchromatica (2012; 2015-17; 2020-2021)
a collection of twenty-one pieces for three microtonally retuned, computer-run pianos; three hours and 23 minutes

Andromeda Memories (2016-17); 8 minutes
Futility Row (2015); 9 minutes
Orbital Resonance (2015); 11 1/2 minutes
Pavane for a Dead Planet (2016); 9 minutes
Star Dance (2015-16); 6 1/2 minutes
Ride the Cosmos (2016-17); 6 minutes
Dark Forces Signify (2016); 8 minutes
The Lessing is Miracle (2015-16); 9 1/2 minutes
Busted Grooves (2017); 7 minutes
Rings of Saturn (2016-17); 13 minutes
Pulsars (2017); 10 minutes
Delta Oracle (2020); 9 minutes
Neptune Night (2017); 14 minutes
Spacecat (2017); 4 1/2 minutes
Extravehicular Activity (2021); 9 minutes
Reverse Gravity (2016-17); 6 minutes
Romance Postmoderne (2012); 8 1/2 minutes
Geometry (Homage to Schillinger) (2021); 17 minutes
2.7 Kelvin (2020); 12 1/2 minutes
Liquid Mechanisms (2016); 13 minutes
Galactic Jamboree (2015-16); 7 minutes

Clara - completed scenes of an unfinished opera (2021)
Libretto by Lois Walden
- Prelude
- "You Are My Peace"
- "When I Play" (Act 1 Finale)
- "All I Ever Wanted, What I Never Had"
- Angels' Chorus, Carnival Scene
for five soloists, small choir, flute, oboe, bass clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, viola, electric bass; 35 minutes
Whispers (2020-21)
for retuned electronic keyboard; seven movements, 42 minutes
Two Random Microtonal Studies (2020)
for retuned electronic keyboard; 10 minutes
Happy Ending (for David Garland) (2019)
for Disklavier (computer-driven piano); 5 minutes
The Insomnia of Lilacs (2018)
for virtual flutes, vibraphone, and piano (with 58 pitches/oct.); 31 minutes
Two Creatures (2015/18)
- Reticent Behemoth
- Affable Denizen
for quarter-tone accordion; 9 minutes
Commissioned by Veli Kujala
The Watermelon Cargo - acoustic chamber orchestra version (2003/2018)
Libretto by Jeffrey Sichel
four singers (SATB), small SATB chorus (12 singers), flute, oboe/EH, three percussion, accordion, string quartet (or strings), electric bass; 45 minutes
Cinderella's Bad Magic - acoustic chamber orchestra version (2002/2018)
Libretto by Jeffrey Sichel
five singers (SSATB), flute, oboe, vibraphone, accordion, piano, string quartet (or strings), electric bass; 44 minutes
Lagniappe (2018)
1. One movement too many...
2. ...and another one thrown in
for Disklavier (computer-driven piano), Ondes Martenot, harp, vibraphone, and contrabass; 15 minutes
Songs from Proença (2015/16)
- Be.m pac d'ivern - poem and melody by Peire Vidal (late 12th century)
- Na Audiart - poem by Ezra Pound
- Alba (En un vergier sotz fuella d'albespi) - anonymous medieval poem, translation by Ezra Pound
- Estat ai en greu cossirier - poem by the Comtessa de Dia (late 12th century)
- L'aura amara - poem by Arnaut Daniel (late 12th century), translation by Ezra Pound
- Near Perigord - poem by Ezra Pound (excerpted)
for alto voice and piano; 47 minutes
Apparition (1999/2016)
for viola and piano (arrangement of third movement of the "Last Chance" Sonata); 8 minutes
Cap Rock Wind (2016)
for mezzo-soprano and chamber orchestra (1,1,1,alto sax,1; 1,1,1; el gt, vib, pno; strings); text from House of Earth by Woody Guthrie (1947); 18 minutes
Commissioned by Contemporaneous
In Silence (2015)
for SATB chorus and piano; poem by Thomas Merton; 5 minutes
Commissioned by James Bagwell and the Cincinnati May Festival Youth Chorus
Et Faim Sallir les Loups des Boys (2015)
for male voice and piano; poem by Ezra Pound (1915); 2 minutes
Proença (2015)
- Be.m pac d'ivern - poem and melody by Peire Vidal (late 12th century)
- Na Audiart - poem by Ezra Pound
- Alba (En un vergier sotz fuella d'albespi) - anonymous medieval poem, translation by Ezra Pound
- Estat ai en greu cossirier - poem by the Comtessa de Dia (late 12th century)
- L'aura amara - poem by Arnaut Daniel (late 12th century), translation by Ezra Pound
- Near Perigord - poem by Ezra Pound (excerpted)
for alto voice, flute, vibraphone, electric piano, and electric bass; 47 minutes
Commissioned by Michelle Allen McIntire
Nursery Tunes for Weird Children (2012/15)
1. Down to the End of the Town
2. Up the Hill and Up Again
3. Tiger, Tiger, Turning Right
4. The Cracked Bells of St. Swithun's
5. Jack Ate a Blackbird
Virtual piano, 33 pitches/octave; 9 minutes
Transcendentalist Songs (2014)
- Enosis+ - poem by Christopher Pearse Cranch
- To the Face Seen in the Moon+ - poem by Margaret Fuller
- The Rhodora* - poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson
- The Columbine* - poem by Jones Very
- Indeed, Indeed I Cannot Tell+ - poem by Henry David Thoreau
- The Garden - poem by Christopher Pearse Cranch
- Questionings (The Idealist)* - poem by Frederick Henry Hedge
for female+, male* voice, piano; 26 minutes
Symphony, "Implausible" (2014)
for orchestra, 3-2-2-2; 2-2-3-0; piano, harp, vib., perc., strings; five movements, 40 minutes
Summer Serenade (2014)
for organ; 15 minutes
Your Staccato Ways (chamber ensemble version - 2014)
1. Couplets
2. Flatland
3. Little Womb
4. Hotel Minor
5. Takeoff
for female voice, flute, clarinet, trumpet, vibes, piano, violin, viola, cello; poems by Karen Schoemer; 14 minutes
Catskill Set (Songs without Words) (2013-14)
1. Rocks
2. In the Fields
3. The Pond
4. Roadside
5. Summer
for flute, clarinet, trumpet, vibes, piano, violin, viola, cello; 14 minutes
Your Staccato Ways (2013)
1. Couplets
2. Flatland
3. Little Womb
4. Hotel Minor
5. Takeoff
for female voice, piano; poems by Karen Schoemer; 14 minutes
Sang Plato's Ghost (2013)
for flute, oboe, harp, percussion, accordion, viola, and bass; 11 minutes
Commissioned by the Ghost Ensemble
Surrealities (2012-13)
1. Axioms of the Wind
2. Deep Denial
3. Disaggregated Harmonies
4. Circling the Horizon
5. Unaccommodating Polka
6. Incommensurate Quantities
7. Mistimed Adieu
for three-octave toy piano or celesta; 17 minutes
Scenario (2003-4/2012)
for soprano and orchestra (3-2-oboe d'amore-2-3; 2-3-2; harmonica; acoustic guitar; timp, xyl, mar, tam-tams, drum set; celesta; strings); text by S.J. Perelman, "Scenario"; 17 minutes
Mystic Chords (Rhythm Study) (2012)
for soundfile; 6 1/2 minutes
The Unnameable (2012)
for keyboard sampler and soundfile; 12 minutes
Going to Bed (Homage to Philip Glass) (2012)
for piano; 6 minutes
Commissioned by Nicolas Horvath
Nonexistent Landscape (2012)
for keyboard sampler and soundfile; 11 minutes
Echoes of Nothing (2011)
I. Nothing
II. Something
for retuned virtual piano; 15 minutes
commissioned by Aron Kallay
Serenity Meditation (2011)
for chamber orchestra (2 2 BsCl 2 2 - 1 0 0 0 - cel - chimes - timp - strings); 13 minutes
Concord Spiral (2010)
for string quartet; 8 1/2 minutes
Earth-Preserving Chant (2010)
for piano; 11 minutes
commissioned by Emanuele Arciuli
Hudson Spiral (2010)
for string quartet; 13 minutes
The Light Summer Land (2010)
for string quartet; 25 minutes
commissioned by Carson Cooman
Scene from a Marriage (2010)
for viola and piano; 9 minutes
commissioned by Marka Gustavsson
Useless Round (2010)
for three voices; one minute or more, depending on repetitions
for Larry Polansky's Book of Rounds
Snake Dance No. 3 (2009-10)
for microtonal keyboards, four percussionists, and fretless bass; 11 minutes
Street Music (2009)
for clarinet, tenor sax, drum(s), voice, violin, cello; 4 minutes
Solitaire (2009)
for retuned keyboard sampler and soundfile; 14 minutes
The Aardvarks' Parade (2009)
for retuned keyboard sampler and soundfile; 10 minutes
War Is Just a Racket (2008)
text by General Smedley Butler; for speaking pianist; 9 minutes
commissioned by Sarah Cahill
New Aunts (Tuning Study No. 9) (2008)
for retuned keyboard sampler; 5 minutes
The Planets (Astrological Studies) (1994-2008)
Book I: Sun, Moon, Venus, Mars (1994)
Book II: Jupiter (2001), Mercury, Saturn (2008)
Book III: Uranus (2007), Neptune (2001), Pluto (2008)
for flute, oboe, alto saxophone, bassoon, synthesizer, percussion (tom-toms, cymbals, vibraphone), viola, and double bass (movements performable separately); 75 minutes
commissioned by the Relache Ensemble

Composure (2007-8)
for four electric guitars; 14 minutes
commissioned by Tim Brady
Olana (2007)
for vibraphone; 8 minutes
commissioned by Andrew Bliss
Kierkegaard, Walking (2007)
for flute, clarinet, violin, cello; 16 minutes
commissioned by the Seattle Chamber Players
Charing Cross (Tuning Study No. 8) (2007)
for keyboard sampler in just intonation, and soundfile; 8 minutes
Sunken City (Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Winds in memoriam New Orleans; 2007)
for piano solo with flute, alto sax, tenor sax, baritone sax, 3 trumpets, horn, 3 trombones, bass; 25 minutes
commissioned by the Orkest de Volharding
Fugitive Objects (Tuning Study No. 7) (2007)
for keyboard sampler in just intonation; 7 minutes
On Reading Emerson (2006)
for piano; 8 minutes
commissioned by Sarah Cahill
Implausible Sketches (2006/2011)
1. The Desert's Too-Zen Song
2. Mediating Daydream
3. The Goodbye Fugue
4. Frigid Azure
5. Don't Touch My Pint
for piano, four hands; 32 minutes
my father moved through dooms of love (2005)
for SATB chorus, violin, piano; text by e. e. cummings; 12 minutes
commissioned by the Dessoff Choir
Triskaidekaphonia (Tuning Study No. 6) (2005)
for (electronically simulated) microtonal piano; 5 minutes

The Day Revisited (2005)
for flute, clarinet, keyboard sampler, synthesizer, electric bass (microtonal, 27-tone just-intonation scale); 13 minutes
commissioned by Pat Spencer and Meighan Stoops
Scenario (2003-4)
for theatrical soprano and virtual orchestra (soundfile); text by S.J. Perelman, "Scenario"; 17 minutes

Minute Symphony (2004)
1. Passionate, with energy
2. Sustained, thoughtful
3. Jaunty
4. Exuberant
for flute, clarinet, violin, cello; 1 minute
commissioned by the Seattle Chamber Players
Unquiet Night (Mechanical Piano Study No. 10) (2004)
for Disklavier; 16 minutes

Private Dances (2000/4)
1. Sexy
2. Sad
3. Sentimental
4. Sultry
5. Saintly
6. Swingin'
for piano; 25 minutes
Commissioned by Sarah Cahill
The Watermelon Cargo (chamber opera; 2002-3)
Number Three in The Hudson River Trilogy
Libretto by Jeffrey Sichel; four singers (SATB), chorus, flute, three synthesizers, fretless bass, drums; 42 minutes

Petty Larceny (Mechanical Piano Study No. 9) (2003)
for Disklavier; 6 minutes

Imaginary Isle (2003)
for nine computerized toy pianos; 2 minutes
commissioned by Trimpin

Love Scene (2003)
for string quartet in just intonation (based on Act III of The Watermelon Cargo); 6 minutes

Cinderella's Bad Magic (chamber opera; 2002)
Number One in The Hudson River Trilogy
Libretto by Jeffrey Sichel; five singers (SSABarB), flute, three synthesizers, fretless bass; 44 minutes
Read the program notes.
See the tuning chart.
Read the libretto by Jeffrey Sichel.
Transcendental Sonnets (2001-2)
The Son
Enoch
Love
Faith
The Word
Chorus, two soloists, and orchestra (2, 2, 2, 2; 2, 2, 1 [no tuba]; perc [timp, glock]; strings; soprano and tenor soloists; SATB; also version for chorus and two pianos); poems by Jones Very (1813-1880); 34 minutes
Commissioned by the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir
Tango da Chiesa (Mechanical Piano Study No. 8) (2002)
for Disklavier; 6 minutes
Cosmic Boogie-Woogie (Mechanical Piano Study No. 7) (2000-2001)
for Disklavier; 8 minutes
New World Coming (2001)
for solo bassoon with flute (or oboe), violin (or viola), and piano; 6 1/2 minutes
Bud Ran Back Out (Mechanical Piano Study No. 6) (2001)
for Disklavier; 3 minutes
Hovenweep (2000)
for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano; 11 minutes
commissioned by the St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble
Texarkana (Mechanical Piano Study No. 5) (2000)
for Disklavier; 4 minutes
Time Does Not Exist (2000)
for piano; 16 minutes
Folk Dance for Henry Cowell (Mechanical Piano Study No. 4) (1999)
for Disklavier; 2 minutes
Nude Rolling Down an Escalator (Mechanical Piano Study No. 3) (1997/99)
for Disklavier; 5 minutes
"Last Chance" Sonata (1999)
1. Flowers
2. Snake Dance
3. Apparition
4. Dance of Indeterminate Ethnicity
for clarinet and piano; 19 minutes
Custer and Sitting Bull (1997-99)
Custer: "If I Were an Indian..."
Sitting Bull: "Do You Know Who I Am?"
Sun Dance / Battle of the Greasy-Grass River
Custer's Ghost to Sitting Bull
for speaking voice and computer tape; 35 minutes
The Disappearance of All Holy Things from this Once So Promising World (1998)
for orchestra (winds 2221, 2 hns, 1 trp, 1 perc, strings); 11 minutes
Commissioned by Luis Garcia-Renart for the Woodstock Orchestra
Arcana XVI: Homage to Joan Tower (Tuning Study No. 5) (1998)
for three synthesizers (24-tone scale); 7 minutes
The Waiting (Mechanical Piano Study No. 2) (1997)
for mechanical piano (Disklavier); 7 minutes

Despotic Waltz (Mechanical Piano Study No. 1) (1997)
for mechanical piano (Disklavier); 2 minutes

How Miraculous Things Happen (Tuning Study No. 4) (1997)
for synthesizer (24-tone scale) and tape; 11 minutes

Fractured Paradise (Tuning Study No. 3) (1995)
for synthesizer (16-tone scale) and tape; 4 minutes
Snake Dance No. 2 (1995)
for percussion quartet with optional sampling keyboard; 12 minutes
Desert Sonata (1994-95)
for piano; two movements; 19 minutes
Commissioned by Lois Svard
Homage to Cowell (Tuning Study No. 2) (1994)
for keyboard sampler (just-intonation scale); 5 minutes

So Many Little Dyings (1994)
for keyboard sampler; text (and sampled voice) by Kenneth Patchen; 6 minutes
Ghost Town (1994)
for synthesizer (seven-limit just-intonation scale) and computer tape; 10 minutes
Untitled Phase Study 1993 (1993)
for piano; 3 minutes
"Mr. Eliot's Sunday Morning Service" (1985/93)
female voice and piano; text by T. S. Eliot

Superparticular Woman (Tuning Study No. 1) (1992)
synthesizer (22-tone scale) and computer tape; 4 minutes
Incidental Music for Alice in Wonderland (1991-92)
for flute, clarinet, electronics (keyboard sampler and synthesizer)
Commissioned by the Bloomburg Theater

Snake Dance No. 1 (1991)
percussion quartet with optional keyboard sampler; 12 minutes

"I Slept and Dreamed that Life was Beauty" (1991)
female voice and piano; text by Ellen Sturgis Hooper

Chicago Spiral (1990-91)
for flute, clarinet, soprano saxophone (or three flutes), drums, violin, viola, cello, and synthesizer; 9 minutes
Paris Intermezzo (1989)
for toy piano; 6 1/2 minutes

The Convent at Tepoztlan (Homage to Nancarrow: Canon 23:24) (1989)
for piano and computer tape, or two pianos; 7 minutes

Sweeney Out West (Four Vacation Mishaps for Piano) (1986-88)
for piano
Straddled in the Sun
The Ocotillo's Message
Questionable Company (The Transformation Tango)
Satori Canyon
Laredo (1988)
for snare drum; five minutes
Cyclic Aphorisms (1988)
for violin and piano; three movements; 8 minutes
The Stream (Admonitions) (1987)
for female voice, vibraphone, and four percussionists; text by Henry David Thoreau; 7 minutes
Windows on Infinity (1987)
for piano; 12 minutes
I'itoi Variations (1985)
for two pianos; 26 minutes
Commissioned by the American Ritual Theater Company
Hesapa ki Lakhota ki Thawapi ("The Black Hills Belong to the Sioux") (1984/9)
for flute, trumpet (or saxophone), synthesizer (or accordion), and drum; 9 minutes

"Faith" (1984)
for female voice and piano; text by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Sweeney Among the Tribes (1984)
Sound installation in collaboration with visual artist Mark Staff Brandl; five tape loops plus visual installation
"In the Busy Streets" (1983)
for female voice and piano; text by Henry David Thoreau

Cherokee Songs (1983)
for soprano and percussion; 12 minutes

Baptism (1983)
for two flutes, two drums, glockenspiel, and synthesizer; 12 minutes
Mountain Spirit (1982-83)
for two flutes, two drums, and synthesizer; 12 minutes

The Question Answer'd (1983)
for piano; 4 minutes
Dakota Moon (1982)
for clarinet

As the Day Is Long (1982)
for flute, synthesizer, drums, and computer tape; 13 minutes
Sweeney Adrift (1982)
for three flutes, clarinet, two pianos, celesta, drums, electric bass; 21 minutes
To the Fount Be the Glory (1981; completed 2016)
for brass, woodwind, or string quartet; 3 minutes, or extendible (furniture music)
The Mercy of the Storm (1981)
for piano; 11 minutes
Canso (1981)
computer tape; 3 minutes
Long Night (1980-81)
for three pianos; ca. 22 minutes
Oil Man (1981)
for 2 flutes, clarinet, piano, drums; text by Kyle Gann from letters by Marvin Gann
Song of Acceptance (1980)
for three female voices, flute, French horn, trombone, tuba, celeste, two violins, and cello; length indeterminate; texts from Lao-Tzu, Walt Whitman, and Ecclesiastes

"The Hippopotamus" (1979)
for baritone and piano; text by T.S. Eliot

Tempo Canon (1979)
for harp, piano, and harpsichord

Desert Flowers (1979)
for flute

Lord Thomas and Fair Annie (1978)
for alto flute, clarinet, viola, harpsichord, celesta

Siren (1978)
for five flutes
Could Ye Loan Me Ten Pence? (1977)
for tenor and two melody instruments

Untitled, 1977 (1977)
for two flutes, marimba, violin, contrabass

Satie (1975)
for female voice, violin, flute, harp, celesta; texts by Erik Satie
Redeemable Juvenilia:
Commentary on Hope and Meaninglessness (1973)
for piano; 2 minutes

Adagio (1972)
for orchestra

Fantasy on Two Protestant Hymns (1972)
for handbells; 3 minutes
also in 1973 arrangement for symphonic band

Arrangements and Transcriptions:
November, by Dennis Johnson (2007-9; the original 1959)
for piano, reconstructed from the improvisatory score and a partial recording
Children on the Hill, by Harold Budd (2008-9; the original 1982)
for piano, transcribed from a recording
Symphony No. 3, "The Camp Meeting," by Charles Ives (2000-1)
for piano

Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, by Edvard Grieg (1983)
for clarinet and string quartet

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