Mikel Kuehn - Works
Please click on emphasized titles (links) for score/audio/video and program notes. For a more direct listening experience stream my music via my SoundCloud and/or YouTube channels.
Jump to: Chamber, Solo and Duo, Electroacoustic
Large Ensemble
Sfumato (12:00, 2019). Large orchestra 3333/4331/3 perc., harp, piano, celesta/16,14,12,10,8). Commissioned by the Bowling Green Philharmonia; Emily Freeman Brown, conductor.
Undercurrents (15:00, 2013). 14 instruments: flute (alto flute), oboe (English horn), clarinet (bass clarinet), alto saxophone (soprano saxophone), 2 percussionists (vibraphone, marimba, 4 suspended cymbals and 2 tam-tams), piano harp, guitar, 2 violins, viola, cello, and double bass. Commissioned by Ensemble Dal Niente; Michael Lewanski, conductor.
Deus ex Machina (10:30, 2002). Large orchestra 4333 alto saxophone/4331/3 perc., 2 harps, piano/16,14,12,10,8). Commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s First Hearing Program for the Civic Orchestra of Chicago; Cliff Colnot, conductor.
New Terrains (7:30, 2000). Orchestra (2222/2221/3 perc., harp, piano/8,7,6,5,4 minimum). Winner of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s First Hearing Contest.
Terrains (5:30, 1998). Orchestra (2222/2221/3 perc., harp, piano/8,7,6,5,4 minimum).
Poisson’s Journey (15:00, 1996). Large orchestra (4333/4331/3 perc., 2 harps, piano/16,14,12,10,8).
Regions (7:00, 1992) (revised 1995). Orchestra (2222/2221/3 perc., harp, piano/8,7,6,5,4 minimum). Awarded an honorable mention in ASCAP's Young Composers Competition, and Eastman's Howard Hanson Prize.
Reklame (6:30, 1988) A Cappella Choir (SSAATTBB). Based on text by Ingeborg Bachmann.
Footprints of Debussy’s Trois Chansons de Bilitis (2019, flute, alto saxophone, piano, celesta). Commissioned by Quatuor Apollinaire (France). In three movements: I. La flûte de Pan (2019) and III. Le tombeau des Naïades (2018) (The second movement has not been composed yet.)
String Quartet No. 1 (If on a winter's night...) (22:00, 2016). Commissioned through the Barlow Endowment for the Spektral Quartet.
Elegy for Aaron (7:00, 2010). Flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion. Commissioned by the Copland House and the Hoff-Barthelson Music School.
Etchings (8:00, 2009). Saxophone quartet (2 sopranos, 2 tenors). Commissioned by the Anubis Saxophone Quartet. Published by Resolute Music Publications.
Tenor Madness (5:00, 2007). Three tenor saxophones.
Color Fields (9:00, 2006). Tenor saxophone, vibraphone, guitar, and piano. Commissioned by Flexible Music.
Split (6:30, 2006). Alto saxophone, bass clarinet, and piano. Commissioned by the Thelema Ensemble (Ghent, Belgium).
Spaces (15:00, 2003). Six percussionists in four spaces. Commissioned by the Bowling Green State University Percussion Ensemble.
Contours (5:00-20:00, 2002). Unspecified ensemble.
Intersections & Resonances (11:00, 2000). Alto saxophone, violin, and piano. Commissioned by saxophonist John Sampen.
Broken Lynes (10:30, 1995/1997), For flute (alto flute), clarinet (bass clarinet.), violin, violoncello, and piano.
Between the Lynes (10:30, 1994). Flute, violoncello and piano. Awarded the League of Composers / ISCM Prize.
Fünf Parabeln (c. 22:00, 1993/1996) (Based on five parables by Franz Kafka). For soprano voice and chamber ensemble: Version A: flute (alto flute/bass flute), clarinet (bass clarinet), violin, violoncello, piano. Version B: flute (alto flute), clarinet (bass clarinet), violin, violoncello, piano.
Dementia Praecox (12:00, 1991). Amplified chamber ensemble (flute, clarinet, violin, violoncello, and piano). Finalist in the ASCAP's Young Composers Competition.
Flush (7:30, 1988/2012 revision) for six trombones with plunger mutes (revision of notation with small musical changes). Recipient of ASCAP and BMI Student Composer Awards.
Constructions for Flute Quartet (6:30, 1987)
Two Pieces for Brass Quintet (7:00, 1987).
Table Talk (6:30, 2018). Violin and viola. Commissioned by Yu-Fang Chen and Mei-Chun Chen.
Karikatur (6:30, 2018). Tenor saxophone and prepared piano. Commissioned by Jeffrey Vickers.
Chimera (12:30, 2017). Flute and piano. Commissioned by the Fromm Foundation at Harvard for Conor Nelson and Thomas Rosenkranz.
Entanglements (10:30, 2016). Harp and guitar. Commissioned by the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) for Daniel Lippel and Nuiko Wadden and the Mostly Mozart Micro Commissions at Lincoln Center.
Returning the Complement (8:00, 2013). Piano solo (three movements) Commissioned by Perspectives of New Music for pianist Winston Choi.
Intersections (10:00, 2012). Alto saxophone and piano. Commissioned by the Solaris Duo (Vienna, Austria).
Circular Variations (21:00, 2006-13). Piano solo. (A study of small piano pieces to be played in various combinations. 19 variations completed.)
Devouring Time (7:00, 2010/2014). Marimba solo. Commissioned by Yu-Tzu Huang.
Resonances (4:30, 2007). Soprano saxophone and piano. Commissioned by John Sampen and Marilyn Shrude. Published by Resolute Music Publications.
Crosstalk (7:00, 2005/2014). Flute and violin.
Tag (3:30, 2006). Two flutes. Recipient of the 2009 Lee Ettelson Composer's Award.
Hoodoos Meditation (6:00, 2005). Solo piano.
Unfoldings (8:00, 2004). Solo guitar. Commissioned by Dan Lippel.
Sonnets to Orpheus (16:00, 2002-2003) Soprano voice and piano, 3 movements on texts by Rilke.
Double Labyrinth (7:30, 1999). Flute and marimba. Commissioned by Kesatuan (Portland, Oregon).
Jigsaw (8:00, 1992), Solo tuba, 3 movements. Commissioned by Mark Cox.
Cycles (5:30, 1990). Solo piano, 3 movements.
Echoes (7:00, 1987). Two marimbas, 2 movements. Published by Drop 6 Media, Denton, Texas.
Click here for information on the Hyperresonance Series (2000-).
Perseverance: An Artist Rendering (Electroacoustic: periphonic Ambisonics, 2022)(10:00, 2022). Ambisonic fixed media. Based on audio recordings supplied by NASA from the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover. The 3D immersive spatialization is available in various decodings (e.g., stereo, quad, 8 channel ring, cube, etc).
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird (Electroacoustic: soprano and periphonic Ambisonics, 2022) (10:20, 2022). Soprano voice and ambisonic fixed media. For Deborah Norin-Kuehn. The 3D immersive spatialization is available in various decodings (e.g., stereo, quad, 8 channel ring, cube, etc).
Unlocking the Keys (Electroacoustic: periphonic Ambisonics, 2020) (7:57, 2021). Ambisonic fixed media. The 3D immersive spatialization is available in various decodings (e.g., stereo, quad, 8 channel ring, cube, etc).
Dancing in the Ether (7:45, 2020). Ambisonic fixed media. The 3D immersive spatialization is available in various decodings (e.g., stereo, quad, 8 channel ring, cube, etc).
Severance (3:13, 2018). Soundtrack.
Polyvalence I (c. 11:00-15:00, 2017). For improvising pianist. Piano, MIDI controller and live, interactive electroacoustics. Commissioned by pianist Daniel Koppelman.
...blue circles streamed, like rainbows in the sky... (Hyperresonance VI) (17:00, 2015). Piano and live electroacoustics. Commissioned by pianist Marilyn Nonken.
Rite of Passage (Hyperresonance V) (12:00, 2014). Bass clarinet and live electroacoustics. Commissioned by clarinetist Marianne Gythfeldt.
Colored Shadows (Hyperresonance IV) (13:30, 2012). Viola and live electroacoustics. Commissioned by violist John Graham.
...lilac shrieks and scarlet bellowings... (9:30, 2010). Fixed media (5.1 surround sound) and video (abstract animation by Montreal-based visual artist Jean Detheux). Based on six poems of E. E. Cummings. (This is a revision of the work onto a 5.1 fixed media format with significant musical changes).
…lilac shrieks and scarlet bellowings… (9:30, 2009). Soprano voice, interactive electronics and video (abstract animation by Montreal-based visual artist Jean Detheux). Based on six poems of E. E. Cummings.
Objet/Ombre (Hyperresonance III) (11:00, 2008). 12 saxophones and 2-channel electroacoustics. Commissioned by Selmer Paris for Jean-Michel Goury's Boulogne-Billancourt Saxophone Ensemble (Paris).
Chiaroscuro (Hyperresonance II) (10:00, 2007). Cello and interactive electroacoustics. Commissioned by cellist Craig Hultgren.
The Secret World of Bookends (12:30, 2005). 4-channel fixed media. (A version of this work exists with abstract animation by visual artist Jean Detheux.)
Music through Prisms 3D (12:30, 1998/2004). 8-channel fixed media (This is a revision and remix in 8-channels of the original stereo piece).
Crack (Hyperresonance I) (13:00, 2001). Flute, alto saxophone, and fixed media. Commissioned by the Bicinia Duo for their Chamber Music America Residency.
Vox Figlio (13:45, 1999). 8-channel fixed media.
Music through Prisms (12:20, 1998). 2-channel fixed media.
...remembrance of things past... (12:37, 1997/1998). 2-channel fixed media.
Neapolitan (8:00, 1991). 2-channel fixed media.
Diaspora (4:00, 1990). 2-channel fixed media.
Z (6:00, 1987). 2-channel fixed media with slide projection of artwork by Mikel Kuehn.