Ice & Fire

Ice & Fire, the debut Navona Records album by Stephen Scott, showcases a variety of works for bowed piano. The album features the Bowed Piano Ensemble, an experimental piano group based in Denver that was founded by Scott. The ten players of the Bowed Piano Ensemble conjure from one open grand piano a multiplicity of sounds with long, singing lines, sustained drones, chugging accordion-like figures, crisp staccato tones reminiscent of clarinets, deep drum tones and more, often simultaneously, to create a rich, contrapuntal new chamber music tapestry. Ice & Fire features six compositions by Scott for the ensemble including 'Afternoon of a Fire,' written for bowed piano and improvised Native American flute in memory of the wildfire that resided in his native Colorado. The album also includes experimental works that interpret the concept of drones, a piece with five miniatures for bowed piano, and Scott's first written piece for voice and bowed piano.