THE SEATED QUEEN

for PIANO | 10’ 30” | 2024

Written for and premiered at The Juilliard School by Elias Ackerley.

Revised and recorded by Max Hammond.

difficulty

Intermediate

(Techniques used include touch harmonics (bell tones) and muted playing)

Program Note

Cassiopeia is a distinct constellation in the northern sky, easy to spot by its “W” shape. It is commonly referred to as “The Seated Queen” with regard to Cassiopeia’s mythological origins. Due to her own hubris and boastfulness of her daughter’s (Andromeda) “unrivaled” beauty, Cassiopeia was bound to the star by Poseidon; forever clutching her throne as she rotates around the north celestial pole, remaining upside down for half of the year.

This work paints the air with the constellatory sounds of harmonics within the piano, or what are sometimes aptly called “bell tones”. The stars are beautiful, and know themselves to be as such. However, where there is pride, there is a fall. The piece explores this, as beautiful, floating, ringing harmonies are shunted at times by deep, guttural tones that lack any calm. The tones floating above seem to clutch their throne so to speak, in order to retain their pride.

There is also a somewhat humorous bit of irony to the work, as pointed out by a colleague when I was first writing it and workshopping: the pianist tends to need to be standing for a majority of the work, titled The Seated Queen…