LEXINGTON, Ky.\u2014Transylvania music professor Larry Barnes\u2019s composition \u201cToccata: Act of War,\u201d is featured on \u201cSonance: New Music for Piano,\u201d recently released by Capstone Records. Barnes\u2019s \u201cToccata\u201d was chosen in an international competition, from over 150 entries. The piece was originally composed in 2002 for a commission by colleague Gregory Partain, professor of piano at Transylvania. The disc features a variety of new work by 11 composers performed by Jeri-Mae G. Astolfi.<\/p>\n
\n![](\"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/academics\/content\/bios\/photos\/220060721.jpg\")
Barnes\u2019s music has been featured at festivals and concert series in North America, Europe and Asia. His music has been described by the New York Times as \u201cfinely sensitive\u201d and by the Village Voice as \u201cLovely and remarkably controlled in its performance.\u201d He is the recipient of the Cleveland Orchestra Premier Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Composer Fellowship, 25 ASCAP awards and a Bingham Fellowship for excellence in teaching at Transylvania. <\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhen I began writing the piece in early 2001, its title was intended solely as a metaphor for the explosive nature of the work,\u201d said Barnes. \u201cOf course, both the title and music took on a new meaning after the nation was plunged into vulnerability on September 11. \u2018Toccata: Act of War\u2019 is passionate, barbaric, moody and impulsive. Bursting with anger, its pent-up rage is only briefly interrupted by moments of lyricism. The brief central core is a respite from this turmoil, but it cannot last, just as the realization of a world forever changed by the tragedies of September 11, 2001, cannot be erased.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nFor more information, call the public relations office at (859) 233-8120.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LEXINGTON, Ky.\u2014Transylvania music professor Larry Barnes\u2019s composition \u201cToccata: Act of War,\u201d is featured on \u201cSonance: New Music for Piano,\u201d recently released by Capstone Records. Barnes\u2019s \u201cToccata\u201d was chosen in an international competition, from over 150 entries. The piece was originally composed in 2002 for a commission by colleague Gregory Partain, professor of piano at Transylvania. The disc features a variety of new work by 11 composers performed by Jeri-Mae G. Astolfi. Barnes\u2019s music has been featured at festivals and concert series in North America, Europe and Asia. His music has been described by the New York Times as \u201cfinely sensitive\u201d and by the Village Voice as \u201cLovely and remarkably controlled in its performance.\u201d He is the recipient of the Cleveland Orchestra Premier Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Composer Fellowship, 25 ASCAP awards and a Bingham Fellowship for excellence in teaching at Transylvania. \u201cWhen I began writing the piece in early 2001, its title was intended solely as a metaphor for the explosive nature of the work,\u201d said Barnes. \u201cOf course, both the title and music took on a new meaning after the nation was plunged into vulnerability on September 11. \u2018Toccata: Act of War\u2019 is passionate, barbaric, moody and impulsive. Bursting with anger, its pent-up rage is only briefly interrupted by moments of lyricism. The brief central core is a respite from this turmoil, but it cannot last, just as the realization of a world forever changed by<\/p>\n