Etude in D Major by Pius Cheung

Etude in D Major (for solo marimba) was composed in 2008 and premiered by myself at the 8th International Marimba Festival in Chiapas, Mexico. Though it was not my original intention to compose it as part of a set of three etudes along with Etude in d minor and Etude in c# minor, perhaps because I wrote them all in the same week, these three pieces work quite well together as a three movement Etude Fantasy.

Just as my previous etudes are, this piece is part of my project to compose 24 of such works, one in each key. And despite the title of ‘etude’, it is not just a mere technical exercise, but a short musical moment. Though it is one of my more technically challenging pieces, one needs not to loose sight of the long singing lines and the dance-like rhythmic feel which hold the composition together.

– Pius Cheung