This is the first of five movements of my Piano Quintet.
This recording is live from the premiere at Ganz Hall, Chicago in 2014.

The Chicago Q Ensemble is joined by Amy Wurtz at the piano.

Piano Quintet Movement 1

Second Movement(of five) to the Piano Quintet

The Chicago Q Ensemble and Amy Wurtz, piano
Live at Ganz Hall, Chicago, October 2014

Piano Quintet Movement 2

Movement 3 (out of 5) of the Piano Quintet

Chicago Q Ensemble and Amy Wurtz, Piano
Live at Ganz Hall, Chicago, October 2014

PIano Quintet Movement 3

Final two movements of the Piano Quintet

The Chicago Q Ensemble and Amy Wurtz, piano
Live at Ganz Hall, Chicago, October 2014

Piano Quintet Movements 4-5

Ekhlas was commissioned and premiered by the Zeitgeist ensemble in St. Paul, MN.  It is scored for percussion, clarinet and piano and has subsequently been performed by Access Contemporary Music in Chicago.
The piece is continuous but in three sections--a fiery, energetic opening, a meditative, improvisatory middle section, concluding with a calmly moving final section.

Ekhlas

Message from the Soul is based on a Sufi text of the same name.  It is scored for five soloists, narrator, percussion quartet, choir and chamber orchestra.  The entire work is 75 minutes long and was premiered in Dusseldorf, Germany in 2007.  Lyrical choral sections and solos are interspersed with rhythmic chanting from the choir in remembrance of Sufi practices.

Message from the Soul

This piece was written as a 90th Birthday present for my grandmother, Inge Ernst, who was known to all as "Mimi".  I used the two solfege syllables, "mi" and "mi" as the notes E and E and built a 90-measure piece around the motive.  This piece was recorded in the studio by the Bella Voce ensemble conducted by Andrew Davis.  I was very fortunate to be able to give her this recording on her birthday, and so sad when she passed away just four months later.

Mi - Mi

I'm a composer and pianist based in Chicago. I write chamber music, piano music, music for films and theater, orchestral music, choral music.  I perform as a soloist, with Access Contemporary Music, the Calumet Chamber Musicians, and the Wurtz-Berger Duo. More info at www.amywurtz.com.

Amy Wurtz

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