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Six preludes for solo piano
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Clifton Callender
CHOPIN
BACH
LANGETIESSEN
TATUM
CRAWFORD
LISZT
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In à la manière de..., pianist Minyoung Rho presents Clifton Callender’s six-prelude cycle exploring the relationship between musical inheritance and contemporary expression. Completed in 2018 during the composer’s residency at Copland House, the work draws on composers and musical figures spanning centuries, transforming elements of their distinctive languages through Callender’s own compositional voice.
Each prelude begins with a particular musical point of departure. Chopin draws on the chromatic unison textures found in the finale of the B-flat minor Sonata, Op. 35, and the E-flat minor Prelude, Op. 28, No. 14, while Bach reimagines the traditional two-voice canon through persistent clashes of major and minor seconds. Inspired by La Campanella, Liszt begins with a single repeated note before expanding into virtuosic waves of sound across the keyboard.
Callender’s references extend into the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Langetiessen—a portmanteau of David Lang, Louis Andriessen, and György Ligeti—brings together elements associated with all three composers, while Tatum responds to the extraordinary virtuosity of jazz pianist Art Tatum. Crawford takes the opening of Ruth Crawford Seeger’s Music for Small Orchestra as a point of departure, transforming its source material into an independent musical statement.
Yet à la manière de... is neither an exercise in imitation nor a collection of musical parodies. Across the six preludes, these references become part of Callender’s own language: rhythmically precise, contrapuntally intricate, frequently charged by major and minor seconds, and shaped by an atmospheric use of the piano’s resonance.
Through Rho’s performance, the six contrasting musical portraits unfold as a unified cycle—a dialogue between recognition and transformation, and between the musical past and a distinctly contemporary imagination.
Released by Manus Label, à la manière de... is available worldwide on major streaming platforms.
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Performer: Minyoung Rho
Composer: Clifton Callender
Label: Manus Label
Release Type: Digital EP
Release Date: August 7, 2026Produced by: Manus Label
Artistic Direction: Mingfu Han
Dr. Minyoung Rho
Minyoung Rho is a pianist and organist recognized for her expressive interpretations and wide-ranging repertoire. With a particular commitment to contemporary music, she has worked closely with living composers and has premiered and performed their works, reflecting her deep engagement with new music and contemporary artists. Praised by the New York Classical Review as "a musician who has the technique, the ear, and the sensibility," Minyoung has appeared as a solo pianist at distinguished venues including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Ruby Diamond Concert Hall, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Steinway Society of Puerto Rico, and Yamaha Concert Salon in South Korea. In addition to her work as a pianist, she maintains an active career as an organist, presenting organ recitals and serving as a church musician. Born in South Korea, Minyoung holds degrees from Florida State University, Southern Methodist University, and Seoul National University.