Levinson: Ragamalika

Instrumentation

• Piano

Ragamalika (meaning “garland of ragas”) is a virtuosic practice in North Indian classical music, reflected most directly in the second of these pieces. The soloist departs from one principal raga (melodic mode) and whirls through a series of others. An influence of Balinese gamelan may be heard as well in the bell-like resonances and flowing textures of the first and fourth pieces, while the third, a study in opposed sonorities, is an homage to Debussy. The work was commissioned by pianist Marcantonio Barone, who has recorded Ragamalika on the Albany label.