Episode 46 - 1988: William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes

Hearing The Pulitzers

In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss the first solo piano work to ever win a Pulitzer Prize. And they try to answer the question–if these are "new" etudes, what are the "old" etudes? They also examine how Bolcom incorporates various styles and techniques into the etudes, and ponder the set's historical place among other etude collections.

If you'd like more information about William Bolcom, we recommend:

1. Henry S. Jones's dissertation "William Bolcom's Twelve New Etudes for Piano" (Louisiana State University, 1994).
2. Ji Sun Lee's dissertation "Revolutionary Etudes: The Expansion of Piano Technique Exploited in the Twelve New Etudes of William Bolcom" (University of Arizona, 2001)
3. William Bolcom's website.

And if you'd like to read Dave's interview with Marc-André Hamelin (who premiered the entire set), you can find it here.