A trance music piece made up of repeating 4/4 cells in which an absolutely steady eighth-note motion predominates. Often several cells are going on simultaneously, and one cell frequently mutates into another through the addition or subtraction of a note or two. One has to step back far enough to get a perspective on the large-scale shifts in density and tonality before the impact of An Hour for Piano can be felt. Frederic Rzewski plays very percussively throughout, giving the piece an intense forward motion.
CD booklet includes Tom Johnson's, “Program Notes to be read while hearing An Hour for Piano,” and an essay by Kenneth Goldsmith, “An Hour of Tom Johnson.”
