An Uphill Struggle
Browse Works
Additional Information
An Uphill struggle.
This piece was inspired by a short Laurel and Hardy film entitled The Music Box. The duo’s attempts to push a piano up a large and steep flight of steps are unsuccessful, and the strange noises that the piano makes as, yet again, it slowly tumbles back to its starting point are quite fascinating. The classically minded might see the piece as a reflection on the plight of Sisyphus, who was sentenced by the gods to spend all eternity unsuccessfully attempting to push a boulder to the top of a steep hill.
The first performance of this piece was given by Jolyon Laycock at the Severnside Composer Alliance New Music Day on the 22nd of February 2020, held at the Bristol Music Club.