Peter McKenzie Armstrong (born March 12, 1940) is an American composer and pianist. His forty-some works have drawn most strongly from sources not primarily associated with music -- integer sequences, polar geometry, tessellation structures, chemical element properties, et al -- with the goal to convey their shapes and proportions persuasively in sound. Most pieces, algorithmically generated, are scored for piano -- or autopiano, depending on their keyboard constraints. Others are scored for flute, either solo or in mixed duo, and several earlier works survive for larger MIDI ensemble or Csound.
______________________________________________________________________________
Compositions Overview
Grouping by Materials & Process Opus
o All-interval 12-tone chords
o Axial rotation through all degrees
o Cellular automata (Conway "Life")
Markov Chains:
o Fibonacci family
o Others
o Ostomachion, o Phi, o Periodic Table
o Simplest Perfect Squared Square
o Synthetic & juxtaposed modes
o Variation/reconstruction
13 18-20 25-26 33
6a-d 7 9 28 36-38
21-22 27 30a-c
4-5 17 24
12 16a-b 35
15, 23, 31
10 34a-b
1-3 32
8 11 14 29
Generation Most compositions have been generated algorithmically via coding in Forth/APL/J with output then fed to LilyPond for PDF scoring. Extensive composer-edits to LilyPond's secondary MIDI output yield additional suggested performance specs. Results if scored for solo piano are input to Pianoteq for rendition on one of its "Bosendorfer" instruments.
Access
Scores, published by Edition Ottaviano Petrucci, may be accessed and downloaded at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP). Audio is similarly available at SoundCloud, and video (page-turned score synchronized with audio) is online at the Internet Archive. See corresponding links on each catalogue page.
Piano Solo
o 12 Variations in S-Mode, Op. 1 (1971)
o Black & White: Voicing/Articulation/Pedal Study, Op. 2 (197_)
o Mini-Studies on my Surname, Op. 3 (1983)
o Katikaze: Study in Single Notes, Op. 4 (1984)
o Krikos Epilogue, Op. 7 (1993)
o Variations on "Rule, Brittania!", Op. 11 (2007)
o Syzygies: Two-Part Takes on Wythoff's Matrix, Vol. I, Op. 16a (2014)
o Syzygies: Two-Part Takes on Wythoff's Matrix, Vol. II, Op. 16b (2014)
o Takeoffs on "Katikaze": Interval Expansion Study, Revised, Op. 17 (2022)
o No!: A Trifle, Op. 21 (2016)
o Patterns from the Game of Life, Part I: 8th Notes for Toy Piano, Op. 27 (2018)
o JE: A Mural -- after John Elliot's "Yesteryear on the Hudson", Op. 29 (2019)
o Patterns from the Game of Life, Part III: Pairs & Singles, Op. 30b (2019)
o Trends from the Periodic Table of Elements, Op. 31 (2020)
o Bunny Victoria Watson, a Chihuahua Triptych [orig. for Music Box], Op. 32 (2021)
o Triptych: Riddle, Dance, Echo, Op. 33 (2021)
o In Modulo, Part I: Cycles from the Perfect Squared Square, Op. 34a (2022)
o In Modulo, Part II: Cycles from the P.S.Square Absentees, Op. 34b (2022)
o Whirly: Ostinato on a Subprime Fib, Op. 35 (2023)
o Circular Variations on a Name, Revised, Op. 36 (2023)
o Circular Variations on "F. J. E.", Op. 38 (2024)
Piano 4 Hands
o Flipidodes: All-interval 12-tone Chords Voicing Study, Op. 18 (2015)
o Last Breath: Hexachordal Articulation Study, Op. 19 (2015)
o Flitter, Dither & Rant: Assorted Chordal Confusion, Op. 20 (2015)
o Thin Rake c/o "The Game of Life", Op. 22 (2016)
o 'Tis To Waft, Op. 26 (2017)
o Patterns from the Game of Life, Part II: Rondo Infernale, Op. 30a (2019)
o Patterns from the Game of Life, Part IV: Ostinato Polemico, Op. 30c (2019)
Piano 6 Hands
o Chord for Mr. Woodshed (Arr. PMA), Op. 25 (2017)
2 Pianos
o Krikos 1: Circular Variations on the Opening of Schoenberg's Opus 33a, Op. 6 (1991)
Autopiano
o Dapper '1' and Dreadful '0', Op. 12 (2011)
o Refractions: 12-Tone Chords on an All-Interval Row, Op. 13 (2012)
o Phigits: One-Part Takes on the Digits of Phi, Op. 23 (2016)
o 11/8, 2nd Edition, Op. 24 (2016)
_________________________________________
Flute Solo
o Partita Traverse for Flute Solo after J.S.Bach, Op. 8 (1993)
Flute & Guitar
o Stuckle: Takeoffs on a bar each from Schoenberg and French Folksong, Op. 9 (2012)
Flute & Mandolin
o Circular Variations on "M. C. J. A. F. P.", Op. 37 (2024)
Flute & Piano
o Stuckle2: Stuckle with a Between, Op. 28 (2018)
_________________________________________
Digital Ensemble
o Cycles for Synclavier, Op. 5 (1984)
o [CTT-95]: Bus Ride over a Bach Bass [2 xylophones, steel drum, cello pizz.], Op. 14 (2012)
o Ostomachion: Wind Chimes from Archimedes' Box [12 MIDI instruments], Op. 15 (2013)
Csound
o Noitnevni Trap-2 (1984)
Krikoi on the Opening of Schoenberg's Opus 33a, (1992)
o 1: Circular Variations, Op. 6a
o 2: Time^Space Vortex, Op. 6b
o 3: Prelude & Centrifugue, Op. 6c
o 4: Helix, Op. 6d
o Additudes: Fibonacci/Lucas Mod Cycles set in the Order-21 Perfect Square, Op. 10 (2005)
_________________________________________________________________