Six Short Inventions



Category: Musical composition
Dated: Carmel, California, April 5, 1934. Revision made in 1958
Instrumentation: Any three or more instruments with specific range
Duration: 7'
Premiere and performer(s):
Dedicated to:
Choreography: ---
Published: Only the 1958 version has been published
Manuscript: This is the final part of Solo with Obbligato Accompaniment of Two Voices in Canon and Six Short Inventions on the Subjects of the Solo. The Six short inventions do not have a seperate score, except for the 1958 version.


The Inventions were written in Carmel, California. It is the last of a series of chromatic pieces from the early thirties, that deal with the problem of keeping repetitions of the twenty-five tones within a two-octave span as far apart as possible. Each of the three voices uses the same range, but none introduces a repetition until all twenty-five tones have been played. These pieces made Henry Cowell suggest my studying with Arnold Schönberg and Adolph Weiss.