King of Prussia, PA – 2011 recipient of the Charles Ives Living Award James Matheson wrote Pound (110-41784 - $14.99) at the request of Xak Bjerken, pianist, Cornell faculty member, and close friend of the composer. Given Bjerken's incredible technique and musicianship, Matheson was faced with the task of writing a piece that would actually challenge him. Matheson wrote Pound in hopes that it would be nearly impossible to play, and yet, Bjerken took to it with ease. Written in three movements, Pound creates the illusion of two pianos, and is meant to be played without pause, totaling approximately 11 minutes. For advanced players.

Brooklyn-based composer James Matheson has rapidly emerged as one of the most distinctive, vital, and creative musical voices of his generation. Among his commissions are works for the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, the Chicago and Albany Symphony Orchestras, Carnegie Hall and the Borromeo String Quartet. In September of 2009, James joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic as Director of the Philharmonic's innovative Composer Fellowship Program. In addition to the Violin Concerto, recent projects include True South, commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, Four Fanfares, commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Borromean Rings, commissioned by the Cheswatyr Foundation for the Borromeo String Quartet and pianist Judith Gordon. Matheson has also received the Goddard Lieberson Fellowship and the Hinrichsen Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and awards from the Bogliasco and Sage Foundations, ASCAP, and the Robbins Prize. From 2005-2007, Matheson was Executive Director of the MATA Festival of New Music in New York, which commissions and performs the work of young composers who are making their entry into professional musical life. Matheson has held residencies at Yaddo and the Liguria Study Center, and has been a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. To learn more about James Matheson, visit the Composer Gallery at www.presser.com or his website at www.jamesmatheson.com.

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