Stephen Scott (1944–2021) — Circle (2000) for organ
in memoriam Allen Scott (1915–2000)
American composer Stephen Scott (1944–2021) is best-known for his development of the “bowed piano”: a grand piano played by an ensemble of as many as ten musicians using every imaginable technique to produce sounds on the insides of the instrument. From 1969 until his retirement in 2014, Scott was Professor of Music at Colorado College; there he founded the Bowed Piano Ensemble in 1977. Under Scott’s direction, the ensemble undertook many tours, produced a number of recordings, and performed a large number of compositions by Scott composed for this unique medium. Though nearly all of his music is for bowed piano, Scott occasionally wrote works for other instruments.