William Thomas McKinley (1938-2015)

Introduction
McKinley was an American composer and jazz pianist born in New Kensington, PA. He wrote over 300 musical compositions. Many have been recorded by famous ensembles around the world.

Work Analysis
I chose to analyze Paintings VII by McKinley. This piece was written in 1982 and is almost completely atonal. It is part of a collection of compositions that McKinley wrote throughout his life. Paintings VII is the most famous work of this collection. The different time signatures and melodies McKinley uses coexist with one another. McKinley also makes use of his crazy dynamic markings to encourage players to use more or less energy.

Comparisons
There is not really much I can compare this piece to. I would actually go ahead to say that this is almost one of a kind. The one thing I can relate this piece to is something Charles Ives could have written. It almost sounds like McKinley is trying to paint a picture with this piece in my head like Ives does with his compositions.

Observations
I actually really enjoy the piece. It almost seems too far out of my realm of knowledge to attempt to comprehend it. It has a lot going on and I can enjoy that. McKinley’s work really stands out to me as a writer and is something I hope to one day be able to do on my own.