INNOVATIONS
While certain traditional principles must be upheld when creating timeless music, epigonism isn't enough. Recent years saw several major new musical inventions by the composer, among them: The development of a brand-new, double-pedal technique for the piano, and a significant expansion of the sonata form.
DOUBLE-PEDALLING FOR PIANO
Furano's unique pedal technique makes use of the long-neglected sostenuto pedal. Since the pedal mechanism's invention 150 years ago, no composer or pianist has used it for anything other than sustaining a lone note at the beginning of a measure. What a waste indeed: The prudent combination of the forte/sustain pedal with the middle pedal allows the pianist to execute previously unplayable passages, to bring different voices back and forth at will, and to control the instrument's resonance with unprecedented precision at any given moment – among other benefits. All of Furano's keyboard works after 2017 thus contain double-pedal markings. A manual written by the composer, detailing how the technique can be applied to piano literature from Bach to Tchaikovsky, is scheduled to be published in Spring 2020.
EXPANSION OF THE SONATA FORM
The traditional sonata form has existed, virtually unchanged, since the times of Mozart and Beethoven, and justly so – impeccably proportioned, it is the grand pinnacle of all musical forms, and the living, breathing structure that rightfully underpins the greatest musical masterpieces in history.
However, the form's weakness from a modern point of view is its predictable recapitulation, or reprise, which repeats the exposition more or less unchanged. While not completely averse to the element per se, many of Furano's works instead or additionally contain a denouement, a formal resolution in which all of the sonata's initial themes are united, and two often even play at the same time.
