"First Performances by Chris Chalfant is a foxy and idiosyncratic group of pieces that manages to be at once both a textbook and a collection of piano solos. Grouped in five categories, the pieces use and exemplify a rich variety of devices compositional and notational: mixed meter, unusual rhythmic notation, clusters, chromaticism, tone rows, odd phrasing, shifting - and competing - tonal centers, etc. In the Introduction, the composer helpfully sets out the particular elements characterizing each piece. The selections range from moderately easy to challenging. Several are considerably more difficult to read than to play. Many are enlivened by a captivating rhythmic energy that gives both humor and coherence to sometimes startling melodic and harmonic moves. The book itself teaches, but I suspect it will yield the best results if undertaken with a teacher interested in and sympathetic to its innovative and experimental nature. For that student with that teacher, an adventure awaits."

Anne Farber, Director of Dalcroze School, New York