Impulses 9/19/08

[furtwaengler]

2008 was a good year. This was recorded at the end of a Friday in September, on the Yamaha in the auditorium at the school which employs me (staff accompanist with unique performing privileges - they are too nice to me!). I was in a creative lather after spending a couple hours practicing (trying on) a certain piece of music from a certain musician who has been an endless fascination, and you can hear this certain piece sprinkled all through this improvisation; if you know the piece you will most certainly recognize it.

It is an improvisation, but with bits of compositional thought of huge dimension, and sometimes orchestral sonorities - very big and very powerful - but it is an improvisation, and these passages are laid out very impulsively...not the framework of a piece which has been planned and finished, but the image of an idea at its very moment of conception, the essence of inspiration. It is a journey through a collection of impulses, some of which have become favorite snap shots in the stacks.

As a little prep I posted already the origins of two of the ideas which see further development here, all the A's of the piano, and what I've called for (some reason, I don't know) the monument octaves. Those recordings, from about a month prior can be found here: https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=37201.0

Because of the limitations of the recorder in the live room with the bright piano, it is hard to come up with a satisfactory result to present (it cannot capture this piano). Within my own limits I have done quite a bit of work on audacity trying to remove the noise of a little heater which kept kicking on (I know exactly whose this was...she did not like air conditioning!) while preserving as much as I can the atmosphere around the recording; it is distorted and stuffy, but I have a feeling the heater would annoy. So much of my life is recorded on that little recorder, and while I wish it were better, I am happy to have it documented in some way then for it to have been forever lost.

Do listen and enjoy. 

[pianowolfi]

Having listened to many of your improvs, I think that there is a big one picture somewhere behind...

...That you have some subjects, motifs, themes that might be part of something huge...

Your themes, your picture, what you and nobody else can say, can play.
Did you ever think of making a program out of it? Or more than one?

I think it would be a great contribution to the musical world

[furtwaengler]

All I need is time. 

[pianowolfi]

All I need is time.  

hmm this sounds somehow familiar...If I only could remember.....