Piano (Piano Solo)
SKU: HL.49047037
Piano Solo.
Composed by Vijay Iyer.
Piano Solo. Classical.
Softcover. 11 pages.
Duration 600 seconds.
Schott Music #ED30416.
Published by Schott Music
(HL.49047037).
ISBN
9781705182024. UPC:
842819116998.
9.0x12.0x0.123
inches.
My father,
Y. “Raghuâ€
Raghunathan, came from
India to the U.S. in
1963, followed soon after
by my mother Sita. Dad
enjoyed a substantial
career as a
pharmaceutical chemist,
but he drew satisfaction
from a simple life among
family and friends, never
allowing professional
demands to overshadow his
devotion to loved ones.
Modest, compassionate,
and ardently egalitarian,
he was careful not to
take anything too
seriously, especially
himself. He embraced his
own ordinariness because
it connected him to
everyone else; it made
him no better or worse
than his neighbor, no
more or less deserving of
friendship or kindness
than any of his fellow
human beings. He showed
us how to live with
dignity, compassion,
grace, and boundless
love. His last piece of
advice to me: “Go
slow.†Several
weeks after his passing,
I happened upon a
recording of
ShostakovichÂ’s 24
Preludes and Fugues, opus
87. I couldnÂ’t
understand why at the
time, but the sixteenth
prelude and fugue took
hold of me and would not
let go. I completely
immersed myself in that
piece for ten days, until
it became a mystical
conduit for something
else: in this semi-trance
state I produced a
prelude and fugue of my
own, in prayer (orison)
and in praise (upastuti).
It shadows
ShostakovichÂ’s form,
but it somehow expresses
my fatherÂ’s
unhurried, loving spirit.
IÂ’ve come to believe
that he sent me this
piece as a blessing. I
hope you feel his
presence in it as I do.
Vijay Iyer.
