After having played with so many musicians in the 60s, 70s, and 80s -- Mainhorse, Refugee, Yes and the Moody Blues -- and doing work scoring films, I decided at the beginning of the 90s that it was time to compose and perform music strictly for piano. I started with "Windows of Time," which was released in 1994, and then followed-up with "Resonance," released in 2000.
"ESP" (Etudes-Sonatas-Preludes) is the latest to date, 2003. I dedicated ESP to my dad's memory. He was very dear to me and without his guidance, I would never have been able to play and compose as I am doing today. He had a big influence on me, both in music and in life. These songs are for him.
Something happened to me when I was about 13 years of age. I was roller-skating for the first time and, after an unfortunate fall, I broke the fingers of my right hand. My music teachers told me I would never be able to play classical music again. I chose not to believe them. I left the Conservatory of Music and for the next six months, I practiced for many hours every day. In time I was able to play with the left hand what I would with the right, and with the right what I would with the left. Then I taught myself to cross my hands and do the same, in real-time. In other words, I became ambidextrous on the keyboard.
I composed a lot during this time, and soon enough, I found a way to express myself with my own compositions. It felt good developing my own style and it still feels good to this day. I have composed so many pieces of music, I don't even know where they all are! But I never feel short of inspiration and I always seem to be able to compose more and more new pieces.
On ESP, I especially like playing the 2nd movement of a sonata (in C). I wrote this in the early stages of the development of the CD. Structurally, it is built like a Mozart sonata. It is in the key of G-C-Cmin and back to G, as G is the dominant of C, which is found in the 1st movement and 3rd movement, although the latter takes its real development in the key of F, before returning for a last spin to the original key of C as the piece gets to its final stage. I love to play this 2nd movement, because it's so simple and yet, so difficult. In order to attain the heights of delivering the truth of that simplicity, I have to feel a certain state of transcendence, which moves me spiritually to another plane.
And that is really what I love to do. And I hope that I'll be able to play it for you, at some point, in a not too distant future.
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