| Alternative title |
Fable, Caravan, Morning Sun, Mountain Run, Starlight, Legend, Peace, Jean's Angels, Rhapsody |
| Description |
A beloved student for several years and the son of a piano-teacher friend of mine, went to Russia with his senior class, falling in love with everything Russian. He came home begging to play Rachmaninoff, but as was not quite advanced enough to learn any Rachmaninoff in the remaining three weeks of the semester, I offered to write him a somewhat more 'grateful' imitation, in 'Souvenir of a Russian Journey'. Thus began my custom of writing pieces for graduating high-school seniors. The 'senior pieces' all bear the names of those for whom they were written. Some are quite difficult and were not chosen by the students to be included on their senior recitals.
The nine pieces in Book 4 were written at Annacarla between 2011 and 2013. One of them, "Jean's Angels," was written not for a graduating high school senior, but in honor of a different kind of senior. Jean Villasenor, my neighbor at Annacarla, celebrated her 90th birthday there, so I wrote and performed this piece in her honor. I think she has at least two angels who watch over her at all times.
More sound: https://soundcloud.com/michael-mauldin/sets/senior-pieces-book-4 |