My Blog No. 4
I had always thought of myself as an American. A Jewish-American with roots in many countries, Germany, England, Ukraine, Russia, especially Russia.
When Russia invaded Ukraine, for the first time, I felt I am an American with Ukrainian ancestry.
At that time, I wrote my Ukraine Symphony (No. 28.) as well as Fantasy on Ukrainian Folk Songs.
I now feel, at the time of writing A Human Requiem, American… American period.
That my country is in upheaval does not make me want to run away. I dream of doing something to help…
I write books and music inspired by Buddhist, Sufi, Jewish, Christian and other religions and philosophies.
The fourth movement of A Human Requiem, which accompanies this blog post is about compassion.
Compassion for ourselves, for those who mourn, for all who suffer… compassion for our enemies.
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The movement begins with a gentle, old-fashioned Broadway waltz, intended to rekindle loving memories of a departed life-partner.
The theme— though reminiscent of many tunes in that style— is original.
As the movement develops, in keeping with my way of working— learned from Beethoven, Rimsky-Korsakov and others masters— themes from previous movements are reprised. I think of my works as movies without actors (although, I would be happy to have actors added to productions — in some I have already added actors, narrators, dancers, and other performers). So, as a movie develops with characters having a cumulative impact on the drama, my themes and those I have paraphrased build to an ever more complex dramatic unfolding.
Born in Ukraine
Born in Ukraine
Born in Ukraine: Reinhold Glière
Tchaikovsky had family in Ukraine. He considered himself Russian.
Grandparents were born in Ukraine.
