I’m pleased to present Measuring Up, my fifth CD of original compositions for piano. The final two selections were composed by my younger son, Ben, who is well on his way to surpassing his father! The CD is dedicated to my own beloved father, Burril Fine, who died the day before our final recording session. I cannot adequately express how much he will be missed. Some background information on the compositions follows: 1. Midnight: Composed in late 2010, this was the first of the pieces to be completed. I always played it best in a darkened room late at night. It is dedicated to my son, Derek, who is always the most likely to be up at midnight (and 1:00 AM, and 2:00 AM, and . . .) 2. Rondo Classico: I always write one piece in classical style for each new CD. This one also has an interlude that might be considered more typical of the Romantic era. I have dedicated this one to my beautiful wife, Karen, a classic in her own right. 3. Alien Gerbil/Anion Gap: Many years ago, my three children and I collaborated on a song called “Alien Gerbil.” (They came up with the provocative title and the lyrics.) This track has the introduction to that song merged with a new ragtime piece that is named after an important medical concept. Anion Gap is dedicated to David Simon, the man whose love of ragtime sparked my own. 4. Un Boceto de España: This “Sketch of Spain” was composed over Memorial Day weekend this year and is dedicated to my son and fellow composer, Ben, who is making good progress with both his Spanish and his trumpet playing. It features the impressive musical talent of Emily Nastelin, who has been awarded a scholarship to study trumpet performance at The New England Conservatory. 5. Brief Candle: This piece was written early in 2011. The title comes from the famous soliloquy from Macbeth that begins “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.” It is dedicated to my children’s piano teacher, Darlene Ebersole, whose teaching skill and kindness have meant so much to our family over the last twelve years. 6. Sixth Floor Lullaby: I composed this piece in honor of my dear daughter, Ellie, and the many wonderful nurses who took care of her at C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital during March of 2011. 7. The GNN Anthem: This song was composed several years ago for my terrific siblings: Mark, Anita, and David. We all communicate frequently by e-mail and refer to ourselves as “The Grandma News Network.” 8. Devotion: I wrote this piece to celebrate the life of our neighbor, Brian Vought, a good and caring man who died in January of this year. 9. Diversion in d minor: Originally, I wanted this composition, completed in May of this year, to have a bit of the flavor of an Eastern European folk song. Once it was underway, though, it seemed also to get diverted in some other directions. It is dedicated to my vivacious Aunt Judi (Nussbaum). 10. Time After Time: This is the piano part of a song written in 1982 with my good friend, Liz Maxwell, who was then attending Northwestern University. She wrote the lyrics from the perspective of a young woman who loves her boyfriend but is continually disappointed by him, as well: “Time after time you let me down./But I keep coming back for more./You're foolish, clumsy too, but I love you./I guess I just don't know the score.” At the very end, the woman reveals that she is really singing about the Northwestern football team, then in the midst of one of the longest losing streaks in college football history. We had hoped to have the song performed in the Waa-Mu student variety show that year, but the football team rudely dashed our hopes by ending the streak on September 25th of that year. 11. A Wonderful Life: This piece was written in honor of Pastor William C. Moore, who died in late February of this year. The title refers to one of his favorite movies and to his own lifetime of service to others. 12. The Hershey Hop: This lively composition bounced into existence in February and March of this year. It is dedicated to my cousin Elizabeth Rosenberg and her dear children, Gabby and Cecelia. It is named for our beloved pet rabbit, Hershey, who enjoys sitting under the piano and listening as we play. (Well, we assume that he is listening . . .) 13. The Tuesday Zoo: This is the piano part to a song I wrote a few years ago to describe the Tuesday afternoon residents’ clinic that I help to supervise. This performance is dedicated to this year’s exhibits at the zoo: Larry McMahon, Elizabeth Osborne, Kunjali Padhya, Jeff Wargo, Yaron Fridman, Jason Wu, and Ben Singer. 14. Expatriates: In my early years of medical school, Leigh Rivenbark, one of Liz Maxwell’s friends at Northwestern, was kind enough to ask me to set one of her poems to music. Since I didn’t have someone available to sing her wonderful lyrics on this CD, I played the melody as a separate part in the treble clef. I must share at least the first verse, though: “The rebel angels fly in ranks; I read that in a book./But the landings you must make alone, that's the one part we mistook./How simple it must look from the outside/To this gate's waiting people with expectant arms./At least I've arrived here safe from harm/And my arrival, or lack of such, can cause no one alarm.” 15. Her Name is Saku Louise: A short song written one night in June of 2003 to celebrate the 2nd birthday of my dear niece, Saku Yoshioka: “Her name is Saku Louise:/A lot of sweetness with no calories.” In this arrangement, my daughter, Ellie, plays a flute part in the chorus. 16. Dusk: One of the two compositions contributed by my talented son, Ben. 17. Equinox: Ben’s other composition. He has a style all his own! I gratefully acknowledge the many people who helped me to produce Measuring Up: My wife (Karen) and children (Derek, Ellie, and Ben) provided helpful input as I was composing and listened patiently as I played phrases over and over again, trying to determine what worked best. Ayrik Wojahn of Solid Sound worked his usual magic with recording and editing. My “design team” came through as always. Nelson Amos helped with the CD design, Korin Hancherlian-Amos did much of the computer work and formatting, and Chris Amos (www.chrisamosphotography.com) took the photographs and worked on the CD design. The members of We Love a Piano, the group of pianists to which I belong, kindly gave a warm reception to the various new compositions that I debuted at our monthly gatherings. --Paul L. Fine June, 2011 Paul Fine (pfine@umich.edu) is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School. His other CDs (Fine Tuning, Doctor’s Notes, White Coat Compositions, and Spare Keys) are available at cdbaby.com and iTunes. Benjamin Fine is a freshman at Salem High School in Plymouth. He enjoys watching football, playing basketball and video games, and reveling in the fact that he is now taller than his father. Eleanor Fine is a junior at Salem High School. She plays piano and cello in addition to the flute. Emily Nastelin is a graduate of Northville High School and will be enrolling at The New England Conservatory to study trumpet performance.