The Bechstein Meditations; Opus 111 The Bechstein Meditations are a collection of Piano pieces as performed on the C. Bechstein Concert Grand. I chose the Bechstein because of its moodiness and even tempered softness. That may sound contratdictory, but when one performs on the Bechstein, the notes are sounded in a very soft and melodic fashion, yet it only takes the slightest pressure to make the piano respond with a dynamic note. Because the Bechstein is constructed and designed the way it is, performance is far different from a Steinway or, say a Bosendorfer. The meditations are grouped in a series of five. At first glance, this is not readily discernible, but upon examination, one will notice that each set of five meditations begins with Lakes, the Meadows, and finally Woods. There is no particular wisdom in this, only a loose organization around a few geographical settings. Lakes, Meadows, and Home are a few of my favorite places and they lend themselves to the meditations as thematic material and really, nothing else. The meditations explore a variety of genres from classical to jazz. They are performed by the composer, Michelle Ende', and it is safe to say that they were composed in an afternoon. There is a small dance school in the area where I live and it has, of all things, a Bechstein Concert Grand. I stumbled upon this one afternoon while taking one of my nieces to dance class as a new start. Once I played the Bechstein, I was hooked, and arranged to have these pieces recorded. The first five meditations concern themselves with Lakes and Ponds, and reading letters of farewell as evening approaches. I have always had a fondness for lakes and ponds and evening. I particularly like the colors of evening as it settles into night, and little stars come out to comfort you as you read this letter that says you are not in your loved one's life anymore. And at once, you realize the weight of loneliness and the comfort of stars, and the wisdom of silence, and so you walk and walk, hoping the pain will drift away. The second set of meditations are a little more expansive in their nature, as if the realization that the world is bigger, by far, than our feelings. We see the tall standing trees and we contemplate the freedom which has just been given us. We do not see this yet, of course, but something in us knows it is true. The meadows stretch on for a while and we run our fingertips along the tops of the grasses until we arrive at the edge of the woods, where home is. As the third set of meditations begins, we hear family drifting in, one by one, having heard our woeful news, and we all move to the porch and the great hammocks, which hang there. Some conversations emanate from there and we find ourselves laughing at our own bedtime stories. We watch the moon rise over the meadows, casting light on the remains of an old castle, or monastery. It is a little spooky, making home all that much more cozy. We watch our horses play with each other as night settles in, and laughter hangs like a soothing balm over our tattered heart. ABOUT THE COMPOSER: I was born in Chicago and raised on Bach and Beethoven. As a young girl, I was treated to regular concerts by The Chicago Symphony under Georg Solti. My family is originally from Romania and I am second generation American, with plenty of my musical roots still intact. I have studied at Lane Technical Preparatory and at The Sherwood Music Conservatory, concentrating on Violin and Piano. My childhood training, from the age of six, concentrated on classical organ technique, later moving to pipe organ, and still later to theater organ technique, and finally, to piano. But my great love is composition. I have amassed a great deal of musical work which is slowly being shared with the public as they are readied for CD. My website, for further exploration is http://annuitmusic.com