Musings . . . Stephen Hopkins

I love summer! Especially, since my wife Lisa and I moved back to the northeast five years ago from Florida. The weather has been pretty outstanding this spring and summer in central PA. I enjoyed teaching a class for six weeks, and now I have some time to compose. I just finished a piece, Elegy, for strings, in memory of my father.

How remarkable is it that we can channel sadness into beauty! Music has seemingly magical qualities, with such a variety of styles and purposes. Ah, the question of aesthetics in music--it's one I ponder almost daily. More soon . . .

SH

Here's a piece for piano that came to me in a dream, called Ian Grove Blues. It's part of a piano album entitled Meditations in Blue. I recorded the album in Esber Recital Hall on the evening of March 9, 2006. Remarkably, all fourteen tracks are un-edited complete takes. (I mean, this really is remarkable for me!)

I intend to post the entire album here for downloading, but figure I'll take it one track at a time. This is track 4 from the album. A colleague has suggested that it shares a certain affinity with the music of Eric Satie. I hope you enjoy it. SH

Ian Grove Blues

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