The Stories

1. Prelude No.4 in E Minor (Chopin) - My mother took piano lessons at the same time I did. She had little time for scales and music theory. She had a few pieces she wanted to play. This was one of them. I still have the charts she made herself to help her play this piece.
2. Prelude No.1 in C Major (J. S. Bach) - "Aligator, aligator," I can hear my piano teacher saying to keep my timing. I've always enjoyed pedaling this piece at a quick tempo like a cascade of flowing water.
3. Shelter Island Waltz (M. Levy) - Inspired by the ocean's rhythm as we crossed the Long Island Sound to the place of my wife's youth.
4. Cherry Wood (M. Levy) - Originally performed as a quintet of my students, it is named for the beautiful cherry wood finish of my grand piano. Its odd meter keeps it rolling.
5. Pensive Mood (M. Levy) - Composed on the piano I grew up with, my grandmother's Ivers and Pond. That piano had a beautiful dark sound despite its ricketty, uneven keys.
6. Little Prelude in C Minor (J. S. Bach) - I love the story this piece tells. Being pulled beneath the forest floor, locked away, futile protests, resignation, a ray of hope, and finally - emergence.
7. Village Wedding Waltz (M. Levy) - I composed this for my wedding. We danced our first waltz to this music played by a band of friends on many instruments.
8. Ecossaise in D Major - (M. Levy) - A playful exercise composed in rondo form.
9. Ecossaise in G Major (Beethoven) - I would love to see this piece used for a silent movie or staged pantomime. I can see the set up and the chase.
10. Ecossaise in G Minor (M. Levy) - Another playful exercise composed for my studrents.
11. Adagio in G Minor (M. Levy) - Subtitled "The Carving," I enjoy the constant melody being colored by the dark chords underneath.
12. Solfeggietto (C.P.E. Bach) - This piece is an old friend that has been with me the longest. It is a roller coaster of a ride, from theme to transition to theme again, and again.
13. Waltz in C Sharp Minor - (M. Levy) - The first notes of this piece came to me in 1983. I was at the old Ivers and Pond and wanted to compose a piece with grand chords and scope. It would be 16 years later that I had enough experience to realize my vision. And later still before I found its end. Compositions take on a life of their own and grow along side you.
14. Two Lullabies (arr. M. Levy) - I enjoy playing aroung with these old melodies. They are in our minds, in our souls, and they beg to be played and expressed.
15. Two Dances (M. Levy) "Baile del Auga y Baile del Aire" Dances of water and air. The first is a minuet of sorts with five meausure sections. The second came to me as my fiancee, now my wife, lay sleeping behind me as I played.
16. El Condor Pasa (arr. M. Levy) - Somewhere in here that old traditional melody cries out.
17. Lament (M. Levy) - This piece is composed to be sung. It is heavily influenced by traditional Celtic music. Lyrics have since been written. Look for it on a future release.
18. Melody (Khachaturian) - Another song, this piece takes me to the old country. So simple, so true, a lilting lullaby.
19. Finsbury Park (M. Levy) - Named for a neighborhood in London I stayed in during the summer of 1990. The house had an old upright piano that I played as the house mother prepared evening tea.
20. Minuet in G Major (J. S. Bach) - Gently flowing, I never tire of its pure harmonies.
21. Air in E Flat Major (M. Levy) - An impomptu, the story of this piece unfolded as I played it. I played a passage and waited for response. I then listened as the dilalogue continued to its end.
22. Gig Harbor Lullaby (M. Levy) - Composed on the Puget Sound in 1992.
23. Moonlight Sonata -1st Movement (Beethoven) - My mother's favorite piece. Opening with a tolling bell.
24. Until Morning's First Light (M. Levy) - A cold November evening in Vermont --we kissed for the first time -- we sat up talking about life and love by the heat of a wood stove -- until morning's first light.

Contact:
The New Learning Project
PO BOX 307
Cuttingsville, Vermont 05738
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Marcos Levy at The New Learning Project