Nocturnes & Lullabies reflects a continuing fascination with the piano as an instrument of resonance and an interactive meditative tool. It is a collection of pieces which interested me for the better part of the 2010’s, that all seemed tied to themes of nocturnal existence, soporific states, and the liminal states between light and dark, life and death, the conscious and unconscious self. At that time especially, I was focused on cultivating a sort of pianistic “anti-virtuosity” (at least in the conventional sense), performing music that seems simple on the surface but in actuality affords a great many challenges, both in execution and interpretation.
All but one of the works featured on this album are premiere recordings, and the composers are people to whom I have been connected and by whom I have been inspired for several years. In more than one instance, they are also personal friends and tireless advocates. After several years of recital presentations in various combinations, it is meaningful to present these works on this album: a document and format that is by no means definitive—either collectively or in part, conceptually or practically—but reflects a certain depth of care and understanding that comes from living with and thinking about these special pieces of music as intrinsically related for a prolonged period of time. The listening journey is an inverted arch-form, a descent into a lucid dream-state or waking reverie. These tableaux are excerpts from the continuum of consciousness—evoking profound existential questions, mundane meanderings, and poignant ephemeralities.