Poet’s Introduction: I was stunned when I first saw GRAND PIANO PASSION™—it was beautiful the way it connected the arts, and I found it healing to read through the archives.
Mary Jo Balistreri
Prelude in E Minor, a Poem
Maybe because I was afraid at this first really important concert as a 10-year-old, felt the taste of fear, the piano so huge, it somehow came back—the drowning incident that took place when I was five.
A Contemporary Romantic
The painter Annika Connor is a Contemporary Romantic, a term that is at once wholly new and yet wonderfully old-fashioned, reminiscent of Chopin, Liszt, and Schumann, members of the Romantic music movement in 19th century Europe.
Fantasy Impromptu, a Poem
The only way I could deal with the distance within my marriage, within myself, was to practice and practice. Fantasy Impromptu is a difficult piece to play well, and it took me out of myself.
The Minute Waltz, a Poem
The Minute Waltz (Opus 64 No. 1) by Chopin was my first experience of music as more than just pleasant sounds. I was spellbound by the piano playing this piece.