Album Notes

I have performed and taught piano for over sixty years. Regardless of how many times I play the selections included in this recording I find delight in remembering that the compositions are the works of genuine human beings who lived many years ago - people made of the same "stuff of life" as we who are living today. They smiled and cried, laughed and loved, mourned and yearned, the same as you and I. And they passed on to us music of immeasurable worth - music that can stir in us genuine feelings, images, and thoughts. It only asks that we come to it with our heart, mind, and imagination.

And as a pianist I am acutely aware and proud of my chosen instrument, the piano. It too lives and breathes. It was formed from living trees, some with exquisite graining and others with special acoustical and mechanical qualities. In the hands of dedicated craftsmen the woods were combined with other materials to create this marvelous, harmonious, singing instrument - the piano which is my companion on this CD.

Born in Wausau, Wisconsin, Marjorie Bliese Gluckstein received her Bachelor of Music in piano from Lawrence University, studying with Gladys Ives Brainard. Through Professor Brainard, Marjorie's musical pedigree includes Karol Mikuli, a student and disciple of Chopin. She also holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan, where she studied with Benning Dexter. She has taught and performed in Michigan, Louisiana, and Wisconsin. Critics have noted her sensitive interpretations.

She and her husband have been married for over fifty years, and have five children and seven grandchildren. This CD reflects the artist's full and zestful life.