Album Notes

Portraits Luke D. Rosen, piano
14 Improvised Meditations for Piano

Recorded October 21, 2011 at Corpus Christi University Parish, Toledo, OH.

Artwork by Riley Savage
Photography by Zachary R. Dehm
Design by Luke D. Rosen

The piano has always been my personal means of communication. When I was younger, I would come home from school and take out all the frustrations of the day on the keys. Over time, the playing became a bit more refined, yet the idea of portraying raw feelings and emotions through music remained.
When I was in high school, I started developing a clearer style of improvisation. I eagerly listened to the music of pianists such as Liz Story and Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill, and tried to synthesize what I learned from them with the music of Liszt and Debussy that I was studying in my formal lessons. Through college (and to this day), the worlds in which I worked while improvising expanded with each new listening experience. Still, through every experience, the depiction and evocation of emotions remained a primary focus of my music.
I have always been fascinated with the idea that music can paint a picture. While some composers have tried to be very literal in their musical depictions, I tend to try to capture a more general, impressionistic image of my subject.
For this project, I chose fourteen people that have made an impact in my life. None of these depictions is literal, nor narrates a specific event in our relationship; when I sat down to play these pieces, I thought of each person and played the first feelings that came to mind.
Sometimes, when I am writing out music and carefully crafting each musical line, some of that raw emotion gets lost in construction. This recording, for me, is all about capturing the essence of some of the people who are important to me: a candid portrait in music.

- Luke D. Rosen