Pianist Jeremy Denk describes John Adams’ I Still Play as “a piece about a long friendship, and about connection and farewell.”
Adams composed the fleeting set of variations for solo piano in 2017 to commemorate the retirement of Robert Hurwitz, the longtime president of Nonesuch Records. The piece, which the composer has characterized as “Satie meets Bill Evans,” unfolds over a restless chromatic bass line as a dreamy, haunting waltz. Fragments from Bach’s Goldberg Variations emerge and dissipate.
Adams explained that the inspiration for the title came from an overheard conversation:
I’d organized a concert in [Robert’s] honor at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and asked about 10 of the composers he’d worked with to write short pieces. I’d overheard someone talking to Bob – they said, ‘I didn’t know you played the piano.’ And Bob said ‘Yes, I still play.’ So I called my piece ‘I Still Play.’
Here is Jeremy Denk’s recording:
Recordings
- Adams: I Still Play, Jeremy Denk Amazon
Featured Image: illustration from earbox.com
I love Jeremy Denk’s work – from the Goldbergs to Ligeti’s etudes, Denk is a consummate performer and classical piano spokesperson. I only wish I could also say “I still play.” Hardly at all is my answer. But I *listen* with passionate intensity.
This really is “The Sound of Silence”, not the one that has words to that effect.