The Birth of Shiva

Description

Piano — This ten-minute work is a distillation of the first movement (“Time”) of my 1994 Piano Concerto, which has the subtitle “Shiva’s Drum”.xa0 All the materials, and even the basic order of events, follow the progression of the orchestral version—but the piano soloist must here provide percussion, the semblance of strings, and woodwind textures in addition to what was already a formidable solo part.xa0 The Hindu god Shiva, who was the protagonist in the concerto, is revealed in this new work to be an entire universe.xa0 Since Shiva is both Creator and Destroyer, and since this piece could not attempt to replicate a concerto that lasts more than thirty minutes, I decided to feature him solely in his Creator role.xa0 In the ten minutes of The Birth Of Shiva, we can observe his birth, his growth, and his creative power.The piece proceeds from a “lightning bolt” opening, in which the cosmos is instantly created.xa0 The pulsating music that follows it supports a sequence of cadenza-like passages, in which the deity is seen gathering and organizing matter---creating, as it were, the world.xa0 The music is strong, but unfocused at first; as if the newly made matter has not yet found its form.xa0 As it proceeds, the materials become more and more cohesive and metered.Midway through the piece, a very lyric theme emerges: Shiva, the Creator.xa0 At once tender and gentle, it is also self-assured and confident.xa0 A slow middle section (resting music, to follow the creative energy?) is meditative and serene.xa0 At length, it leads back to the lightning bolt figure, and the Creator theme re-appears, resplendent in new colors.xa0 The piece concludes with the happy pulsing of new-created time.The Birth of Shivaxa0 was written for the same excellent musician who commissioned the Concerto, James Dick.