The Birth of Shiva
Fantasy for Solo Piano (adapted from Concerto for Piano and Orchestra "Shiva's Drum")
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SKU: PR.160002190
Fantasy for Solo Piano (adapted from Concerto for Piano and Orchestra "Shiva's Drum"). Composed by Dan Welcher. Classical. Part. With Standard notation. Composed 1999. Duration 10 minutes. Theodore Presser Company #160-00219. Published by Theodore Presser Company (PR.160002190).UPC: 680160535163.
This ten-minute work is a distillation of the first movement (Time) of my 1994 Piano Concerto, which has the subtitle Shiva's Drum. 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. The Hindu god Shiva, who was the protagonist in the concerto, is revealed in this new work to be an entire universe. 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. 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. 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. The music is strong, but unfocused at first; as if the newly made matter has not yet found its form. As it proceeds, the materials become more and more cohesive and metered. Midway through the piece, a very lyric theme emerges: Shiva, the Creator. At once tender and gentle, it is also self-assured and confident. A slow middle section (resting music, to follow the creative energy?) is meditative and serene. At length, it leads back to the lightning bolt figure, and the Creator theme re-appears, resplendent in new colors. The piece concludes with the happy pulsing of new-created time. The Birth of Shiva was written for the same excellent musician who commissioned the Concerto, James Dick.