Composer Reinaldo Moya — “Ghostwritten Variations”

The Lysander Trio, comprised of violinist Itamar Zorman, cellist Michael Katz, and pianist Liza Stepanova perform this world premiere recording from their recently released album, "Mirrors"

Venezuelan-American composer Reinaldo Moya talked to The Violin Channel about his work and the inspiration behind the piece.

"As a composer deeply interested in literature, I've always been intrigued by novels with characters who are composers," Moya said.

"After all, musicians seem to have been a part of stories since as far back as the myth of Orpheus. In the 'Ghostwritten Variations,' each of the variations is written as though it was composed by a fictional composer. The composers represented in this piece are Adrian Leverkühn from Thomas Mann's epic novel 'Doctor Faustus,' Robert Frobisher from David Mitchell's post-modern masterpiece, 'Cloud Atlas,' Peter Els from Richard Powers’s deeply moving 'Orfeo,' and Johannes Wright and the Orchestra from Kim Stanley Robinson’s science fiction novel 'The Memory of Whiteness.'

"I have known the marvelous musicians of the Lysander Piano Trio since our student days at Juilliard. I had wanted to write something for them for a long time and the opportunity finally came in 2015. I have been so delighted with how committed they have been to program this work repeatedly and couldn't be happier with the beautiful recording on their new album.

"I hope that listeners will go on a listening and literary journey with me. Reading and listening are both about imagination, and this was an opportunity for me to try to sound like some of my favorite composers! I hope that listeners will find each composer's voice compelling, unique, and moving. I also hope that some might be fascinated enough by the music to go pick up one or a few of these marvelous books to add to their libraries. They are all wonderful books full of humanity, beauty, and music."

LYSANDER PIANO TRIO | REINALDO MOYA | "GHOSTWRITTEN VARIATIONS" | 2021 | WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING