(Reynold Philipsek 7/2/2019) I suppose you could say I have written these thoughts down at this time from a position of autumnal repose. Since my first communion in second grade (age 8), I have been grappling with the eternal question as to whether this universe is governed by random or design. I am not saying I was some sort of […]
“Hong Kong Harry”(Composed by Reynold D. Philipsek, 1994 copyright) I originally wrote this piece for “Global Home Movie,” which was inspired by my 1994 trip around the world. On that trip, I visited Japan and China first, then Hong Kong. I wrote tunes for nearly every leg of the trip (China, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Athens, Rome, Switzerland, Paris, Amsterdam, Bonn, and
About 1977 I attended some composition and theory classes through St. John’s University. The emphasis was on early 20th century composers. Stravinsky, Webern, Schoenberg, Berg, Prokofiev, Bartok, and Debussy were the main focus. But Maurice Ravel became my favorite and remains so until this day. At the time, a friend of mine who was majoring in piano performance (and with
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) Read More »
There were several things that drew me to Weinberg and his music. The first thing was that his birth date of December 8 is something I share with him. Secondly, he is of Polish origin (another thing I have in common with him), though he lived most of his life in Russia and is known as a Russian composer.
Miecyslaw Weinberg (1919-1996) / composer Read More »
Great melodies, bold harmonies, audacious rhythms, plenty of virtuosity (Prokofiev was a piano virtuoso himself) and lots of Slavic charm and character. For the past several weeks I have been listening repeatedly to these three concertos and only finding more and more to discover and admire each time. I have been a fan of the “Third” for many years but
Prokofiev (Piano Concertos 1, 2 and 3) Read More »
“Rococo”Written and performed by Reynold D. Philipsek, copyright Zino-Rephi Music (BMI) “Rococo” is a tune I perform often, both with my small groups and solo. The title stems from the ornamentation-like nature of the melody. The most successful pieces I have composed mostly have one thing in common and that is a certain “inevitability” about them. In other words, they