Maitri
Maitri
For Violin and Piano Left Hand
Duration: 7 Minutes
I composed this duo—Maitri or Loving Kindness— for my friends Mitchell and Kim Newman. Kim’s paralysis on one side of her body did not prevent her from continuing as a pianist and sensitive artist. Witnessing the tenderness of the two together was inspiring and I tried to express that musically with this improvisatory fantasy.
"...loving-kindness - maitri - toward ourselves doesn't mean getting rid of anything. Maitri means that we can still be crazy after all these years. We can still be angry after all these years. We can still be timid or jealous or full of feelings of unworthiness. The point is not to change ourselves... ...It's about befriending who we are already. The ground of practice is you or me or whoever we are right now, just as we are. That's the ground, that's what we study, that's what we come to know with tremendous curiosity and interest... ...Inquisitiveness or curiousity involves being gentle, precise, and open - actually being able to let go and open."
Pema Chodron, The Wisdom of No Escape and the Path of Loving-Kindness
Ensemble after a "wavy" barline should be imprecise. Music should sound roughly as it is
verically notated, but both parts performed completely ad libitum. Every performance
should create a slightly unique vertical alignment.
Dashed barlines continue either precise (conventional bar lines) or imprecise (wavy barlines)
musical sections. In imprecise (wavy barline) sections, events immediately after the dashed
barline start together. In precise (conventional barline) sections, the dotted barlines are
essentially visual aids, providing phrase grouping in lieu of meter changes.
To impart a sense of freedom and "letting go," I have refrained from designating meter changes
in most of the piece. However, many sections have an obvious meter and that structure should
be felt and not sound random. One important goal of performance should be a contrast between
sections of relative independence between the instruments and moments when they clearly
come together.
The pedal of the piano is essentially held down throughout the piece to create a special
resonance, sonority, and reverberation. The length of fermatas should largely be determined
by the time necessary for the piano to ring. The size of the piano and the acoustics of the
performance space will be considerable factors. A smearing of harmonies is an essential part
of the sound in this piece. However, pedal changes are marked where clearer harmonic motion
is warranted.