The romantic character pieces of Schumann and Brahms have been my musical companions since childhood. In earlier years, I was immersed in their emotional content....

The romantic character pieces of Schumann and Brahms have been my musical companions since childhood. In earlier years, I was immersed in their emotional content. The craft, especially the economy of scale and refinement of compositional technique, captured my attention as a college student. Later, new discoveries were revealed at the intersections of my musical journey where emotion was guided by intellect. Throughout my career, I have championed new music created by fellow students and colleagues. Shortly after assuming the deanship of the Yale School of Music, it occurred to me that the expansive piano repertoire could be enriched further by contemporary character pieces. These would be in the tradition of the romantic era, each one being three to five minutes in length with an inherent emotional impulse. Yale School of Music and new music are synonymous, dating to it's founding in 1894 with Horatio Parker and throughout the history of YSM a composition faculty with an international presence - Paul Hindemith, Krzysztof Penderecki, Jacob Druckman, and Martin Bresnick among them. Approximately two thirds of the Pulitzer Prize recipients in composition have some relationship to the Yale School of Music. When asked to compose a contemporary character piece that I would perform and record, my faculty colleagues and friends were most gracious and responded affirmatively. I should add that all of them exhibited exceedingly generous patience while waiting to hear premieres due to my unanticipated schedule intrusions. My gratitude and admiration for each of them is boundless not only for their personal encouragement but also for this significant contribution to the piano repertoire and our musical life. � Robert Blocker