Etude for the Left Hand, Op. 36 | BLUMENFELD | Luke Faulkner

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Available to stream on -
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/51N57LJaDinWsW1VdxQoRR?si=ca02b0edc5f84287
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/etude-for-the-left-hand-in-a-flat-major-op-36/1681455196?i=1681455207
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.co.uk/albums/B0BT3MJJPQ?marketplaceId=A1F83G8C2ARO7P&musicTerritory=GB&ref=dm_sh_SoPNK3b1DF98RElGQcOP7GRqB&trackAsin=B0BT3VH5K9
YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=uckaO55Ve7Y&si=rcDpx0Zs9O8FHQDQ
Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/artist/luke-faulkner/forgotten-melodies/etude-for-the-left-hand-in-a-flat-major-op-36/TRvt62wJwXxPtX4?part=ug-desktop&corr=172979569475724068

Felix Blumenfeld (1863-1931) was born in Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine. His music is seldom performed and recordings are rare, but I’ve been captivated by his compositions for many years.

This piece was written for the left hand alone which might appear an odd thing to do, but the inevitable technical difficulty lends an inner turmoil to the music; when practising I sometimes split the music between both hands (to experiment with different ways of phrasing the melody, etc.) and found the increased ease and fluency caused the music to lose some of its magic. The result is a melody full of hope and beauty underpinned by turmoil and struggle. This latter theme comes to a head in the middle section (now in a darker minor key) when pain and challenge come to the fore in the form of tumultuous octaves and daunting figuration across the whole breadth of the keyboard. When this eventually wanes, the beautiful melody returns and peace is ultimately restored.

For anyone wondering about the venue, is it a former almshouse chapel in London that was bombed during the Second World War. Rather than restore it, the decision was taken to leave it as a monument to our checkered history.

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If you have any questions, would like to license the music for a project, or would like to collaborate, my email address is: lukerfaulkner@yahoo.co.uk

Audio mixing & mastering - Nadya Podedinova: https://www.instagram.com/nadezhdapodedinova/

Etude Op. 36 | BLUMENFELD | Luke Faulkner