When I was eight years old, my mother bought a piano for my siblings and I to play. I remember fondly the process of learning the instrument. One of the first things I learned was how to play the theme of the finale in Beethoven’s Ninth with accompanying chords in the left hand. I would play it as loud as I could over and over.
After playing for two decades now, my love for the instrument has only grown deeper. The piano is often a source of solace when my mind is harassed with cares and troubles. I am drawn to it like a magnet, like most people are drawn to their smartphones.
But why make a website? Admittedly, I am not a professional. I have no deals with recording labels. I seldom perform in public (though I am open to changing that if the opportunities arise). The website exists to showcase my compositions.
In 2011, I wrote my first piece. Since then, it has been a hobby that goes in spurts. In my compositions, I aim for beauty, order, tradition, and humanity.
- Beauty: Music should be beautiful. It should go without saying. Yet so much that has been written in the past century is ugly. Let’s not fool ourselves: objective beauty exists, and as creatures made in God’s image we have the privilege and obligation to discern where it is and where it is lacking.
- Order: Beauty is a function of order. Although part of the beauty in Nature is its chaos, Art as a discipline of Man must distinguish itself by order. “Music” without order is just noise.
- Tradition: No art of Man exists in a vacuum. Western culture is in desperate need of a new Renaissance, which can only be achieved by building upon what has come before, instead of rejecting it for the sake of novelty or “originality”.
- Humanity: In genuine art, Man is irreplaceable. While pleasing sounds can certainly be produced by a machine, that is not my goal as a composer. The music I write is for people to play. Only a human can interpret.
Now that I have sufficiently preached at you, have fun exploring what I have written. I hope that you enjoy these humble offerings.
Kris
