Title: Long Time Coming
Artist: Ginsberg, Gary
Label: CD Baby
Product Type: COMPACT DISCS
UPC: 884501293303
Genre: Easy Listening

"Fingercise" was written in April of 1998. It is a tune I wrote for my kids to practice their finger dexterity. I wanted them to play it fast. I did not actually put a lot of thought into it, and it did not take me very long to write; perhaps an hour. However, I have always enjoyed playing it. "Winter Rage" was written in February of 2004. I was toying around with an idea for a march. As the song unfolded, it took on the aspects of a battle march. I envisioned this piece as a soundtrack for some kind of epic film. Unfortunately, the film has yet to materialize. I wait in patience. "Love Forlorn" was written in December of 2003. I was watching the movie Cold Mountain. It had an unhappy ending, so I found myself feeling sad. I couldn't just shake it off, so I decided to sit down and play the piano, more for comfort than anything else. I was not expecting to write anything, however this song spilled out of me. "A Lover's Bounce" was written in October of 1998. As is often the case with me, this song reflected my feelings that accompanied a new relationship. The bounce reflects an upbeat mood; action with a purpose. I felt a waltz captured the joy I experienced. I envisioned dancing in a big dance hall, like in days of old, perhaps in Vienna. Of course, everyone would be dressed in their finest clothes. The pace would be fast, and everyone would be carefree. "Maxine's Limp" was written in November of 1998, at 10:00 P.M., exactly. I was chasing my kids (Maxine and Stephanie) around the house. My daughter, Maxine, had hit her leg on a piece of furniture. I told her to lie down, and it would feel better soon. Since the piano was right there, I started teasing her about her limping, expressing it in the music. Thus, the song was born. "Life Goes On" was written in July of 2002. This song was written after ending a very long relationship. Grief would describe what I felt. It was written almost immediately, but I put a lot of time and energy into it, channeling my emotions onto paper. As originally written, the song contained three separate parts: sadness in losing my partner, anger, and acceptance and moving on. After establishing that what I wanted to learn from Vitalij was not to play piano better, but to compose better, he suggested I bring to him the manuscript of my favorite song. From this, he challenged me to write 12 variations of this song. This actually was very constructive. Every week I would come back to him with another version, usually around six to seven pages of music. With each variation, he would critique my efforts, show me potential avenues to explore, and point out things to avoid. This markedly improved my skills. From this experience, the best themes from these 12 variations were incorporated into the new version of this song. Thus, this song became the cornerstone of this CD. "On a Sunny Day" was written in 1980. I call this the happy song. The sad thing is, I don't remember why I was so happy. I was in medical school at the time (Downstate - in Brooklyn). I was with my soon to be wife, learning medicine as I had always wanted to do, and making plans for my Residency in Urology. I guess I had a lot of very good reasons to be happy. Those were great times. "A Kiss" was written in March and April of 2004. Always the romantic, this song reflects that feeling of joy and inner peace that comes with falling in love. "The Slide" was written in April of 2004. It was born from experimenting with sliding my fingers from the black to white keys. I developed a nice rhythm in the bass clef, and the right hand fed off of that. It seemed quite catchy. "Ragtime" was written in 1979. At this time, I was midway through medical school. Despite being very busy, I still found time to play piano and compose. Of course, the piano available to me at the time was no concert grand. Just like the different sounds on a keyboard can inspire me to write certain songs, so can the quality of a piano. In this case, it was the honky tonk sound of the piano that invoked a ragtime type song. This song is very representative of the types of songs I wrote in my earlier years. Often fast paced, and technical, and generally upbeat and carefree. "Second Time Around" was written in September and October of 2003. Again, this is a song about breaking up. In fact, my second wife and I, after our divorce, got back together and broke up several times. We really did love each other, but somehow we could not sustain our relationship. This song reflects again, the melancholy of defeat and the hopefulness of tomorrow.

Tracks:
1.1 Fingercise
1.2 Winter Rage
1.3 Love Forlorn
1.4 A Lover's Bounce
1.5 Maxine's Limp
1.6 Life Goes on
1.7 On a Sunny Day
1.8 A Kiss
1.9 The Slide
1.10 Ragtime
1.11 Second Time Around

Audio Sample:
All soundclips are provided by Tidal and are for illustrative purposes only. For some releases, the tracks listed may not accurately represent the tracks on the physical release.