Pastimes for a Lifetime blogs Wehrli’s “Book of Preludes”
April 2015: Pastimes for a Lifetime, Inc. owner Linda Wehrli explores musical background of husband Barry and his “Book of Preludes: 1-15 for Piano”!
From the Pastimes for a Lifetime interview:
It is a pleasure and privilege to interview again this accomplished musician, composer, arranger, teacher, publisher, and ….. my husband, Barry Wehrli.
My students know Barry as the co-author and publisher of their piano books and materials.
This article brings readers up to speed with Barry’s latest project since his last blog interview of April 19, 2011, his new Book of Preludes 1-15 for Piano. This 8.5 x 11 soft cover book of 62 pages of original print music is ideal for late-intermediate through advanced students and professionals.
Q1. What is your style of composing referred to? For my piano students, would you please describe what this style means or represents?
A1. “Neo-romantic” is the overall style of these Preludes because as a collection they resemble the Romantic era works of composers such as Chopin and late Beethoven, but posses elements of other, later styles such as impressionism, jazz and new age.
Q2. Your Book of Preludes are piano solos as opposed to duets, ensemble or orchestral pieces. What is the story or inspiration behind your choice to focus on piano solos?
A2. I just wanted to casually create my own collection of solo works, composing freely without any stylistic restrictions or boundaries. At first, I didn’t have the intention of publishing an entire book’s worth of material. It was only after Preludes 7 (a short version being composed for our Classic Series Volume 2 method book), that I thought “Well, I’ve got seven of these. That’s half-way to an appreciable collection of works for publication, so I might as well go for it. Plus, with the passing of my father around the same time, I needed to immerse myself in the aesthetic, as a form of therapy. So the remaining nine preludes were….
