Grass Tower Concept for Beijing

Date of Sketch: March 2, 2013

Altho sketched on a page of program notes for Bartók's Concerto For Orchestra, hearing and seeing Lang Lang in concert for the first time (performing Rachmaninov'sPiano Concerto #2) reminded me of my first view of Beijing. As the plane circled the city an uncountable number of slender towers, looking like blades of grass, reached up towards my flight. That vision, the music itself and the pianist's richly exuberant interpretation gave rise to this tower form.