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Nadezhda (Russian Mafia) Waltz
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A very romantic waltz for violin, cello and piano; with Viennese, Russian, Czigane infuences. Violin part is played here on the viola by Danny Stewart and cello by Lucio Amanti. Piano of course, by yours truly.
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Artist picture
Classically based pianist-composer with a humorour showman style. Plays mainstream as well as rare classics. Composes in mosty classical, occasional jazz and Tu
Besides being a pianist and composer, I am the member of an endangered species: a classical improviser. I create original classical compositions on the spot, live, usually based on themes or numbers given by the audience during performance. I also improvise music to silent movies, which is also a rare art-form anymore. I also play world music (Turkish, Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Latin), jazz, and avant-garde.
Song Info
Genre
Classical • Classical General
Charts
Peak #76
Peak in subgenre #28
Author
Hakan Ali Toker
Rights
copyright 2005 by the composer
Uploaded
November 01, 2007
Track Files
MP3
MP3 3.1 MB • 31 kbps • 13:49
Story behind the song
In March 2005, while living in Bloomington, Indiana, USA; I met somebody online. What seemed to be a beautiful girl by the name Nadezhda Mayorova, who claimed to live in Cheboksary, Russia. I fell in love instantly! And so did she, according to her emails. I had not fallen in love for 3 years. Nor had I composed any music in 3 years. I used to write a waltz every time I fell in love. Two days after my first correspondence with "Nadezhda"; inspiration struck me as I was driving from Bloomington to Indianapolis, Indiana. Mostly while driving, singing her name over and over; on my steering wheel, I wrote the initial draft of this piece. A musical motive, or rather "germ" appears in over 200 places throughout the music, based on the contour of her name: a short note followed by a higher pitched longer note, followed by a lower pitched short note. Over the next several weeks as "Nadezhda" and I kept on sending many passionate love letters (emails) and photos to each other, I worked diligently on my waltz; adding details, fine-tuning it; creating first a solo accordion rendition, then a piano-trio version. Love drove me into a creative delirium that resulted in not only this piece of music but also many other visual works of art I created night and day, inspired by her. I recorded both versions of the waltz with the help of my friends Danny Stewart (violin) and Lucio Amanti (cello); intending to send it to "Nadezhda" as a surprise present. She said she wanted to come visit me in the States and claimed she didn't have the money for it. I was on the brink of sending her $1550 when I found-out -thanks to friends and the internet- that “Nadezhda” was but an illusion created in order to steal money from me. A common international spam which toys with the feelings of gullible men like myself, causing them to lose thousands of dollars sometimes. I was lucky not to lose any money… When the void in the heart is so strong, it can make us delusional. It can make us go for the “wrong” target. Yet, even in those situations there is tremendous gain. I believe there's a reason for everything, and that even the most negative experiences could be looked upon as a learning experience; hence a "failure" can turn into a "gain" with a shift in perception. That's how and why; at the critical moment when I found-out what "Nadezhda" really was, I made the choice of letting go of whatever was already lost -instead of resentfully holding onto it- and being grateful for whatever was gained (the waltz, the lesson, and more). I wrote a final email to “Nadezhda” starting “Dear sir or madam”. I congratulated them for deceiving me for over 3 months, thanked them for bringing love back into my life, and making me write the waltz, and I forgave them in the name of Love. I do believe it was love, true Love that made me write this piece. Although the trigger was fake, the source which it helped me connect with, is real and endless.
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