Prelude I

Every so often, I think back to March 21, 1993. I was sitting in row K, seat 110, of Merkin Concert Hall in New York City. I was uncertain about what the evening would bring. I knew little about the performer, Gregory Haimovsky, and I was unfamiliar with the evening's repertoire.

At the time, I was an undergraduate student at New York University (NYU), where Haimovsky was the chair of piano studies. He was rumored to be an exceptional concert pianist with a special interest in the music of Claude Debussy and Olivier Messiaen. Out of curiosity, I went to hear his performance, which he dedicated to the memory of Messiaen, who had died in 1992. In addition to two premieres, Haimovsky performed two solo piano pieces by Messiaen—“Le baiser” from Vingt regards sur l’Enfant Jésus and “L’alouette lulu” from Catalogue d’oiseaux—as well as seven songs from Harawi. After the concert, I met and talked with Haimovsky. Little did I know that our conversation would begin a lifelong journey of discoveries about and with Haimovsky and his devotion to Messiaen.

The second time I heard Haimovsky perform Messiaen's music was April 2, 1995; the third time was February 13, 1996. On both occasions, he performed Visions de l’Amen. While the precise sonorities of these now-distant concerts have dimmed in my mind's ear, their significance has not. In these performances, Haimovsky “possessed and owned” Harawi, “Le baiser,” “L’alouette lulu,” and Visions de l’Amen. I kept the ticket stubs and programs from these concerts because they moved me far beyond any musical episodes I had experienced before.

The more I learned about the close connections between Haimovsky and the history of Olivier Messiaen's music in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the more passionate I became about investigating the details of Haimovsky's artistic and personal odyssey and his musical achievements.

My desire to share his experiences with a wider audience came later. Like a gradual crescendo, it emerged in deeply personal and musical ways as we talked more frequently during the ensuing years, and as we performed together while I was studying for my doctoral degree in flute performance and chamber music at NYU.