David Lanz: Cristofori's Dream
[purchase]
This single song spans many dreams.
First, we have the inventive dream of the title figure, Bartolomeo Cristofori di Francesco, the Italian who is credited with the invention of the piano circa 1700. Without him, the dreamy, meditative New Age music that blossomed in the 80s and gave us this song would have been sorely lacking.
David Lanz is one of the Sensitive New Age Guys that Christine Lavin & John Gorka memorialized in their song S.N.A.G. (I joke; I actually love David Lanz). He's a major star of the Narada label (they can't all be on Windham Hill, you see). Cristofori's Dream topped the newly-created New Age/Adult Alternative chart for nearly half a year in 1988. For good reason: It's a gorgeous solo piano piece.
To me, though, this song epitomizes a personal dream---to give my daughter the opportunity to study piano, something I wish I'd been able to do. We were fortunate to find the perfect teacher for her, a sweet, kind, and gifted woman who happened to adore the music of David Lanz. His music became a fixture during the students' recitals, and when, after years of scales and Suzuki pieces, my daughter gave her senior performance, this song was one of the highlights. I can admit now that even though this song clocks in at about 6 minutes, it seems like an hour when one is an anxious mom in the audience. She did a terrific job, though, and hearing this song now still brings back those wonderful memories.
