Product Description TESLA RHAPSODY, a new ground-breaking “tour de force” composition for piano and orchestra by award-winning pianist and composer Marina Arsenijevic which pays tribute to famed scientist and inventor Nikola Tesla. Tesla Rhapsody is composed for piano and orchestra combining elements of classical music, folklore, jazz and blues. It is a multilayered rhapsodic piano structure with distinguished melodies interwoven from Tesla’s heritage. The opening is inspired by Byzantine chants and church bells reflecting the sounds of Tesla’s childhood. This is augmented with elements of folklore from Tesla’s homeland. Since Tesla lived most of his adult life in New York City, Tesla Rhapsody uses elements of jazz and blues with bitonal and bimodal episodes to reflect his busy and highly productive New York City life. The structure of the composition is inspired by Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. The piano texture is distinguished by “hidden” melodies in inner parts, dense polyphony, broken chords in open positions, and frequent pedals which contribute toward the static or ambivalent feel of the harmony. Tesla Rhapsody concludes in a heroic crescendo reflecting the impact of the genius of Tesla on the world. The inventions of Nikola Tesla are recognized as pivotal to the technological advances for both the 20th and 21st centuries. Albert Einstein acknowledged the significance of Tesla’s work in response to a reporter’s question. When asked about how it felt to be a real genius, Einstein without hesitation replied, “if you really want an answer to that question, then you have to ask Tesla.” The legacy of Nikola Tesla lives on through the continued application of his inventions even today. The name of Tesla (symbol T) has been memorialized by the entire scientific community since 1960 as a unit of magnetic field strength in the International System of Units. Today, his name has become even more universally known through the amazing success and popularity of the TESLA electric car and the efforts of our modern-day genius, Elon Musk. Review Most grateful for this release....I especially like the way the very dark beginning transforms into the lush flourish as the piano takes the lead, representing how Tesla managed to turn the lights on with electricity. The piece is very romantic and I can imagine it being a great piece in concert --Bradley Stoke Radio FM 103.4 UK About the Artist MARINA ARSENIJEVIC (arson-nee-vitch) is an international award-winning pianist and composer, star of the Emmy nominated Public Television program, Marina at West Point: Unity through Diversity which has been broadcast to more than 170 million viewers with over 550 airings by PBS Stations across the United States. Marina created the program and performed with the 120-member joint ensemble of the West Point Band and West Point Glee Club. The Concert was recorded live at West Point’s historic Eisenhower Hall and has been broadcast for more than a decade through 2020. Critics have described Marina as a "James Bond" beauty with a powerhouse technique that delivers an emotional punch like a “Balkan thunderbolt,” while her compositions have been described as “breathtakingly original” and “unique to the ear but familiar to the soul". Marina has performed to enthusiastic audiences and standing ovations at major venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Chicago Symphony Center, the Toronto Center for the Arts, the Chicago Navy Pier Auditorium, and many others throughout the country. Laura Bush and Cherie Blair (wife of the British Prime Minister) along with 2000 other guests were dazzled when Marina played her original arrangement of America the Beautiful at the annual First Lady’s Luncheon in Washington D.C. Marina's recordings of Mozart: Marina and the St. Petersburg Soloists and Chopin: Piano Waltzes became top-selling classical CDs in Central and Eastern Europe. Her album, My Balkan Soul became the best-selling classical crossover CD in 11 European countries. Marina’s CDs have sold over one million copies world-wide. She was featured on 40 magazine covers and hundreds of television programs in Europe. She received the Yugoslavian "Oscar" for most popular musical artist in 1996. The following year, she received the Yugoslavian Media Award for Most Popular All Media Personality. Marina is the recipient of the 2014 Tesla Science Foundation Future Icon Award following her performance of her original composition Tesla’s Journey at the 2013 dedication of the Nikola Tesla statue at the century-old Tesla Wardenclyffe Laboratory in Long Island. She is also recipient of 2015 Tesla Spirit Music and Performance Award. Marina was selected as a recipient of the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2014. She was honored “for her outstanding achievements and humanitarian efforts in building bridges among diverse cultures and nations through her music”. She is considered a heroic icon in her homeland of Serbia where she was awarded Serbia's highest diplomatic honor, the Knighthood of St. Sava for Diplomatic Pacifism in May 2018. Marina is currently composing music for theatre and concert stage commemorating the life of her fellow Serbian American, the renowned scientist Nikola Tesla. Her master work for piano and orchestra "Tesla Rhapsody" will debut in 2022/2023 with orchestras in the United States and Europe. Marina enjoys a vast following on her social media with over 600,000 Instagram fans, more than 7 million views of her videos on YouTube and according to TracMedia, she had over 170 million PBS TV viewers of her concert "Marina at West Point: Unity Through Diversity" which was broadcast for more than ten years. See more