“As I see it, as much as we strive to find reason and purpose in our having been born into this amazing, mysterious and awe-inspiring universe, that attempt is largely futile.  It is however, the best part of our nature that obliges us to make the attempt, though the most we can hope for is to gain some small degree of understanding of the world around us, and, more importantly, of ourselves.  To achieve this, we each approach the problem in our own way, uniquely shaped by our cultural background, innate talents and abilities, education and so on.   For some, science may be the window through which they best perceive and interpret the world, for others, religion.  For those to whom the world seems to express itself most clearly and beautifully through sound, music is the voice that speaks to us and through which we, in turn, best express ourselves.  Now, I can write notes that will make pretty music because I’ve been trained to do so – but the best of my music has arrived, rather inexplicably, as part of a personal effort to understand the world and myself.  It is, in a way, an act of translation.  The world says something, I try to understand it, and then translate it into musical language.  The particular musical language which I speak, is, of course, a product of my conservatory training and personal musical tastes, but hopefully, the outcome, imperfect a translation as it may be, will convey to others something of its original intent.â€�