Here’s my take on ‘Vladimir's Blues’- a solo piano piece by the German-British composer and activist Max Richter that featured in his 2018 album- The Blue Notebooks. The Vladimir of the title is Vladimir Nabokov (the novelist) who was an expert on a family of butterflies called the 'Blues’. Richter features an oscillating pattern in the right hand of his piece to suggest the fluttering of butterfly wings.
Richter is one of the most celebrated composers on the contemporary scene today. I feel that his music lends itself quite well as an ideal space for reflecting on social and political issues. When I first heard his album “Recomposed: Vivaldi- The Four Seasons”, despite my reservations at first, I was completely mind blown by his ‘rework’ of this incredibly popular piece. It opened a new door for me by introducing me to the possibility of revisiting existing works by recomposing them and seeing them in a completely new light.
As a tribute to Max Richter- the genius at recomposing pieces, I present my rework of his composition ‘Vladimir's Blues’.

Recomposed by Jay Parte | Max Richter's 'Vladimir's Blues'

Jay Parte