Foreword​

As a preamble to these three-dimensional tableaux of Stephen Cook, I would like to congratulate the artist on the successful completion of his creative undertaking, and offer my brief introduction to the roots of this exciting endeavor that embraces music, art, and literature in concert.

Stemming from the legendary Heinrich Neuhaus piano lineage that perceives the art of piano performance as a poetic idiom, fascinating inspiration, and cultural component to express a broader spectrum of emotional, intellectual, and philosophical experience, I impart these principles in my teaching. It makes me proud to recognize that while carving out his professional profile as a member of my AmerKlavier Studio, Stephen Cook has followed some core values of the Neuhaus aesthetics. It has been very rewarding to observe Stephen searching for meaningful metaphors for his artistic impressions while shaping up this multifaceted project.

Stephen’s natural flair and imagination along with his unlimited pianistic facility and artistic curiosity have found comprehensive realization in associating some true gems of painting and poetry with music of Sergei Rachmaninoff. Through scrupulous research, Stephen has exposed himself to inexhaustible spheres of the performing and visual arts as well as literature, and developed a fresh approach to exploring original ideas in connecting particular works of his choice as prompted by his own artistic intuition. With great enthusiasm, I endorse this insightful presentation most wholeheartedly.