World Peace

Solo Piano – An unrehearsed musical meditation on the thought of world peace.

Price: $15

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Through a series of seemingly unrelated events, the recording sessions for this album took place upon the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan. A coincidental conversation with a friend prompted Richard to devote two days of previously scheduled studio time to an unrehearsed musical meditation on the thought of world peace. Let this simple, heartfelt music inspire each of us, in our own way, to work towards the realization of this dream.

“I believe we can achieve peace on earth with strong minds and love in our hearts. Please join me in visualizing peace on our planet.” –Richard Shulman

“If any music can bring about peace, Richard Shulman’s can. His solo piano album is remarkable for demonstrating a wide variety of peaceful moods, never confusing peace and love with monotony and uniformity.

Rather, Shulman’s dazzling variety of expression appears to be directed at demonstarting the need for a worldide effort to communicate the possibility and importance of the establishment of peace. Admittedly, “message music” may cause one to exert care in approaching music so labelled. After all, we have all witnessed the extremes of syrupiness or slashing hostility in which commitment too often passes for talent. That problem never arises in the “World Peace” album, for Richard’s talent is used to convey his message, not substitute for it. And what a talent it is! Technically, he can do it all, and intelligent glimpses of his virtuosity abound.

These, however, are never allowed to dominate, for Shulman constructs a solo logically and controls the pyrotechnics, using them within context. To do so in a group setting is perhaps, not unusual. To do so in a solo performance where one has total control of the musical space is indeed rare. The album has a unity too often lacking in many current releases. Partially, that is due to its’ being recorded in two days, August 5-6, 1985. Largely, it is due to Richard Shulman’s sure sense of who he is and what he wishes to acheive musically.” – Frank Salamone

Tracks • Total (50:38) 1. World Peace Theme (2:04) • 2. A Vision Strongly Held (6:40) • 3. A Little Bit of Heaven (:50) • 4. We Can Live in Peace (12:07) • 5. The Inner Ear (1:59) • 6. Walkin’ Down the Road (1:30) Visions of Peace: 7. The Middle East (3:15) • 8. South America (1:59) • 9. Ireland (1:36) • 10. US & USSR (4:04) • 11. World Peace (3:25) Dedication: 12. For All of Us Everywhere (4:22) • 13. The Nobility of Humanity (2:51) • 11. Thankfulness (3:56)