David Lang's music hangs beautifully in the balance between head and heart. Despite the intricate mathematical undercurrents of his musical language and the rigorous construction of his forms, Lang's music is always primarily concerned with expression.

This episode of LPR Live features two movements from Lang's Memory Pieces for piano, one of the composer's most personal and intimate works. Each movement is a sort of musical memorial – a recollection or conversation with a close friend, distilled into a brief musical moment.

But, as Lang explains, it's not all gloom, doom and nostalgia. He describes charming encounters with composer John Cage and pianist Yvar Mikhashoff, the profundity of being asked to write a memorial for someone still alive and the mystery of musical expression.

Join us backstage with the composer and in the audience at Le Poisson Rouge to hear pianist Andrew Zolinsky perform the Memory Pieces "Cage" and "Spartan Arcs."

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