What is Wintertime like in Vienna?

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My song “Wintertime in Vienna” expresses a musical capture of the breath-taking ambiance of a crisp, invigorating, 21st century Viennese winter. It’s a juxtaposition of fast-moving, meticulous precision music from the 17th/18th century European baroque period intertwined with the techno-rock punch of souped-up, 21st century electronica.

I penned my original version of Wintertime in Vienna as a 20-measure, Bach-like, 2-part invention for a music class assignment during my second year at Iowa Central Community College (Fort Dodge, Iowa) in 1974. In my attempt at college-age humor, I authored myself as “Liber-Roger” (a play on the name Liberace — a talented, flamboyant pianist at that time) and received an “A” on what I originally titled “Dm Invention.” I still have that actual original class assignment, hand-notated in pencil on old-fashioned notation paper. I always felt it had more potential than just a simple class grade, so I tucked it away until an opportune time.

Thirty-eight years later was the beginning of that opportune time. Now fully engaged in the computer and technology era, I purchased Finale Print Music in 2012 for my Mac computer, allowing me to create a professionally notated score for this piece. I began with just the six opening measures of that 1974 “Dm Invention” class assignment, and now energized by the resurrected, professional quality of that long-idled piece of music, went over to my Samick Grand Piano and note by note, quickly wrote the remaining new 19 measures for the entire song I retitled as Wintertime in Vienna — still primarily a baroque period 2-part Invention in the key of D-minor, which I later souped up into a techno-rock, electronic chiptune.

Finale Print Music also allowed me to assign midi digital sounds to the score I had created. In 2020, I assigned a marimba sound to the upper treble clef score (right hand), and a vibraphone sound to the lower bass clef score (left hand) — then exported audio AIFF files which I then placed as four separate tracks within my Digital Audio Workstation (GarageBand). I also added 27 additional tracks: 2 tracks of chimes generated on one of my other synthesizer modules; 6 tracks of different midi bass guitar/midi bass synthesizer sounds, 9 tracks of midi drum sounds/drum loops; other midi keyboard generated tracks including the brief trumpet-like solo; and finally, 9 tracks of real-time drummer, 16-year old Blake Givargidze on his dad Artie’s bodacious digital drum kit. With a bucketload of post-production mixing, editing and sound-sculpting, we now have the techno-rock, souped-up chiptune version of a baroque period 2-part Invention in Dm, Wintertime in Vienna. 

I design my own album covers on Canva — a website where anyone can design just about anything.

I chose the Keyboard-Playing-Robot photo (thanks to Franck V on Unsplash) to help represent the fast, precision-played computer-generated sounds I created for “Wintertime in Vienna” using Finale Print Music on my MacBook Pro (specifically the four main tracks of marimba and vibraphone used throughout the entire song). 

To help create a little more wintertime/Christmas feel to the cover, I added a bright red front cover corner bow, and front cover/back cover Christmas tree and decorations (thanks to stock photos on Canva and to Markus Spiske and Freestocks on Unsplash.)

Merry Christmas 2020!

Using all 31 original tracks I recorded in 2020 for my instrumental version, I had Nashville for Hire provide the stunningly talented vocalist Anne Lise from Denmark (now living in Nashville, Tennessee). She gave me 7 dazzling vocal tracks, using the melody and lyrics I wrote for this song in October 2020.

I actually penned the melody/lyrics in my head (see below) before they ever hit a piece of paper or were entered into my computer files. I did so while driving my car, just after picking up diving equipment for my son’s ocean dive the next day. 

The inspiration for my lyrics? My promotional colleague and musical mentor Ryan Waczek (also from Nashville) and I thought a vocal version of “Wintertime in Vienna” might get even more Spotify streams than an instrumental-only version — however my last-minute attempts to created the vocal version last year bumped up against deadlines I was not able to meet in time for Christmas 2020.

Even so ... much to my surprise and blessing, the instrumental version became my #1-streamed song on Spotify last year!

To complete this year’s new vocal version in time for the November 26, 2021 release, other new musical colleagues/friends from Nashville for Hire tightened up my original mix, created an overall new mix and provided a final master for me.

(thanks again to stock photos on Canva and to Markus Spiske and Freestocks on Unsplash)

Merry Christmas 2021!

My instrumental version of “Wintertime in Vienna” was released November 16th, 2020, on MC1 Nashville’s Dark Lonesome Records label distributed by Sony Music/The Orchard/Perry Music Group.

Copious thanks to my euphonious teammates, 16-year old Blake Givargidze (drums), Jody Calderon (co-producer), Chris Atkins (corrective production feedback), Darlene Fowler/Rhonda Thompson (media promotion & radio spins) and Ryan Waczek (Spotify streams) for their indispensable contributions. 

(Front and back cover album photos thanks to Franck V, Markus Spiske and Freestocks on Unsplash.)

My new song “Wintertime in Vienna (Vocal Version)” is scheduled for release November 26, 2021.

Manifold thanks once again to last year’s musical teammates, Blake Givargidze (drums), Jody Calderon (co-producer), Chris Atkins (corrective production feedback), and Ryan Waczek (Spotify streams for both versions) for every item each valuable person provided.

For this year’s 2021 vocal version, special thanks to Anne Lise (vocals/vocal recording), Webster Tileston (mixing), Mike Monseur (mastering) and Nashville for Hire (final co-production & audio editing).

(Front and back cover album photos thanks to Franck V, Markus Spiske and Freestocks on Unsplash.)