“Through It All” by Lisa Swerdlow
Album Review by New Age CD and New Age Notes Radio Staff
Lisa Swerdlow is a talented pianist and composer of classical crossover, neo-classical, and New Age piano music. Being brought up in a house filled with music due to her father’s musical influences, Lisa began studying classical piano at the age of 6. By age 16, she was writing and performing songs on piano and guitar. She went on to study music theory and composition at Humboldt State University and College of the Redwoods.
Lisa’s newest album release, “Through It All,” is inspired by her wife’s struggle to overcome a very rare and aggressive cancer. Their love story, which spans more than 27 years, can be heard and felt throughout the album. Unfortunately, Lisa’s wife passed away in March 2023.
Lisa says, “Whenever I’d hear my wife laugh, I could hear her life force in music. It’s the harmony of the cosmos that connects us all. We are a song.”
“Through It All” is 8 tracks of passionate, poignant solo piano music leading us through Lisa’s journey of growth and resilience, and a lifetime of love with her wife. The album opens with the emotionally evocative solo piano piece, “A Rhapsody Lives in You.” This was the first single released from the album. This is a lovely and scintillating opening with deep lower register tones and chords, then moving into different melodies in the upper register. Free flowing, yet structured, there are some wonderful chord progressions here as well.
Following is the truly heart-stirring, “Song For Lucie.” This composition serves as a testament to the indomitable human spirit. Touching upon themes of life, love, loss, and personal triumph, the piece resonates with listeners on a deeply profound level.
The title track has moments of both dark and light, just as our journey through life does. “Till We Meet Again,” is bittersweet, as one might imagine. We can literally feel the heart-to-heart connection. And we know, and can indeed feel it through the music, that even though they are gone from this particular place, we shall meet our loved ones again sometime.
“Goodbye” is mainly soft and flowing, becoming ardent toward the end. And like any goodbye, we surely don’t want it to come to an end.
Another single released from this album is, “Finding My Way.” Slower paced than what Lisa usually writes, the song opens with soft, plaintive piano effectively drawing us into the reflective mood of trying to find one’s way “through it all.” The song’s powerful message of resilience and determination resonates with anyone who has ever felt lost or uncertain.
“November Moon” is the third single released from the album. Lisa wrote this dreamy and expressive song on a chilly morning in November when she was first processing her wife’s cancer diagnosis. That day, Lisa had awakened before dawn to feed their horses. The quarter moon was “floating like a smile” over the hills that morning, bringing her a sense of strangely unfathomable calm. “November Moon” perfectly captures these emotions as a lovely, simple soundscape, sensitively played, where we can almost feel ourselves out there with Lisa standing in the reflective moonlit quietude. Here, the music brings a certain tranquility to the heart that belies the circumstances.
The album closes out with “Spring Equinox-Persephone Returns.” There is good use of both upper and lower registers here and an ultimate sense of renewal and rejuvenation as we have come “through it all.” We are left with a profound sense of connection, contemplation, and eternal hope.
This is a great solo piano album which will resonate for many under any circumstance, but particularly for any and all who are grieving and/or going “through it.” It’s a love-filled tribute to a lifetime full of love.
Available on all major streaming platforms.
Official artist website: https://www.lisaswerdlow.com/
Note: This album is dedicated to Lucie Tetrault, Lisa’s loving wife of 27 happy years. It was recorded at Piano Haven studios in Sedona, Arizona. Sound engineering and mastering by Joe Bongiorno. Cover art by RickStevensart.com.
Broadcast and Media Promotion:
LAZZ Promotions
Ed and Stacey Bonk
