I have composed this rhapsody for piano and orchestra titled Tesla Rhapsody inspired by my fellow Serbian American Nikola Tesla, one of the world’s greatest inventors. His inventions are recognized as vital foundations for the technological era of both the 20th and 21st  centuries. Albert Einstein acknowledged the significance of Tesla’s work in response to a reporter’s question. When asked about how it felt to be a real genius, Einstein without hesitation replied, “if you really want an answer to that question, then you have to ask Tesla.”

 

Tesla Rhapsody is composed for solo piano and symphony orchestra combining elements of classical music, folklore, jazz and blues. It is a multilayered rhapsodic piano structure with distinguished melodies interwoven from Tesla’s heritage. The beginning is inspired by Byzantine chants and church bells reflecting the sounds of his childhood. This is augmented with elements of styled folklore from Tesla’s homeland. Since Tesla lived most of his adult life in New York City, I am using elements of jazz and blues with bitonal and bimodal episodes to reflect his busy and highly productive New York life. The piano texture is distinguished by “hidden” melodies in inner parts, dense polyphony, broken chords in open positions, and frequent pedals which contribute toward the static or ambivalent feel of the harmony. Tesla Rhapsody concludes in a heroic crescendo reflecting the impact of the genius of Tesla on the world.

 

The legacy of Nikola Tesla lives on through the continued application of his inventions even today. The name of Tesla already has been memorialized since 1960 by the scientific community as a unit of magnetic field strength (symbol T) in the International System of Units. Now his name has become universally known to all through the amazing success and popularity of the TESLA electric car and the efforts of our modern-day genius, Elon Musk.