Keith Emerson Songs

"In 1969 I was in Los Angeles doing a concert with the Philharmonic. It was a mixed media thing in the days when mixed media was new. I was playing with The Nice then and we were waiting in the dressing room to go on for our number when I heard some incredible music drifting down from the stage. It was Ginastera's First Piano Concerto. Afterwards, I spoke with the soloist because I immediately wanted to record the piece. Later, when ELP was formed, I showed Carl and Greg the arrangement, and they wanted to play it too. We were very excited about the recording we had made, but we ran into problems with Ginastera's publishers Boosey and Hawkes. Finally, I realized the best thing to do was to speak with Mr. Ginastera himself. I met him at his home in Switzerland and after the dinner I showed him the arrangement, and began to talk about it. He didn't speak much English and his wife had to translate everything. Finally, Ginastera said, '...please, just play the tape!'. After he had listened to them all the way through, he turned to his wife in amazement. 'Diabolic!!' he exclaimed. I was terrified. I thought he hated it or thought I was the devil or something. But then, he smiled. His wife turned to me and said 'Alberto says you have a very talented band and he very much likes your version. He says that is the way his music should sound and will be contacting his publishers tomorrow giving his permission for you to release it. No one has been able to capture his music like that before!' I returned to England with Ginastera's blessing and the song was finished and included on the album."