The American composer and pianist William Bolcom (b. 1938) composed “Graceful Ghost” in 1970 in memory of his father. A few years ago my husband and I were lucky enough to hear Mr. Bolcom perform the piece at a recital that he and his wife, Joan Morris, gave at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
The pianist in this performance is Barron Ryan.
Small world. I saw Bolcom and Morris in performance in 1977, at Alfred University in Alfred NY. I don’t remember the program, but I would be surprised if “Graceful Ghost” wasn’t on offer. A beautiful piece — graceful, melancholy, and yet joyful.
Those two have been performing together for a long, long time! My husband and I still have some of their early LPs.