''A Leaf'' is a classical piece written by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

, with assistance from John Fraser, and performed by Anya Alexeyev on piano. The piece is split into 7 parts. It was recorded live in front of

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

as part of the "An Evening with Paul McCartney & Friends" concert, on 23 March 1995 at

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

, and it was debuted on US radio as part of a radio special titled ''Classical McCartney''. An orchestral version, performed by the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, appears on McCartney's 1999 album '' Working Classical''. Another orchestral version was recorded on 23 July 1996, at

AIR Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producer Sir George Martin and his business partner John Burgess, after their departure from Parlophone. The studio complex was founded ...

, in London, but remains unreleased. An original arrangement for

piano duet According to the ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', there are two kinds of piano duet: "those for two players at one instrument, and those in which each of the two pianists has an instrument to themself." In American usage the former is ...

of ''A Leaf'' is part of the album ''British Music for Piano Four Hands''. Commissioned by XXI-21 Productions Inc., this album was recorded in 2009 by

Duo Caron Duo Caron is a classical music group who transcribe and perform great orchestral works for various piano formations. History Born in Rimouski, Quebec, Canada, sibling pianists Josee and Martin Caron have lived in Montreal for several years. T ...

, on

Fazioli Fazioli Pianoforti (), translated as Fazioli Pianos, produces grand and concert pianos from their factory in Sacile, Italy. The company was founded by engineer and pianist Paolo Fazioli in 1981. The craftsmen at Fazioli build 140 pianos a year. ...

piano, at the Bon-Pasteur Chapel in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Track listing

#"Andante Semplice" – 1:12 #"Poco Piu Mosso" – 1:19 #"Allegro Ritmico" – 1:51 #"Andante" – 2:04 #"Allegro Ma Non Tanto" – 1:15 #"Moderato" – 1:18 #"Andante Semplice (II)" – 0:54

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leaf 1995 compositions Compositions for symphony orchestra Songs written by Paul McCartney Song recordings produced by Paul McCartney Music published by MPL Music Publishing