George Winston: Pianist Sought to Echo Nature, Passes at 74

A SONG IN HIS HEART –

June 8, 2023 – is inspiration remained rooted in the natural world, trying to convey the shifting seasons or moments such as a moonlit night or waves on a beach. His music also became part of a musical current that gained force in 1980s. The New Age sound — an ethereal and mood-heavy genre that bought up associations with mediation and spirituality — had emerged from the West Coast and moved into wider audiences through musicians such as Greek composer Yanni and Irish singer-songwriter Enya. Mr. Winston was quickly embraced by the New Age music scene.

Music reviewers often found Mr. Winston — and New Age music in general — a choice target, however. “The stuff is strictly nonstick, audio Teflon,” wrote New York Times music critic Jon Pareles in a 1987 essay on New Age music. After the release of Mr. Winston’s 1999 album “Plains,” Mike Joyce writing in The Washington Post described Mr. Winston as a specialist in “sleepy tempos and for fashioning arrangements that iron out nearly all harmonic wrinkles.”