Kaushitaki

For anyone possibly weary of this seemingly endless series of little chamber pieces inspired by Vedantic Upanishads, the good news is that only one more such composition is in prospect: Maitrayani, the 13th and final Principal Upanishad in the most expansive Hindu tradition. The bad news is that Maitrayani will have to be Op.105, because Op.104 has already been reserved (for decades now) for my 13th String Quartet. And for anyone who also notices here a suspicious confluence of 13s in my immediate projected output, you are not deceived. This follows from the absurd lifelong triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13) experienced by Arnold Schoenberg, the theoretical father of the 12-tone method of composition I've been torturing and developing myself over decades. Doubtless more commentary on this in the release notes for my next two compositions - assuming the dread curse of "the number 13" doesn't claim me before I can write them.

For the uninitiated, the Kaushitaki Upanishad is one of the noblest and most ancient Hindu scriptures:

"He declares, 'Man is the Self in every living being. You are the self of every being. What you are, I am.'
"Man asks, 'Who am I then?'
"Brahman answers, 'The Truth.'"