S. Smith.The Last Rose of Summer

Some time ago I’ve found in the Internet a piece by Sydney Smith with a fascinating title - The Last Rose of Summer ... I have played it often and for a long time and every minute I immersed deeper and deeper in the amazing atmosphere, created in this work. The composer pictured very masterly the image of a lone flower, the summer’s ending and, probably, last hopes of us all.
Through skilful whirling passages, taking the whole piano keyboard, the barely hearable, modest melody begins to appear, gaining strength with its gradual development. Suddenly, the beautiful image appears to my eyes: a flower of astonishing beauty, growing in the stormy ocean among the fading summer’s nature. This defenseless essence makes you unwittingly stop and reflect. What a grace, elegance and therewith power are hidden in this fragile rose! The composer shows with amazing precision her thin, almost transparent petals, the drops of dew, fallen that very morning on the accurate, as if specially cut leaves. It seems you even start feeling the subtle aroma emanating from this plant. And what a tranquility and tenderness come over the listener while the short moments of contemplation! You draw such a strength and endurance from it!
The Last Rose of Summer ... the ending summer... As if it were our farewell to something. But still, the last hope remains in the soul.
That is the very natural beauty, which we usually do not notice, the last hope, which we all so desperately need.