With “Pure Heartbreak,” Los Angeles based pianist and Emmy Award–winning composer Peter Manning Robinson delivers a hauntingly intimate cinematic experience that lingers long after the final note fades. The single, released January 28, serves as a powerful introduction to his upcoming neo-classical album Excursions and stands as one of Robinson’s most emotionally unguarded works to date.

 “Pure Heartbreak” unfolds as a raw meditation on loss in the aftermath of a breakup. Robinson’s piano work is sparse yet deeply expressive, allowing each melancholic phrase to breathe with unflinching honesty. The composition mirrors the emotional turbulence of separation, moments of fragile calm give way to swelling intensity, then recede again into quiet reflection. It’s a piece that speaks without words, trusting the listener to feel rather than interpret.

The accompanying music video, directed by longtime collaborator Klaus Hoch, elevates the track into a cinematic mini film. Set against the vast, sun-bleached expanse of the California desert, the video tells the story of two lovers drifting apart. The stark landscape becomes a visual metaphor for emotional distance, beautiful, expansive, and painfully isolating. Hoch’s restrained storytelling allows silence, glances, and physical space to do the emotional heavy lifting, perfectly complementing the piano’s aching restraint.

What makes “Pure Heartbreak” especially compelling is how seamlessly the music and visuals intertwine. Robinson’s score doesn’t merely underscore the narrative, it is the narrative, guiding the viewer through grief, longing, and reluctant acceptance. The result is a deeply human portrayal of heartbreak that feels both intensely personal and universally relatable.

As the lead single from Excursions, “Pure Heartbreak” sets a striking emotional tone for the album to come. It reaffirms Peter Manning Robinson’s rare ability to bridge cinematic storytelling and instrumental intimacy, proving once again that instrumental music, in the right hands, can speak volumes beyond language.

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