Mark Ainley interviews Benjamin Grosvenor
I admit to "cribbing" material from Mark Ainley's writing rather often - with documentation. But I recommend that you go to his blog, "The Piano Files" and read this interview with the latest...
View ArticleChampagne talent with a beer instrument?
Sometimes when you go down a blind alley in YouTube, you find something amazing on the sidewalk.This is Andrew Boss. He is the boyfriend of whoever posted this video. That is all the biographical...
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Are virtuosos becoming a dime a dozen?
Yuja Wang can play anythang.It seems that New York Times music critic Anthony Tommasini is trying to secure his place as the Harold Camping doomsday prophet of classical music. But this article makes...
View ArticleI haven't gone away..
... although it does appear to be that way.A lot of my precious free time has been occupied with personal issues - preparing my mother's house for sale (it will be auctioned November 5), and packing...
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A lesson from my first teacher - from beyond the grave
I enjoy leafing through old piano music, especially music that was studied, scribbled upon, and obviously cherished by its former owner. Sometimes those markings can give us new or overlooked insights...
View ArticleThis is why I teach
Meet Joseph. This perfomance was captured during the LaGrange Symphony Orchestra SCALA competition on February 4, 2012. Joseph is playing on the beautiful Shigeru Kawai concert grand in Callaway...
View ArticleClaude Debussy, himself, plays "The Engulfed Cathedral"
If you're still not convinced that scholars such as Maurice Hinson are correct as to how Debussy's "The Sunken Cathedral" should be played, here is INCONTROVERTIBLE EVIDENCE.Here is a piano roll of the...
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At last, a new, revised edition of the Granados Spanish Dances
Those of us who have heard Alicia de Larrocha's recordings of the beloved Enrique Granados Spanish Dances know that her performance deviates from the original score here and there. Through the years,...
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Meet Nikolay Khozyainov
A friend of mine, Richard Garmise, posted this concert review to his Facebook page. Sometimes infuriating but always illuminating, his opinions are based on a thorough knowledge of the entire spectrum...
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The Election is Over!
... and I said I would never get political. Regardless of whether you voted my way or the wrong way, what this country needs now, more than anything, is to remember that we are a UNION. So I present...
View ArticleAn old friend plays an old friend
I have been accused of paying too much attention to James Rhodes. Guilty as charged.As a musician, I find him fascinating. And his voicing, balance, and all-out gorgeous tone is brought to the fore...
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My best Christmas gift ever
What was your best Christmas gift ever? Mine was undoubtedly the Krazy Kar. I don’t remember the year – I’m guessing 1968 or 1969. No longer sold in the US (but available at the above link on Amazon,...
View ArticleBohemian Rhapsody for solo violin. Yes, THAT Bohemian Rhapsody.
Between the original release and its use in the movie "Wayne's World", and countless covers and parodies, does anyone NOT know this? Worth a watch. Amazing.
View ArticleAs I attempt to claw my way back up to mediocrity
A visit with my college teacher Susie Francis Dempsey on Friday, January 11, resulted in the following video, made in her private studio. I made a video of the entire musical discussion on my iPad so...
View Article"My teacher" performs "my music"
My college teacher Susie Francis Dempsey (a recurring "character" in the tales I spin here) recently celebrated a birthday. I don't know which one; I'm a musician and can only count to four.This video...
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I feel no loss...
...at the death of Van Cliburn. Call me a heretic if you must; I am fully aware of his contribution to musical life in the United States. But we did not lose him today - we lost him years ago. Van...
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A week of transitions...
...and reminders of transitions past. A very close friend to me and my family has lost a father, a former college roommate (Randall Coleman, now associate director of bands at the University of...
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FROM MY COLLECTION: Léon Kartun performs Joachim Raff's "La Fileuse"
The French pianist, Léon Kartun (1895-1982) entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1911, in the class of Louis Diémer. He received a First Prize for piano in the following year.Kartun quickly gained a...
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FROM MY COLLECTION: Sigfrid Grundeis plays Liszt Transcendental Etude no. 5,...
Sigfrid Grundeis (1900-1953) was a German pianist and piano teacher. He was internationally known particularly as an interpreter of the music of Franz Liszt. As a boy, he completed an apprenticeship...
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