Videos

 Here are some of my live performances as soloist and accompanist.








Comments

New comments are not allowed.

Popular posts from this blog

Beginning Beethoven

Image
The first page of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 1, from my beat-up Schenker edition   For a long time, I have aspired to learn and eventually perform all of Ludwig van Beethoven's piano sonatas. I grew up hearing them and they have remained, after the keyboard works of Bach, probably the most influential works in my musical development. I think now is the time to start working on this massive undertaking in earnest. In this post, I will explain how I plan to approach this project. Background I worked on Beethoven's first sonata (Op. 2, No. 1) with my teacher David Zapka six or seven years ago, but I never manage to master its difficulties, owing partly to a lack of dedication and poor practice habits. A couple years later, I worked with him on the second sonata (Op. 2, No. 2), with essentially the same result - I got it "sort of" in my fingers, but never mastered it.      I also worked with him on No. 20 in G Major, the easiest sonata. The story of how that came ab...
Read more

Song of the Week: "Il mio ben quando verrà" (Paisiello)

Image
Song of the Week Giovanni Paisiello (1740-1816) Il mio ben quando  verrà (When My Beloved Comes) from Nina, o sia La Pazza per Amore The Music I came across this beautiful aria several weeks ago when I found an old six vinyl set of the opera at an antique shop. At home, I put the music on (starting from Act I) and it mostly served as pleasant background music as I did other work. Once it came to "Il mio ben quando  verrà ", however, I had to just stop for a moment and appreciate the music. It context, Nina, the Count's daughter, is stricken with grief about her beloved, Lindoro, who seems to everyone else to have died. Nevertheless, she never fully accepts that he has died, and her song expresses hope for his return. (Spoiler - he didn't really die!) The Performance I think Bartoli's recording is notable both for the delicacy she brings to every melodic line and the anguish of Nina that she conveys (especially around the five minute mark, and at 6:10). The Text by...
Read more

Song of the Week: "La Maja Dolorosa No. 1" (Granados)

Image
Song of the Week Enrique Granados (1867-1916) La Maja Dolorosa No. 1 (The Forlorn Maiden) The Music      The first of three songs entitled "La Maja Dolorosa," this week's song comes from Granados' 12 Tonadillas en estilo antiguo, a set inspired by paintings of Francisco Goya (1746-1828). It's a shame that Granados did not write more art songs, since the Tonadillas are some of the finest examples of that genre to come from Spain. This song is particularly notable for the stark and dramatic atmosphere created by the piano's enigmatic harmonies. The Performance      There are not many performances of Granados' vocal music, but I figure any rendition by Teresa Berganza is going to be a solid choice. The Text Fernando Periquet (1873-1940) Spanish ¡Oh muerte cruel! ¿Por qué tú, a traición, mi majo arrebataste a mi pasión? ¡No quiero vivir sin él, porque es morir, porque es morir así vivir! No es posible ya sentir más dolor: en lágrimas deshecha ya mi alma está. ...
Read more