The Soundboard

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WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA June 04, 2007 Music News
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(PRLEAP.COM) The Basso Moderno Duo premieres 10 new works by American composers on Sunday, July 15 at 3 p.m. as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s 2007 Steinway Series in the Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium (8th and F streets N.W., Washington, DC). Free tickets are available one hour before the performance.

No one can doubt the beauty and achievement of America’s classical composers. The Basso Moderno Duo plays tribute to the minds of 10 fabulous living American composers with a recital of premieres on Sunday, July 15 at 3 p.m. as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s 2007 Steinway Series in the Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium (8th and F streets N.W., Washington, DC). Free tickets are available one hour before the performance.

The Basso Moderno Duo will premiere 10 new works by Pulitzer Prize winner Ned Rorem, Dr. Leo Kraft, Pauline Oliveros, Lee Hoiby, Dr. Harold Colin Cowherd, 2007 Pulitzer Prize nominee, Dr. Wallace De Pue, Emma Lou Deimer, Dr. Gary Nash, Dr. James Niblock, and Dr. Richard St. Clair. Pieces by Yoko Ono-Lennon, Dr. Larry Bell and Sonia Megias Lopez are also featured on this historic program.

The Basso Moderno Duo has commissioned over 100 lyrical works for solo bass and piano by some of the world’s most prominent and exciting living composers. Artists from 35 countries and all 7 continents have written specifically for Dr. Allan Von Schenkel’s virtuosic and highly individualized manner of playing. Kristen Williams’ piano playing is a perfect complement to the intense voice of the solo bass. Williams is a focused musician who is able to share her devotion to the piano with the listener. Their program is designed to delight and surprise audiences with a combination of lush sounds, tasteful writing and lyricism.

The Basso Moderno Duo is currently collaborating with several professional dance companies in Washington, DC, including Jane Franklin Dance Company, Bosma Dance, Nicole Phillips, and Ronnie Cavalluzzi & The Patricia M. Sitar Center. Future engagements include the Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, DC and the Basically Modern Contemporary Arts Festival in Rehoboth Beach, DE. The Basso Moderno Duo is based out of Washington, DC.

For more information, visit http://www.solobass.org or contact the Basso Moderno Duo at 301-542-7643 or solobass@gmail.com

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Mon, June 4, 2007

By GLYNNIS MAPP, SUN MEDIA

They're the unsung heroes of the music world -- their ears and fingers worth gold to concert performers the world over.

And London, home to the only university certificate program for piano technology, produces some of the best.

Using tuning, voicing and restringing techniques learned at the program in the Don Wright school of music at the University of Western Ontario, students can make concert pianos sound crisp and clean and pure.

Stephanie Franks was a community drug and alcohol counsellor at home in Smith's Gully, Australia (near Melbourne).

"I wanted a change (in my career) and to see what Canada had to offer," she said last week as the eight-month-long program ended.

"I've always loved pianos," she said.

Older technicians in Australia are retiring or dying, and few are taking their place or offering training there, she said.

With that, she jumped on a plane to Canada to enrol in the program -- one that's drawing students from across the world.

Anne Fleming-Read, program coordinator, said some students are former engineers, teachers, and computer technicians."They may have always had a love for music and wanted to get more experience. Some eventually become self-employed in the field -- we help people turn their avocations into vocations."

Yajuan Zhang is a native of China, a mother of two and former elementary school teacher; she plans to use her skills to teach and work in Michigan.

Jamie Galbraith, a former electrician from St. John, N.B., plans to take over from a retiring piano technician in his home city and open his own business there.

One in-class assignment is to strip down and reassemble an acoustic piano. They also learn woodworking and tuning.

In addition to entrepreneurial skills, students meet with musicians of Orchestra London and go on international field trips to New York City's Steinway Hall, the pianist's Mecca.

"Artists can't do what they do without their technicians," said Don Stephenson, one of the instructors for the program.

"It's a laboratory of music experience. Our students learn to have an ear for concert-pianist-quality music."

Graduates of the piano technology program are also often hired by major players in the music industry.

Stephenson has tickled the ivories, or at least tuned them, on behalf of Ray Charles and Oscar Peterson through his work at the Stratford Festival.

The program has received glowing endorsements from the likes of piano-maker Henry Steinway and Austrian-born pianist Anton Kuerti.

Only 14 students are accepted each year and they spend as much as 60 hours a week toiling at their craft.

Franks believes her hard work will translate into a career in her native Australia.

"People don't think of their pianos like they do cars and they should," she said. "If you preserve a piano, it can last a lifetime and perform at its best."

For more information, go to www.pianotech.uwo.ca

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Grigory Sokolov - Wigmore Hall, 6 June 2007

Schubert: Piano Sonata in C minor D. 958

Skryabin: Prelude and Nocturne Op. 9, Piano Sonata No. 3 in F sharp minor Op. 23, Deux poèmes Op. 69, Piano Sonata No. 10 Op. 70, Vers la flamme poème Op. 72

There was a full turnout for this rare Sokolov appearance, and his tardiness in emerging on to the platform just amplified the already buzzing levels of anticipation in the Wigmore Hall.

Sokolov trotted briskly on to the stage, sat straight down and plunged right into the Schubert without even appearing to notice the audience, let alone acknowledge them. This piece is so frequently played in London that there are plenty of readings to compare Sokolov's with, but I've never heard it quite like this. From the outset, Sokolov demonstrated impeccable articulation, a total control that respected every single note and presented each with an outstanding clarity. Even in the fastest passages, nothing was smudged or skipped, and his pedalling just illuminated his work even further. And the colours and details! His palette is so rich and varied it was like seeing the sonata through a microscope. Every variation of tempo, dynamics and touch was magnified, the adagio truly slow, the fortes terrifyingly loud, the staccatos crisply stabbed. And each of the numerous repeated passages was inflected differently - subtly but legibly.

I really can't think of any points of reference for Sokolov's style - it is uniquely and immediately obviously his own. If I had to knock anything (and really this is more of a comment than a criticism), it would be that he never wavers from his default mode of Very Serious, even in the lighter passages such as the tarantella in the final allegro of the Schubert, usually tackled with a hint of jauntiness even in the most austere of interpretations. Maybe this is simply his artistic choice, but I did get the notion, partly I guess from his onstage manner, that if you told him a joke he probably wouldn't get it. But this may be a hugely unfair characterisation. Nevertheless, I'd love to hear him tackle a piece that positively requires a sense of humour.

The evening's programming was simply brilliant. Not only in following the Schubert with a couple of Chopinesque early Skryabins, leading naturally into Skryabin's late post-romantic work, but simply in playing Skryabin, a composer rarely heard in London, at all. This second half gave Sokolov even more scope to demonstrate his total technical mastery over his instrument, coaxing the most extraordinary variety of sounds from it to weave Skryabin's filigree arpeggiated and trilled textures together. Even the first piece, using left hand only, he deftly filled out till it sounded more like four hands than one in places. A performance like this makes the best possible case for more Skryabin programming.

A striking aspect of his performance was his great physical grace, all the more unexpected from someone of his ursine heft and hunched posture. His hands floated over the keyboard, crossing delicately, striking with decisive strength, never with the crudeness of brute force. When the dynamics were cranked up, he supplied the volume with power rather than effort, and the impression was always that he had more in reserve.

He didn't take much persuading to return to the platform for around five (I stopped counting) encores, all popular Chopin - whether he was playing these to please us or himself was hard to tell from his perenially inscrutable expression.

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ABC Brisbane

Last Update: Thursday, June 7, 2007. 3:37pm AEST

By Luise Hoffmann

Artists earn their living by being creative, but it must take a new level of creativity for an artist to turn a grand piano into their canvas.

That's what internationally acclaimed Indigenous artist Judy Watson has been asked to do for the Queensland Music Festival - she's been presented with an immaculate $175,000 grand piano to use to create the first Australian Steinway Art Case Piano, which will then be played in Winton to open the festival on July 13.

And Judy admits she was initially a bit intimidated by the beautiful instrument. "Yes, because it is this classical piece of European furniture and craftsmanship - a very valuable object - but at the same time I have done a lot of public artwork where the budget has been bigger and where I got to work with a whole building, so it didn't phase me too much," she says.

Judy seems like the perfect person with whom to trust a $175,000 canvas. She's personable and direct, and has a clear vision for her work, which juxtaposes ancient Aboriginal heritage with the upper class European musical instrument.

Indeed, Judy has been inspired by many aspects of the instrument, including the keys. "The black and white keys, when I first saw them on the Steinway, made me think about my own history, and the history of Queensland, being the black and white of my family - my Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal family - coming together in this piece," she reflects.

Shells play a significant part of the artwork, with pearl shells to be embedded into the sound case of the piano. As Judy explains in her artist statement:

The piano resonates with invisible music
The shell contains the sound of the sea

The fingerprints of Aboriginal people are another recurring theme. Inspired by the time in Australian history when Aboriginal people were identified by thumbprint, Judy has collected the fingerprints of her family and other Aboriginal people.

"Their fingerprints are going to be etched into the keys of the piano," she explains, "so that when Paul Grabowsky and other musicians are playing the piano, they'll be touching those fingerprints... and there'll be a cultural layering every time this piano is played. There will be a double resonance within the sound, and musicians will experience it and that will impart to the audience as well."

The fingerprint etchings on shells and keys will be coloured with ochre. Ochre was traded by Aboriginal people, and had numerous significances as a medicinal, spiritual and sacred ingredient.

Judy has also incorporated the red felt inside the piano into the design. "I've got the pushing cloth, which holds the keys and the strings and things like that in place and that'll spool out from the back of the piano like a bloodline.

"There's also carving in the lid of the piano which relates to rib bones - they could be like human rib bone forms, or they could relate to dinosaur country, fossils, animal bones, that you would see around Winton where the piano will be opening the festival. There's also shapes which have been carved into the back of the lid of the piano, which echo axe-grinding grooves, but they could also be seen as scars of welts within the form itself."

Judy stresses that it's important to have the details perfect. "It's really in the detail - I want the detail to be intimate," she says.

"I want people to be able to stroll around the piano, feeling and touching the laser-etched fingerprints in the white keys of the piano and in the mother-of-pearl shell, to look at the lustre of the pearl shell, to look at the significance of the objects which are embedded and spooling out of the piano itself and how that relates to the history of trade routes, of Aboriginal and Torres Strait people, and people from New Guinea who traded pearl shell, and certainly ochre and bailer shell from the islands down through Australia."

To facilitate various aspect of the design, Judy and other artists have been carving away at the expensive instrument, removing the keys and chipping away at the lacquer. It's all been done under the watchful eyes of musical experts.

"I was aware that the sound quality is very important ... lots of questions have been asked, and there's been constant consultation going back and forth about what's appropriate. I'm not allowed to touch the inside of the piano - that's really important - but I am allowed to embed two of the shells (that's my limit!). The other shells are going to be pinned to the side of the piano and it has been a constant conversation," Judy says.

A team of about ten people have worked with Judy on the project, including wood carver Kerrie Prien - who was also a bit in awe of the spotless instrument. "I was a little nervous, putting the first tool into the finish on the piano, but we've progressed since then, and managed to reveal the wood under the finish, and it's come up beautifully in parts," she smiles.

The completed Art Case piano will be unveiled on Tuesday 12 June, before it is shipped to Winton for the opening of the Queensland Music Festival in July. After that, Judy's not quite sure what its final fate will be.

"It's going to be sold off to the highest bidder, or somebody appropriate," she says. "The only thing that I have said, and that the people from Steinway have said, is that we want the piano to be played. I want it to be loved and I want as many people as possible to be able to view it and to see it being played."

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By Steven Pearlstein
Friday, June 8, 2007; Page D01
....
The theme of people taking meaning from their work is also the subject of two American documentaries to be shown at Silverdocs.

Ben Niles's "Note by Note" is a delightful journey of one concert grand piano, L1037, as it makes its way through the production process at the Steinway factory in Brooklyn. Along the way, you meet a wonderfully diverse set of skilled craftsmen who make a piano pretty much the way it was made a hundred years ago. These include a Polish woman who completes the frame, a Russian who installs the sounding board, a Jamaican who fits in the metal frame and a neighborhood kid who once played tag in the Steinway lumberyard and now checks the action of the felt hammers. You also get to listen in as famous pianists sample the inventory before deciding which one to have sent over to Lincoln Center or Carnegie Hall. What both music-makers and piano-makers have in common is the incredible care and pride they take in striving for perfection.

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FINE ART & ANTIQUES
Instruments timeless as tunes

Times Leader

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OFTEN are considered among the most dynamic of objects in the world of antiques. They may be regularly in use whether they are new or old. In contrast, while mid-century modern furniture may be all the rage now, eventually antiques enthusiasts will be trading in their Eames chairs for something else in the vast world of vintage collecting and antiques.

With vintage and antique musical instruments, as long as you can play them, they never go out of style. Despite their age, musical antiques just keep on giving. Vintage Martin guitars, antique Steinway pianos and the common aging violin are certainly antiques and collectibles that are played and enjoyed for years and years. No matter their age or, dare I say, their condition, musical instruments are handled by the generations.
Sound and style

What’s more, many antique musical instruments offer style and decorative interest to the rooms of an owner’s home. Even if you don’t play an instrument, that object may bring years of pleasure for its form rather than its function. Antique musical instruments may make music or act as objects that please the eye or enhance the décor. Of course, Grandpa’s violin may be the start of many fireside conversations, and a stylish Steinway baby-grand piano from the Art Deco period makes a statement in any room.

I don’t appraise musical instruments because that is outside the area of my expertise. To receive a proper appraisal or evaluation of an antique musical instrument, many appraisers suggest the owner should seek out an evaluation of the antique musical instrument’s tone or sound that the object makes and obtain an evaluation of the object itself, that is, the body of the piece considered, as it may be a historic object.
Natural materials

Handle your antique musical instruments with care. Some simple techniques will keep them in good shape for many years. If your musical instrument is constructed of various woods, consider the care and cleaning of these objects as you would any other antique. Don’t use commercial cleaners, and realize that the oils from your hands can, over time, strip away the varnish and stain from the natural wooden surface. Wear gloves when handling these objects and don’t store them in the attic, basement or outdoors where temperature and humidity might cause damage. Other natural materials, such as a piano’s ivory keys or inlaid marquetry work on a guitar, also should receive special care. Keep all wooden instruments away from insects and food sources that might attract insects, and do not store them in heat-retaining bubble wrap for long periods of time.

Treat your antique and vintage musical instruments as you would your other antiques. If cared for correctly, these specialty antique objects will give their owner years and years of enjoyment.

Dr. Lori Verderame is an appraiser and museum curator with a Ph.D. in art history. For more info, visit www.DrLoriV.com or call (888) 431-1010.

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Pianist helped plan event, will perform
Friday, June 08, 2007
MICHAEL HUEBNER

Anthony Pattin won't soon forget the first time he played City Stages. It was 1991. The great pianist Vladimir Horowitz had recently died and his piano, a custom-made Steinway, was touring the country.

"It was on display at Forbes Piano, and Forbes was the supplier for City Stages," Pattin says. "They just sent that piano."

Mostly, he remembers the instrument's light key action, particularly because the piece he was playing, Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition," is a bit on the heavy side.

"It was the strangest thing," he said. "You could just look at a key and it would practically play. It was that light. Needless to say, it was a little scary, but it was a beautiful sounding instrument."

Pattin has served on the Mason Corp. Music Oasis selection committee ever since the days when the stage was called the Classical Oasis, but this year is a little special.

"They're calling it a reunion," said the University of Montevallo professor, who performs Saturday at 6:45 p.m. at Cathedral Church of the Advent. "They're asking people who have performed on this stage in the past."

But he insists he had no part in booking himself.

"When I got to the meeting, I was informed I was playing," he said with a laugh. "I didn't request it, but it was a nice idea to use people who have played before."

The Oasis' classical offerings have dwindled, but it easily has the most eclectic array of acts, including Broadway, Celtic, pre-Civil War, classical guitar, traditional Inca, jazz standards, big band, a barbershop quartet and gospel quartet.

"Although it's not a stage for classical music, it is a stage where you can hear classical music," said Pattin, who performed his second Carnegie Hall recital last year.

He will play a full recital, including Bach's "Italian Concerto," three short pieces by Debussy, Ravel's "Alborado del gracioso and two pieces by Liszt.

Michael Huebner is fine arts writer and classical music critic for The Birmingham News. E-mail him at mhuebner@bhamnews.com.

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Silverdocs
Note By Note: The Making Of Steinway L1037
(Documentary)
By EDDIE COCKRELL
A Plow production. Produced, directed by Ben Niles.

With: Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Kenny Barron, Bill Charlap, Harry Connick Jr., Helene Grimaud.


Blue-collar American craftsmanship is alive and well in the quietly grand piano docu "Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037." Saga of title instrument's journey from Alaskan lumber yard to concert limelight plays allegretto to average moviegoers and keyboard aesthetes alike, yet with a detailed, deliberate approach to its subject that portends numerous small-screen and DVD recitals.

Somewhere in the New York borough of Queens, the diverse workforce at the 100-plus-year-old Steinway & Sons factory continue to build the renowned, extraordinarily complex concert grand pianos entirely by hand. When the weather's good, they lunch as a group at outdoor picnic tables.

The construction process can take up to a year per instrument, and involves a wide variety of craftspeople with titles such as Bellyman and Grand Finisher. "Whaddo I know about pianos?" remembers burly, tattooed rough tuner Dennis Schweit of his first reaction to his job 11 years ago, effectively underlining the deliberately prolonged development of the many skill sets involved.

Each station of the factory is visited with some detail, and the workers' love for both their individual jobs and the sum of the parts is palpable. "It's never perfect," admits concert tone regulator Bruce Campbell, even as he gives the impression of striving for perfection every day.

Sophomore helmer Ben Niles ("Josh Joplin: Better Days") approaches his subject con amore, eliciting amiable observations from his talking heads and understanding the fine balance between chronological construction and the occasional inquisitive sidetrack. The phalanx of piano players praising the manufacturer runs the gamut from Pierre-Laurent Aimard to Harry Connick Jr. Latter almost sheepishly confesses, "I have a tendency to be rather heavy-handed ... They know what I like."

Tech credits are as precise as a Steinway itself. No mention is made of the title instrument's eventual home, though it did make an appearance at the 2006 Hamptons fest post-preem pour. Pic subsequently won the docu prize at the 2007 Sarasota fest.

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DONALD Trump has one, Billy Joel plays one and now Innisfail's town hall has one too - a classic Steinway piano.

North Queensland's Johnstone Shire Council - so dysfunctional it was sacked by the State Government - spent more than $250,000 on the piano for its town hall.

It planned to put the top-of-the-range Steinway Model D in the Innisfail town hall, which was damaged during Cyclone Larry last March.

The piano, more commonly used by international performers at major venues, is one of only about 20 in Australia.

Cyclone insurance paid for piano

The council arranged the purchase in February, just before it was sacked, using a cyclone damage insurance payout covering two pianos which had been in the town hall.

It also applied for a $68,000 State Government grant to help meet the purchase price.

The Steinway is sitting in a Brisbane shop awaiting delivery when the hall is repaired.

Former deputy mayor George Pervan said the piano was "hard to come by for a little shire" and would take pride of place in the remodelled town hall.

The Steinway was described by piano academic and performer Christian Gante as "the best".

"To play on a Steinway for a lot of pianists is the ultimate, but to play on a Model D is the ultimate ultimate," Mr Gante said.

"They could actually start something ... it could be a drawcard. They could start the Innisfail music festival."

Mackay council was in recent years embroiled in similar controversy when it spent about $150,000 for a Model D for its entertainment centre.

It received a discount for trading a previous model Steinway it owned.

Poor financial management

Innisfail's Johnstone Shire Council was embroiled in controversy last year over its poor financial management and culture of bullying and infighting, leaving it incapable of serving its 8000 residents.

Local Government Minister Andrew Fraser sacked the council in February, installing administrator Graham Webb.

Mr Webb said the piano was ordered with the full knowledge of insurers and the Queensland Government.

He said it would be used for community events and to attract events to the "vibrant arts community".

Mr Fraser had not heard about the purchase last night and a spokesman said the grant had not yet been sought.

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By Rosanne Barrett

June 15, 2007 12:00am

A NORTH Queensland council so dysfunctional it was sacked by the State Government spent more than $250,000 on a piano for its town hall.

The Johnstone Shire Council planned to put the top-of-the-range Steinway Model D in the Innisfail town hall, which was damaged during Cyclone Larry last March.

The piano, more commonly used by international performers at major venues, is one of only about 20 in Australia.

The council arranged the purchase in February, just before it was sacked, using a cyclone damage insurance payout covering two pianos which had been in the town hall.

It also applied for a $68,000 State Government grant to help meet the purchase price.

The Steinway is sitting in a Brisbane shop awaiting delivery when the hall is repaired.

Former deputy mayor George Pervan said the piano was "hard to come by for a little shire" and would take pride of place in the re-modelled town hall.

The Steinway was described by piano academic and performer Christian Gante as the best.

"To play on a Steinway for a lot of pianists is the ultimate, but to play on a Model D is the ultimate ultimate," Mr Gante said.

"They could actually start something . . . it could be a drawcard . . . they could start the Innisfail music festival."

Mackay council was in recent years embroiled in similar controversy when it spent about $150,000 for a Model D for its entertainment centre. It received a discount for trading a previous model Steinway it owned.

Innisfail's Johnstone Shire Council was embroiled in controversy last year over its poor financial management and culture of bullying and infighting, leaving it incapable of serving its 8000 residents.

Local Government Minister Andrew Fraser sacked it in February, installing administrator Graham Webb.

Mr Webb said the piano was ordered with the full knowledge of insurers and the Queensland Government. He said it would be used for community events and to attract events to the "vibrant arts community".

Local Government Minister Andrew Fraser had not heard about the purchase last night and a spokesman said the grant had not yet been sought.

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18. Juni 2007, 00:00 Uhr Von Stefan Hentz

Jazzpianisten hauen in und auf die Tasten

Achtundachtzig Tasten, verteilt auf sieben Oktaven und eine Terz, auf zwei Hände, zehn Finger, und wenn man hinsieht auch einmal auf die ein oder andere Faust, Handkante, einen Ellenbogen oder gleich die ganze Elle. Nicht zu vergessen die Pedale, die Tasten für die Füße, zum Dämpfen der Töne oder zum genauen Gegenteil. Es ist Sonnabend. Zwei Flügel stehen auf der Bühne im mäßig gefüllten Rolf Liebermann Studio des NDR, zwei Flügel zur Auswahl für die fünf Pianisten, die in den nächsten Stunden einen neuen Höhepunkt im Hamburger Jazz-Jahreskalender kreieren. "Jazz Piano - Ein Soloabend mit John Taylor, Dieter Glawischnig, Anke Helfrich, Michael Wollny und Mathias Claus" steht auf den Plakaten, eine enorme Vielfalt musikalischer Positionen zum Thema Soloklavier im Jazz wird die Zuhörer belohnen.

Das fängt schon mit dem Anfangen an. Während Mathias Claus, Absolvent des Hamburger Jazzstudienganges, der in Braunschweig lebt, lehrt und sich immer wieder mit Solo-Auftritten in Szene setzt, noch schnell mit einem Tuch die Tasten wischt, als wolle er letzte Spurenelemente fremder Ideenwelten entfernen, streicht Anke Helfrich ihr langes, blondes Haar zur Seite und dehnt noch mal die Finger, bevor sie die Hände zu Fäusten ballt. Michael Wollny schließlich, als dritter vor der Pause, lässt sich vor den Tasten zusammensinken und wartet, bevor er erste, verstreute Töne spielt.

Der Kontrast an dieser Stelle ist ein scharfer. Claus und Helfrich, die beiden Traditionalisten unter den Exzentrikern, gehen von fertigen Entwürfen aus, von definierten Stücken, die sie so oder so ähnlich schon häufiger gespielt zu haben scheinen, deren Struktur sie mit ihren facettenreichen Umspielungen eher ausmalen und verzieren, als sie im Spiel zu erschaffen. Und während Claus eher eine europäisch romantisierende Variante dieser Ausschmückungskunst präsentiert, wirkt das Spiel der Pianistin aus Weinheim vergleichsweise blauschwarz: sie tränkt ihren Vortrag in blue notes, winkt zu Thelonious Monk hinüber und sorgt dafür, dass ein robuster Beat dem Zuhören immer wieder die Richtung weist. Michael Wollny, der Senkrechtstarter unter den deutschen Jazzmusikern der jüngeren Generaton, und nach der Pause die beiden Altmeister Dieter Glawischnig und der Brite John Taylor scheinen ihre Stücke komplett aus dem Nichts zu schaffen, oder sagen wir: aus dem Kosmos der klanglichen Möglichkeiten, die in dem Instrument mir den vielen Tasten, Pedalen, Saiten stecken. Sicher es gibt Vorlagen, an denen sich der Neubau orientiert. Aber es liegt eine andere Spannung im Raum, in ihrem nach vielen Seiten offenen Spiel wird der Jazz zum sound of surprise.

Damit überschreitet dieser Jazzpiano-Abend die Routine eines Jazzkonzerts. In der Vielfalt der Möglichkeiten, in der Einheit der Gegensätze der Spielhaltungen, laut und leise, karg und überschwänglich, harmonisch und harsch bietet der Abend sehr viel mehr und mitreißendere Kost als wir erwarten konnten. Am späten Abend sind wir satt, randvoll mit Eindrücken - und wollen mehr.

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Attention News Editors:
Canadian Exclusive Steinway Art Case Piano Collection Tour at Tom Lee Music Vancouver and Richmond Showrooms

VANCOUVER, June 19 /CNW/ - Tom Lee Music announces the first part of its
Canadian exclusive Steinway & Sons Art Case Piano Collection Tour to its
Vancouver and Richmond showrooms, June 22 to July 8, 2007. Four special piano masterpieces valued at more than $600,000 will make their only visit to Canada by way of Tom Lee Music.

Steinway & Sons art case pianos have graced public venues such as the White House and Smithsonian Institution, as well as private collections for more than a century and a half. The tour pianos were designed by renowned craftsmen and artists - and feature intricately carved hardwoods, exquisite finishes, hand-painted motifs and numerous fine designer details.

Public viewing times at Tom Lee Music showroom locations are as follows:

Vancouver - Friday, June 22 to Monday, July 2, 2007
Richmond - Wednesday, July 4 to Sunday, July 8, 2007

The four special pianos included in Steinway & Sons' Art Case Collection Tour at Tom Lee Music are:

Roger Williams Gold - Inspired by renowned pianist Roger Williams, the
art-deco design, in a gold metallic finish, is adorned with the lyrics to
Autumn Leaves, the best-selling piano recording of all time. Serial number 570,040; NY Retail Price: $178,000 USD
http://www.steinway.com/steinway/limited_edition/roger_williams_gold.shtm
l
Reflections - Artist Thomas Schrunk created this design using hand-cut
sections of ribbon-striped Sapele veneer, meticulously matched to vary grain direction and form a dramatic wave pattern. Serial number: 554,615; NY Retail Price: $94,000 USD

http://www.steinway.com/steinway/artcase_collection/reflections.shtml

Symphonic Symmetry - Created by John Eric Byers and named for its balance of form and function, this piano features round tapered legs and organically shaped lyre and leg tops.

Serial number: 563,298; NY Retail Price: $152,000 USD
http://www.steinway.com/steinway/artcase_collection/symphonic.shtml

150th Anniversary Limited Edition Karl Lagerfeld - Created to celebrate
the 150th Anniversary of Steinway & Sons, renowned international fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld has created a bold and dramatic design. Serial number: 567,175; NY Retail Price: $85,000 USD

http://www.steinway.com/steinway/limited_edition/karl_lagerfeld.shtml

At each stop on the tour, music teachers, students and members of the
public will be invited to special programs featuring the pianos, or they can
make personal appointments through the Tom Lee Music to see and play the pianos.

About Steinway & Sons

Steinway & Sons' world headquarters and U.S. factory are located at
Steinway Place, Long Island City, N.Y. Steinway pianos - created from 12,000 components requiring a year to handcraft and assemble - are sold in the United States and Canada by a select number of exclusive authorized dealers. For more information, visit www.steinway.com.

About Tom Lee Music

Tom Lee Music has been bringing music to BC communities since 1969. It is one of the largest full-line musical instrument retailers in North America. Tom Lee Music helps beginners, hobbyists and professionals alike make their musical dreams a reality with affordable instruments, service, 'EZ-financing', rentals and music lessons for all ages. Tom Lee Music is the recipient of numerous awards in recognition for its dedication to music excellence. The company is a strong supporter of local music education and community cultural organizations. There are seven store locations in the Lower Mainland, and two on Vancouver Island. For more information about Tom Lee Music and its programs and services, please visit www.tomleemusic.ca.


For further information: Media Contact: Susan Kirk, Margo Bates
Publicity Inc., Telephone: (604) 315-9959, E-Mail: susan@margobatespr.com; Tom Lee Music Contact: Richard Howland, Community Relations Manager, Tom Lee Music, Telephone: (604) 685-8471, E-Mail: richard.howland@tomleemusic.ca

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George Gershwin Alone
Geffen Playhouse

What better way to spend a hot summer evening than listening to all the marvelous songs created by George Gershwin? How about the amazing Hershey Felder appearing as Gershwin, sitting onstage at his Steinway giving us a blow-by-blow account of the evolution of the American genius’ music, his sadly short but staggeringly prolific career, and the many obstacles even his success could not keep him from enduring.

Beautifully staged and directed by Joel Zwick, Felder’s knockout George Gershwin Alone, now playing at the Geffen Playhouse, began as a workshop production here in Los Angeles in 1999 and has since been performed more than 2,500 times to resounding kudos in New York and all over the globe.

With the blessings of the composer’s heirs (Gershwin’s nephew was in attendance at the opening night here) and after extensive searches through personal effects housed at the Library of Congress and learning the distinctive keyboard techniques used by the man himself, Felder has created something no one has before: a definitive look into not only the fame and fortune afforded Gershwin in his brief but creatively inexhaustible life well lived, but the heartache and unfairness lurking below the public persona, including the dark shadow of anti-semitism that led Henry Ford to proclaim in one of his publications that Gershwin’s music was a product of the “insidious Jewish menace” to America.

The great composer died of a brain aneurysm at the heartbreakingly young age 38, but despite reams of damning critiques and Jew-baiting racial slurs printed extensively during his lifetime, he left behind over 1,000 tunes. In his George Gershwin Alone, Felder actually explains to the rapt audience gathered at the Geffen 70 years after the composer’s death how the man created the music, including his controversial use of minor chords and changing octaves in midstream to get the listener to hear and concentrate on the words written by Gershwin’s beloved brother Ira (“There is was: the hook!” he exclaims to us excitedly).

George Gershwin Alone is a magical evening, not only reliving and respectfully honoring a life of inimitable renown and showing the human side to the fleeting and fickle qualities inherent in success, but offering so much incredible music along the way that it boggles the mind that one man could have created it all, as though the spectre of his early demise fueled him on even without knowing that would be the tragic outcome.

We’re treated to Felder, a precision pianist besides being a charming and effectual actor, explaining the creation of (and then performing live) the unearthly classics the world now adores. It begins with little Jacob Gershowitz’ first introduction to music while playing stickball in his impoverished Brooklyn ghetto neighborhood in the early 20th century, the sound of a kid practicing Dvorak’s “Humouresque” on the violin (I was surprised streetkid Georgie made no comments about “Mabel, Mabel, Darling Mabel”) somewhere nearby proving to be an otherwise insufficient event that remarkably heralded an entire lifetime of unparalleled distinction. “It was like the strings were pulling on my heart,” Felder as Gershwin describes to us.

We’re there for the creation of Porgy and Bess, which for me was even more personally breathtaking as it featured a huge rear projection of my dear old friend Urylee Leonardos, with whom I toured in the national tour of The King and I somewhere during my prehistoric years, and the scratchy sound of her haunting voice performing the “I Loves You, Porgy” duet, echoing through the Geffen and made more impressive by John Gottlieb’s exquisite sound design.

Then there’s the inspiration behind An American in Paris, written to the sound of Parisian taxicab horns while Gershwin lived an expatriate life in Europe and, at the culmination of the evening, there’s the crowning glory of George Gershwin Alone: Felder at the piano before his rapt and silent audience playing a stellar rendition of the entire Rhapsody in Blue.

After a spirited standing ovation, Felder then returned to the stage to top off everything else about this memorable evening with a sing-along of Gershwin tunes, gently coaxing audience members to stand if they know the obscure introductory verses of some of Gershwin’s biggest hits. It was a magical, indelible evening spent with George Gershwin Alone, especially poignant, as Felder admits from the stage, not only because it’s being performed here in LA where the workshop began its incredible journey, but because it’s being presented in the town where George and Ira lived out their lives.

This is particularly emotional for me because, although the man was gone nearly a decade before I was born, when I first came here in the late 1960s I stayed and later spent many hours at the home of Rosemary Clooney, a cherished friend of my late mother. Rosie’s atmospheric and overgrown Spanish villa at 1019 N. Roxbury Drive in the ol’ Hills of Beverly was an extraordinary place, gorgeous from the outside and, inside, a truly warm and cozy and accessible sanctuary for a family I grew to love.

Even with help, frankly Rosie was not much of a housekeeper, something not make easier by her desire to raise her five kids, Miguel, Rafy, Gabriel, Monsita and Maria, without celebrity or pretense. Bikes and toys lined the spiral staircase in the grand foyer, whose walls were covered with world-class art by world-class artists, and Rosie’s huge bedroom suite and glass-lined walk-in closet—which alone was bigger than the average house—was continuously strewn with piles of discarded clothes and other indications of her periodic emotional dysfunction.

But there was one room in the Ferrar/Clooney household that was always untouched by messy residents and endearingly unruly kids, and that was the austerely grand formal living room, always pristine and sparklingly clean and filled with Rosie’s career memorabilia. Though I’ve never played myself, I would love to sit there at the impressive, gleaming polished Steinway dominating the room, amazed at how much sound emanated from it when I plunked on the keys.

One day waiting for Rosie to come downstairs, I was seating at that piano gently stroking the ivories when the housekeeper came in to ask if I needed anything. I mentioned how surprised I always was that this room in general and this piano in particular were exempt from the tyranny of many children living so close to it, to which she said, “Oh, Miss Rosie don’t allow the children to come in here and mess with Mr. George’s piano.”

For the first time, I became aware of where I’d spent so many hours: in the home bought by Rosie and her twice-former husband Jose Ferrar that had been George Gershwin’s until his death, which had included in the deal the very piano where he had composed some of his most important music.

Although I have never had the heart to drive past the property since Rosie’s death in 2002, I’ve been told the historic Gershwin house Rosie so adored and where she raised her wonderfully sweet and gifted brood of surprisingly well adjusted kids, has been bulldozed, replaced by one of those hideously gaudy modern faux-stone mansions that have sprouted up insidiously in the area, looking as though they were transplanted to BevHills directly from Dubai.

Yes, George Gershwin Alone proved to be something both bittersweet and incredibly special for me personally, but it’s an evening sure to touch the heart of anyone who loves music and music history, thanks to the dedication and talent of Hershey Felder and, above all, the abundant gifts left behind for many, many generations to come by George and Ira Gershwin.

George Gershwin Alone plays through July 22 at the Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Av., Westwood CA 90024; for tickets, call (310) 208-5454.

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Rare Gift Brings Music To San Francisco's Poor

Web Editor: Matt Bush, Online Content Producer

Updated: 7/3/2007 1:25:11 PM

SAN FRANCISCO, CA. (NBC) -- There's an old saying that food feeds the body but music feeds the soul, and a rare gift is feeding plenty of souls in San Francisco's Tenderloin District, one of the poorest areas of the city.

There is little harmony in the streets of the tenderloin.

For many it's a last refuge of the down and out and the last place you'd expect to find one of the world's finest pianos, but musician Lee Walkup figured a 124 year old Steinway which spent most of its life in a castle would serve a more noble calling in the Tenderloin.

"It belongs here. This instrument belongs in this place," said Walkup.

Walkup's sister Patricia spent years helping the poor of the Tenderloin.

When she died last year he wanted to find a way to honor her, so he bought the piano in his home state of Connecticut and had it delivered to the lobby of the Cadillac Residential Hotel.

"Music is for people. And just because they can't afford a hundred dollars for a ticket to go to the opera house doesn't mean they can't enjoy great uplifting music too," said Walkup.

Walkup figures the piano's perfect pitch and flawless tone will be perfectly in tune with the Cadillac.

Hotel founder Leroy Looper envisions concerts in the lobby with music to heal lost souls.

"I figure that we get the very best piano here. Then the best people can come and play it for the best people in the tenderloin," said Looper.

The piano is valued at about 125-thousand dollars, far out of reach of most in the hotel, but Looper hopes it will be bring joy to a neighborhood where joy is sometimes hard to find.

The new piano will be featured at a party in September when the hotel turns 100.

NBC

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By Krystal Grow
GateHouse News Service
Thu Jul 12, 2007, 04:10 PM EDT

Pembroke -Pembroke High School is serious about its music. So serious, in fact, that $56,520 was recently approved to purchase a Steinway piano. But music department chairwoman Gwynne Sousa wants to go a step further.

She wants to provide private music lessons to students in grades 7 to 12.

Sousa approached the School Committee during Tuesday night’s closeout meeting for fiscal 2007 to request the approval of private voice and instrument lessons for any and all interested students. Music lessons are currently part of the curriculum at the elementary school level, but Sousa said she wants to find a way to provide private lessons to students at the middle and high schools who want to further their musical training.

“This program would be beneficial to students who live and breathe music,” said Sousa.

Sousa said she plans to offer lessons at a fee of $22 per half-hour, a fee she said is significantly less than some other school systems, which charge between $25 and $38 per half hour.

“The fact that we can offer such a reasonable rate will attract both students and good teachers to the program,” Sousa said.

Sousa told the committee she would subcontract music teachers and that payment arrangements would be made between the teacher and the student’s parents.

While the idea may work in theory, some School Committee members voiced opposition to the idea of subcontracting teachers.

“Subcontracting opens this up to anyone who wants it,” said chairman Michael Tropeano, whose main concern was how teachers would be evaluated if they were not technically part of the school’s staff.

Sousa said that the any teacher would be subject to a CORI search, which is mandatory in Massachusetts for anyone working closely with children.

“Any of the teachers that I would consider would be people that I know and trust as professionals,” said Sousa, who also made the point that current teachers could not teach the private lessons due to conflict-of-interest issues.

Another area of concern for School Committee members involved building fees for the teacher’s use of the music rooms. Sousa said regular after-school programs staffed and run by school faculty are exempt from the fees, but since she wants to bring in outside teachers to use the four private lesson rooms, a fee would be required.

Sousa said imposing a fee would deter teachers from providing lessons.
“There has to be some incentive for them to come,” she said.

School Committee decided to table any decision until the next meeting on Aug. 21 so they could review the policy on building use fees and subcontracting outside teachers.

“The lessons are really just an extension of the music department curriculum, but we don’t have time during the day to give private lessons,” Sousa said. “Some of our classes have as many as 75 students.”

Sousa said that individual lessons were essential to the development of the music and theater program.

“We really need this to move the program in the direction it needs to go,” she said. “Our students will be competing with students who have access to private lessons, and we just don’t have the opportunity to provide that during the regular school day.”