In Troubled Times: The Case for the Arts Compelling article by conductor JoAnn Falletta on the importance of classical music

Here is a great review of a recital in Seattle by the violinist Hilary Hahn accompianied by the wonderful Valentina Lisitsa. “At the piano — a fine mellow-toned Bosendorfer instead of the usual Steinway — Valentina Lisitsa showed great interpretative sympathy and technical skill, not least in the demanding Brahms accompaniments.”

Garrick is a good friend of Bosendorfer and graciously agreed, at an event at the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC, to give a sampling from his upcoming all Scriabin recital. This was music making of the highest order, in the most wonderful, casual, engaging setting you can imagine.

I’m in Charleston SC right now (really great city!) and just heard Valentina Lisitsa play the Tchaikovsky 1 with the Warsaw Philharmonic. Valentina is a big Bosendorfer fan, and the feeling is mutual. But our bank of concert pianos can’t completely keep up with the vast range of her performances, and we don’t have a piano near Charleston. So, imagine my surprise to see a shiny Yamaha CFIIIS on the stage. I’m rather partial to the CFIIIS, having managed the Yamaha US Artist Relations program for 10 years. Oh, and I also own one. I believe that the world needs more than one concert piano and Yamaha has worked very very hard to give the world one, with the resources to put it out where people can see (hear) it. You could call the world of concert pianos a zero sum game (any win for one is a loss for

I’ve been trying to come up with some examples of recordings where the non-Steinway piano is notated, AND it is a good representation of that makers sound. I have many Bosendorfer examples, mostly Garrick Ohlsson’s vast output. I have also found some bad examples, such as good piano sound but bad playing (no, not Garrick) and good playing but bad piano sound. In the case of Bosendorfer, if the right technician isn’t working on it, then it is not going to be a good representation of the Bosendorfer sound. I have found a recording of Garrick’s made on his rebuilt Mason & Hamlin (Prokofiev, Bartok, Webern, Barber) which, to my ear, does have a good representative Mason sound. Personally, I’m not crazy about the piano sound but I love the repertoire. I also recently acquired another recording that is the best of both…good piano playing and good piano sound. In this case,

No particular order… James Levine Leonard Bernstein Erich Leinsdorf Christoph von Dohnanyi Michael Tilson Thomas Daniel Barenboim Sir Colin Davis Leonard Slatkin Mistislav Rostropovich Raphael Fruhbeck de Burgos Neemi Jarvi

Last  night was my return to the Boston Symphony Orchestra. I’ve heard James Levine conduct the Met Opera Orchestra, both in opera and in concert settings and have always been impressed. This was my first opportunity to see what he has been doing in Boston. I went to college in Boston and had a subscription to the BSO. Now I wish I had saved those programs…lots of eye opening experiences (ok, ear opening) highlighted by hearing the Shostakovich 4th…unprepared!! Anyway, the Berg Violin Concerto is one of the greatest 20th century compositions and a highlight of serialism, not to mention beauty and profundity. One of my favorite pieces of music. I could go on and on, but I won’t. If you’re not familiar with this piece, listen to it about a dozen times. The other piece on the program was one of my least favorite, by one of my least favorite composers…the

I don’t think there is a piano in it, but TS, this is my blog. Schoenbergs Gurre-Lieder is some spectacularly beautiful music. If you are a romantic and don’t think you like the atonal stuff, then give this a listen. If I didn’t tell you who wrote it, you’d never guess. Also, try Verklarte Nacht