From One Extreme to Another

So over the weekend I was in Philadelphia, and Paul Hamilton and I performed CHROMA on a new-ish concert series at the Delaware County Community College.  It was  a lovely little venue with a great piano and a perfect video setup, and I had a wonderful time chatting with the nice audience afterwards.  The presenter suggested that we take questions at the end of the program, and as always I really enjoyed talking about the oboe, and the circular breathing, and the terrific music we played and the beautiful video presentation Paul created for us.  

Here’s a sample of the fun we had –

My life seems to swing from one extreme to another.  From featured soloist to invisible accompanist.  Next weekend in South Bend we are playing four, count ’em four piano concertos.  Mozart 21, Prokofiev 1, Rachmaninov 2, and Chopin something-or-other.  It will be fun, I’m sure – I like to play – and no doubt the soloists will be top-notch.  (Here‘s the Tribune article about the great Toradze studio)

I can’t believe I’m about to admit this, but I’m not a huge fan of the piano concerto genre.  There are some great pieces, of course, and audiences seem to love watching the fingers fly, but I often find the experience a little tedious. It’s hard to hear the soloist from the ensemble, because the piano lid funnels the sound outward, away from us.   And I sit right in the middle of the orchestra, completely hidden behind that same piano lid, so the work I am doing is totally unseen, if not irrelevant. 

This concert will certainly be terrific.  I am looking forward to it.   I will have a good time.  This is not my favorite program of the season, but I am lucky to be able to do what I do.   It is  delightful to have so much variety in my career.  Every week is different, and I absolutely welcome that. 

Details are HERE.