“I am attracted only to music which I consider to be better than it can be performed. Therefore I feel (rightly or wrongly) that unless a piece of music presents a problem to me, a never-ending problem, it doesn't interest me too much.”
~ Artur Schnabel
This sums up my approach to, and sense of responsibility, to music-making. As I emerge from the library and back to the concert platform, I’m constantly awed by the impact scholarship can have on performance.
Call me a non-traditional traditional, exploring interpretative byroads of the forged highways of the standard repertoire. For recitals, I pursue emotionally cohesive amalgams of works by composers who best sustain my intellectual curiosity: Scarlatti, the great Viennese and German masters, my beloved Chopin and the impressionists who impress me.
Repertoire and concert planning constantly evolve, as they should. So, my mixed-repertoire program varies from season to season, but these signature programs are readily available for both concerts and lecture-recitals:
Beethoven: The Final Sonatas, op. 109, 110 and 111
Schubert: The Final Sonatas, D. 958, 959, 960
Chopin: The 24 Préludes, op. 28; Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat, op. 61; Sonata in B minor, op. 58
Why did I enter only one competition and then abandon even the concept? Because after that one experience, I realized that rarely does one win on one’s own strengths, but on the perceived or contrived – usually by a politicized jury – weaknesses of one’s colleagues. Très Donald Trump.
And I could never live the life of an honest musician with that baggage.
Concerto repertoire:
Mozart: K. 413 (F), K. 414 (A), K. 415 (C), K. 449 (E-flat), K. 450 (B-flat), K. 451 (D), K. 453 (G), K. 456 (B-flat), K. 459 (F), K. 466 (D minor), K. 467 (C), K. 482 (E-flat), K. 491 (C minor), K. 503 (C), K. 595 (B-flat)
Beethoven: All Five
Schumann: A minor
Chopin: Both
Brahms: Both
Tchaikovsky: No. 1
Live Performances
BEETHOVEN
Sonata in E Major
Sonata in A-flat Major
Sonata in C Minor
Brahms
Fantasien, Op. 116
Intermezzi, Op. 117
Klavierstücke, Op. 118
Klavierstücke, Op. 119
Seven Fantasias, Opus 116
Schubert
Sonata in C Minor, D. 958
Sonata in A Major, D.959
Sonata in B-Flat Major, D. 960
Sonata No. 18 in G Major, Op. 78
Sonata in C Minor, D. 958
SCHumann
Sonata No. 1 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 11
Mendelssohn
Song Without Words in E Major, Opus 19, No. 1
Cras
Deux Paysages (1917)