Piano

I play piano. I have many favorite composers but two that stand out are Chopin and Hugo Wolf. I occasionally host house concerts, featuring myself and other semi-competent musicians. Mail me to be put on the mailing list.

Some videos of a house concert in Oct 2009 are here.

• Chopin: Several of the Nocturnes
• Del Tredici: Chana's Story (with Laurie Amat, soprano). At least the 1st and 2nd songs (out of 6). Started work summer 2002.
• Chopin: the 'leftovers': the 2 Preludes and 3 Etudes not normally grouped with the rest, followed by the Godowski study (based on the last Nouvelle Etude). Started work summer 2002. Performed Jan 5, 2003.
• Schumann: Symphonic Etudes. Started work 3/2002. Performed Jan 9, 2003. It went pretty well. A couple of minor memory lapses.
• The following were performed at my house on March 10, 2002:
  • Hugo Wolf: two songs, with Laurie Amat, soprano.
  • Two songs by Flanders and Swann (Madiera and Armadillo).
  • Godowski: Study on Chopin's etude in A flat, op. post. Godowski wrote a massive set of studies, based on the harmonic/melodic material of Chopin's Etudes. They're all absurdly difficult. This one involves polyrhythms (e.g. 9 vs. 6 vs. 4 vs. 2).
  • Schumann: Noveletten #1.
  • Chopin/Liszt: Fruhling (from 17 Polish Songs).
• Various young New Zealand composers: four songs, with Laurie Amat, soprano. Performance 1/2002. I actually got paid for this gig!
• Chopin: Preludes 1 and 8, 2 Etudes, and 2 Mazurkas. Performed 12/2001. Also 'Standchen' (song by Schubert, arranged for piano by Liszt).
• Scriabin: two etudes (the first and last ones he wrote, don't have the opus #'s handy). The latter has an interesting harmonic scheme based on what in Jazz is called the 'tritone substitution', namely that dominant chords a tritone apart (e.g. G7 and Db7) have the same 3rd and 7th (albeit reversed) and can generally be substituted for each other. Interesting side note: the Beethoven sonatas I'm playing (op. 57 and 109) both use the tritone substitution; in both cases it appears in a theme and variations (middle mvt. of op. 57, last mvt. of op. 109).
• Poulenc: Sonata for Cello and piano (with Gael Alcock). Performed 10/98.
• Beethoven: Sonata op. 109 (performed 3/98 and 5/98).
• Two songs by Schoenberg from Waller im Schnee (with Francoise Chanut, soprano). 3/98 and 5/98.
• Tarantelle, duet for voice by Faure; Nomi Harris and Francoise Chanut, 3/98
• Christoper Berg: 4 songs on poems by Vladimir Nabokov (with Penny Boys, soprano). 3/98
• Various other songs with Penny Boys: Ihm Fruhling and ?? by Schubert, 2 arias by Mozart, Dido's Lament by Purcell, folk song arrangement by Britten. 3/98
• Liszt: Les Funerailles 2/98
• Schumann: Kreisleriana (selections) 12/97
• Schubert: Klavierstucke in E: 9/97
• Beethoven: 6 Bagatelles op. 126: 8/97
• Liszt: Jeux d'Eaux a la Villa d'Este: 6/97
• Chopin: Waltz in A flat; 5/97
• Ginastera: Danzas Argentinas Performed 3/97.
• Turina: Sevilla from Suite Pittoresque. Performed 1/26/97.
• Schubert: Sonata in D, 1st mvt. Performed 2/97.
• Liszt: Gnomenreigen. Performed 12/96.
• Steven Sondheim: Merrily We Roll Along (accompanist) performed June 7/8/9 1996, Randall Museum, S.F.
• Moskowski: Spanish Dance #3 (4-hands) with Diana Rowan. Performed 4/21/96.
• Hugo Wolf: five songs. Performed with soprano Laura Storm 3/10/96.
• Prokofiev: Visions Fugitives (5 out of 20) Performed 2/11/96.
• Beethoven: Sonata op. 54 in F. Performed 12/95.
• Bach: Toccata in e minor. Performed 11/95.
• Schubert: Fantasy in f minor, 4 hands. Performed with Diana Rowan 10/95.
  
  
  Back Burner

  Beethoven: Sonata op. 57 (Appassionata).

  Stravinsky: selections from Petrouchka (NOT the composer's arrangement, which is unplayable by mortals, but a Schirmer edition which (typically) doesn't name the arranger. The arrangement is surprisingly playable, sounds pretty good, and even includes some melody lines omitted in the Stravinsky).

  Bach: Selections (namely the easy ones) from the Goldberg Variations.

  Philip Glass: Wichita Vortex Sutra. I discovered this piece via the incomparable Mark Thomas at Sorabji.com (Sorabji, by the way, is a name not likely to appear elsewhere on this page any time soon).

  Bach/Busoni: Prelude and Fugue in D (organ; transcribed for piano)

  Granados: Epilogo from Goyescas.

  Franck: Prelude, Aria and Finale