Comparone plays Bach on the harpsichord with a palette of emotions

I must admit that I usually experience the "minor" key with poignant intensity, but when I heard Elaine Comparone's most recent performance of J.S.Bach's celebrated D minor concerto, I felt her inner smile radiate through ripples and waves of luscious phrases even as a tragic dimension blanketed the work. Comparone's tapestry of moods, feelings and…

My side-by-side harpsichord/piano chat with Elaine Comparone in her NYC musical sanctuary

My visit with Elaine Comparone, harpsichordist, was the first of my musical treats after touching down in hometown New York. While the weather was a bit gray and unseasonable, Maestra Elaine lifted my spirits with her impeccably beautiful reading of Bach's D minor concerto. Soon enough, it was recorded in full force with ensemble on…

A Well-known Haydn Piano Sonata is pinned!

I don't mean to inject pins into this post, but it amply introduces Haydn's vibrant Sonata no. 35 in C Major. Yesterday, as I diligently embarked upon learning this masterpiece, I had to deal with basic housekeeping matters: How to practice the pages-long first movement without breaks in continuity? My short-term solution: http://youtu.be/g7vP3mqg8WM Harpsichordist, *Elaine…

Fingering snarls in Mozart’s Allegretto, Sonata in C, K. 545 and suggested remedies from the experts

We all have our nemesis. The last measures (68-73) of Mozart's rondo: Allegretto, K. 545, Sonata in C Major, have ensnared me, barring smooth passage to final cadence. For others the journey is uneventful. Who knows? Size of hands, finger length, state of mind, and lack of sleep, might be variables. But more often than…

The Harpsichord has a new lease on life! Elaine Comparone is its biggest advocate!

Elaine Comparone is a champion of the harpsichord like no other. Not only does she play with "red-blooded" passion sweeping it off its mantle of obscurity, but her nonprofit organization Harpsichord Unlimited is dedicated to stimulating interest in the instrument as a living, breathing, contemporary musical communicator. Its museum portrait is a thing of the…