Elaine Comparone insists that playing Haydn's works on the harpsichord stirs her "imagination to new heights." The harpsichordist's upload of Haydn's eloquent Sonata No. 52 in Eb Major ironically paralleled Reed Tetzloff's piano performance in Moscow which introduces an aesthetic comparison or two. Reed's You Tube channel features the opening Allegro movement, https://youtu.be/q6l2qguKhik while his… Continue reading Haydn on the harpsichord or piano? (Competition interlude)
One of the delights of my trip back to hometown New York City, was an encore visit with Elaine Comparone!
It's well-known to a wide audience of admirers that Elaine Comparone has a commanding presence at the harpsichord. And while she sits this one out in a bedazzling reading of Bach's D minor concerto, she's made headlines standing before her beloved as Queen of a Chamber Band that's produced reams of high quality performances. Comparone,… Continue reading She plays “red-blooded” harpsichord!
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… Continue reading Comparone plays Bach on the harpsichord with a palette of emotions
Elaine Comparone and Dusan Bogdanovic produced a stunning CD, combining harpsichord and guitar in their J.S Bach Inventions and Sinfonias collaboration. Both musicians have firmly established reputations as fine performers and recording artists so their get-together has surely been a treat for listeners far and wide. Just today, I broke out my Bach with Pluck!,… Continue reading Bach with and without Pluck
Little Bach Fugue in C, BWV 952 required insights into its organized structure so I could better teach it. But how much analysis was required and could it be trusted?
The "A" word is officially banished from my vocabulary, even if its residual usage in books, newspapers, old reviews, can't be controlled. To boot, anyone who's been handed a stack of music by the High School vocal teacher to ready for the mid-year Christmas program and a few others in between Thanksgiving and semester break,… Continue reading A pianist is a COLLABORATOR NOT an “accompanist”
Pianists are expected to perform on stage without music. It's a controversial area worth probing.
Musical silences spring to life in a rare and beautiful performance of C.P.E Bach's G Major Keyboard Sonata.
Decisions, decisions about whether to pedal through Bach's ethereal Prelude no. 1 in C Major, BWV 846 (The Well-Tempered Clavier)
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