Bruce Brubaker on all things piano
In Pennsylvania, at Bucknell University I had my first outing with Nico Muhly's new piano piece, Drones & Piano. Shhh -- don't tell. This was a "pre-premiere." The premiere will take place at the Gilmore Festival on May 7. (The Gilmore commissioned the new piece.) I will play Drones & Piano in at least four public performances (Smith College, Holy Cross, Bucknell) before the "premiere." That makes sense, and it's duplicitous. Maybe … [Read more...]
There are American music schools where students don't pay tuition. They're free. The Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, the Colburn School in Los Angeles, the graduate program at the Yale School of Music. Of course, admission to these programs is especially competitive. How much should young musicians have to pay to study? Once, at my school, a prospective student from a very well-off family was awarded a full scholarship based on her merit. A … [Read more...]
Let's not make a categorical distinction between 19th-century musical products -- publications for sale to a public of amateur players -- and the recorded musical products of the 20th and 21st centuries. The work of the "composer" notating sonatas for sale to ladies of the bourgeoisie is the same work as that of performers and producers of 20th-century sound recordings. Both endeavors are musicking, both bring a public into the process/experience … [Read more...]
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