“The Soviet performers felt that every note had to be strictly controlled. They had excellent training, but the result lacked freshness and poetry.” That word, “freedom,” was secretly on the lips of many. In that sense, Van’s message became unintentionally… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“Recent breakthroughs in the field of neuro-science have shown that playing the piano is good for your brain. Dr. Gottfried Schlaug of Beth Israel… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“To the young among his admirers, he was the fresh face of an emerging, better world; to the old, a balm for the pain… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“Though his rivals at the competition were well trained, there was something different about Van’s art. For many in the audience it represented the… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“Those admirers created so strong a ballast against possible Kremlin tampering with the jury vote that it was said years later by critic Tamara… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“As Victorian-era prudishness set in, some upstanding citizens also took to putting coverlets over the instrument’s legs out of an exaggerated sense of modesty.” — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“The handful of leading craftsmen turning out pianos during that time produced only around thirty to fifty of them per annum. But by 1798,… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“Peterson revealed that he had decided the only way to get attention was “to frighten the hell out of everybody pianistically.” — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“They include conceptual artist and “environmental music” composer Annea Lockwood, who created a work entitled Piano Burning. Debuted in London in 1968, it requires… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“Alkan even wrote a piece for four feet, called Bombardo-Carillon, in which the player’s legs are likely to get entangled during performance. (When Swiss-American… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“The Soviet performers felt that every note had to be strictly controlled. They had excellent training, but the result lacked freshness and poetry.” That… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“The work had its own history of struggle. Originally intended as a showpiece for pianist Nikolai Rubinstein, it was dismissed by that renowned pianist… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
“The Moscow audience had of course heard it many times before, but Van’s interpretation was extraordinary. The work’s thundering octaves and delicate filigree were… — Stuart Isacoff Copy Share Image
