Michael Hersch

The American new music scene is remarkably vibrant.

— Michael Hersch

I don't think performance out of duty yields very much. Coercion is never the way to go.

— Michael Hersch

The best results come when people believe in and feel strongly about the music they are playing. Just as composers write for…

— Michael Hersch

Many critics have become de facto teachers. That is a lot of responsibility, and I think it should be wielded with care.…

— Michael Hersch

I was fortunate to work with Corigliano for a few years in the mid nineties. Meeting and working with him during those…

— Michael Hersch

If people want insights, if they want to swim in the currents of their own time and share the experiences of their…

— Michael Hersch

I write because the act of writing itself is what drives me. It's a private communication within myself - nothing more or…

— Michael Hersch

As a young composer I had a particular fondness for Liszt's Beethoven Symphony arrangements for the piano, and to this day I…

— Michael Hersch

I don't think the role of the critic has changed very much. In the most positive sense, the music critic is one…

— Michael Hersch

As I see it, the major requirements for a strong and able rendering are an understanding of a work's structure, voicing, and…

— Michael Hersch

The visual and literary arts are of perennial interest to me, and these art forms have become more and more a part…

— Michael Hersch

The musical culture in the United States has no doubt suffered severe setbacks, especially in funding, since the early 2000's. However, I've…

— Michael Hersch

I enjoy the challenge of taking something which was not meant for the piano, distilling its essence and writing or improvising it…

— Michael Hersch

George Rochberg once said that 'to be a composer, you need to have fire in the belly, fire in the brain, but…

— Michael Hersch

A healthy dialogue is always good.

— Michael Hersch

Part of what makes music so interesting is the lack of consensus on just about any given topic.

— Michael Hersch

Mazur was a remarkable artist. During our time in Rome we became friends. I would often perform my works for him at…

— Michael Hersch

A critic can serve as guide. I think there's an understanding amongst the public that critics have their own preferences and dislikes.

— Michael Hersch

While I believe there is certainly a phenomenon of timelessness in art, the people writing today can comment on today in an…

— Michael Hersch

I think the tendency to paint composers or styles of music with too broad a brush - for example, identifying composers as…

— Michael Hersch

Of course, all people have their own reasons for believing what they do about gender. In my case, in over two decades…

— Michael Hersch

The best critics leave the reader curious to pursue something further, but still to let the reader have his or her own…

— Michael Hersch

My own goals center around writing the best music that I can, and only I can determine whether or not I've succeeded…

— Michael Hersch

The work of Liszt I most admire is the music he wrote toward the end of his life. This is often music…

— Michael Hersch

Just as all pop music is not simplistic, not all contemporary concert music is complex. Often what a person connects with goes…

— Michael Hersch

My interactions with musicians have been simply that: interactions with musicians. Issues of gender, or anything else beyond the music-making, have in…

— Michael Hersch

There are times I'm completely uncomfortable with my works being performed publicly, and I haven't attended certain concerts because the prospect is…

— Michael Hersch

I do believe young people should be obligated to try different types of music - that is what education is. But once…

— Michael Hersch

I wrote much more quickly when I was younger. Over the years I've required more time in order for the pieces to…

— Michael Hersch

A lot of my approach to the instrument, especially as I've gotten older, is to treat the piano in ways that are…

— Michael Hersch

The proliferation of new music groups and individual performers focusing on new music today is heartening. On the one hand the culture…

— Michael Hersch

If somebody responds positively to what I'm doing - if there is a connection - that can be very meaningful. If someone…

— Michael Hersch