by Kenneth Woods | Feb 16, 2021 | A view from the podium, Piano, pianists and pianism
Gunnar Johansen was a legendary figure in my home town of Madison, Wisconsin. He retired from the University of Wisconsin in 1976, when I would have been seven, so he was practically the stuff of legend throughout most of my youth (we never met). He died in...
by Kenneth Woods | May 24, 2012 | cello, Nuts and bolts
Last month, my colleagues in Ensemble Epomeo and I had a chance to dust off our scores to Dmitri Sitkovetsky’s wonderful string trio arrangement of Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Coming back to this most special of pieces was as inspiring, rewarding and humbling as ever,...
by Kenneth Woods | Nov 26, 2011 | Bobby and Hans, Explore the Score, Haydn
(First time using “Explore the score?” Just click on the hyperlinks within the text to hear the musical excerpts.) “Here is something truly symphonic, a gesture worthy to introduce a great work…” Hans Gál, Schumann Orchestral Music “I sketched it at a time...
by Kenneth Woods | Mar 21, 2011 | A view from the podium
Perfection It’s a powerful word. Can it apply to music? Should it? Even when it does, is it the point? Is perfect music inherently better music? I don’t think a performance can be perfect. Technically flawless- yes. Magical- yes. Perfect? No. All too often, the price...
by Kenneth Woods | Dec 16, 2010 | Music and Media
A few months back, I was asked by a music writer for an e-interview on “music I couldn’t live without.” I thought it turned out pretty well, but never got published, so here it is…. What are the pieces you couldn’t do without? It depends a lot on how you...
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