All posts by Gene Gaudette

Van Cliburn, 1934-2013

Just crossed the AP wire.

I’ve introduced myself to many celebrated musicians. Van was the first such person to step over and introduce himself to me — while I was taking a brief break in the coffee nook at BMG Classics. We chewed the fat for a few minutes, particularly about the greatly underrated piano music of Szymanowski. The media may have presented an image of Cliburn as shy, but I can vouch for that fact that he was gregarious company whose passion for music as both a player and listener was clear with every word.

I have a lot of fun and funny memories of interacting with musicians, but meeting Cliburn remains the most vivid more than two decades later.

New York Chamber Music Festival — Forecast: Thunder, with Scattered Democracy

The fourth annual New York Chamber Music Festival opened today, honoring the centenary of John Cage.

I managed to break a way from the office to take in one of Cage’s unique text-based pieces, “Lecture on the Weather” — a setting of selected writings by Henry Thoreau, focusing primarily on issues of governance and democracy.

Continue reading New York Chamber Music Festival — Forecast: Thunder, with Scattered Democracy