On The Keys

During a rare moment of down time at the Carolina Music Museum, located in Downtown Greenville, I had a chance to bring my microphones, some music and another pianist to sit down and try out the historic keyboard instruments from their Facing South exhibit that will soon be wrapped up to make room for a brand new collection of such extent to warrant a name change. Lisa Kiser is the principal keyboardist of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra. She will perform works by Mozart and Liszt on pianos from 1791 and 1863. We'll perform together a very unusual piece by Mozart written for two forte pianos. The museum happens to have two Broadwood pianos that were made within months of each other making this recording possible. Tom Strange, Curator and Founder of the museum tells us about a special "square" piano that had spent its entire life in South Carolina from 1834 until today. It barely escaped destruction by General Sherman's troops, but was saved because Eliza, the owner, played and sang

See Audio Below From South Carolina Public Radio this is a special feature presented by On the Keys. We dive into the life and music of J. S. Bach wherein we learn about the man through his organ music, which he composed during the entire span of his 65 years. Our organists are all South Carolina based and most of the organs featured could be in your neighborhood church, if you live in the upstate that is! See audio below. The organists featured are Bob Glick, Brennan Szafron, Charles Tompkins and host David Kiser

Click to listen to hear the winners of the 2017 Hilton Head International Piano Competition for Young Artists. First Place: Ray Ushikubo Second Place: Andrew Li Third Place: Jaeden Izik-Dzurko Hear Ray Ushikubo's interview with Fred Child here.

Ethan Uslan is a Charlotte based pianist who composes and improvises ragtime and jazz. On this piano podcast a special edition of Your Compositions. Ethan talks about and performs two of his original compositions. Scroll down for audio. Your Compositions features new works for the piano. On the Keys is actively searching for your piano compositions. art music Composers of all ages are invited to send me David Kiser your work for broadcast. I’ve featured works by composers such as George Tsontakis, Katharine Norman, Jon Grier, Iman Habbibi and Chris Harman Send inquires to Keys@scpublicradio.org

On this piano podcast listen to the Iranian born and Canadian trained Iman Habibi's piece Prelude a la Gershwin The performer is pianist Deborah Grimmett who also happens to be the other half of the duo Piano Pinnacle with Iman, who also happens to be her husband. Terribly romantic...the way Gerswhin would want it. One can also subscribe to On the Keys via Itunes .

On this podcast an overview of melodies for the piano, how they work, what they are, and what makes them beautiful. You'll hear melodies from Bach to Thomas Ades.

Arnstadt to Lubeck, Expected time of Arrival, 77 hours, 234 Miles. Greenville to Charleston, Expected time of Arrival, 71 hours, 217 Miles. Bach's pilgrimage to hear the great organist Buxtehude reimagined and set in South Carolina. Special thanks to our actors, Tony Sane, who played Christopher Bach and Mathew Goins, who played Charlie Pachelbel. Yours truly played Johann Sebastian Bach and wrote the script. I also played and recorded the music in the background. Please tune in the week after thanksgiving for part 2.

On this edition of Your Compositions Canadian pipe organ music played by a Canadian organist on a French Canadian organ. Brennan Szafron recorded the Suite Romantique on the Twichell Pipe Organ, a 50-some rank Casavant on the campus of Converse College. Our composer is the prolific Denis Bedard who writes contemporary music that in the words of Dr. Szafron does not sound like cats scratching each other. Here are Denis Bedard's notes on his piece: One could say that this work is a meeting between Bedard and Boellmann! The parallel between the “Suite Romantique” and Boellmann’s “Suite Gothique” is obvious, but the musical ideas are very different. Commissioned by the British organist Ralph Franklin, and written in 2004-5, the work begins with a majestic Prelude-Choral, followed by a lively Allegro giocoso. After a lyrical Intermezzo, a brilliant Final-Toccata shows off the organ in all it’s splendor. About Your Compositions Is the part of the show that features new works for the piano.

On this Movement of On the Keys, the mostly forgotten composer Georg Joseph Vogler, who was immortalized via words by Robert Browning. With the help of Musical Theater students at Anderson University, Aaron Copland, and Mozart this programs explores piano and posterity and why Mozart was such a great composer.

Henry Sun is a 10-year-old piano student and composer from the upstate. Listen to his original composition based on music by Handel. Standing on the shoulder's of giants on this edition of Your Compositions a movement of On the Keys.

Sidney Finkelstein (changed later to Foster) was born in Florence and lived on West Evans Street. He attended the famed Curtis Institute of Music and played at Carnegie Hall numerous times. He had the aplomb of Horowitz and the instincts of a composer. All of his recordings, the few that were made, exude meaning. But you might have not heard of this South Carolina native because he dedicated his life to his students. You will hear about Foster through the voices of students, Carlisle Floyd, Hans Boepple, Mary Samulski Parekh, and Imelda Delgado, and stories about the state’s piano teachers of piano teachers. classical Stations: Thu, Oct 20, at 8 p.m. Special thanks to International Piano Archives . Imelda Delgado's book An Intimate Portrait of Sidney Foster was used as source material.

Composer and writer Katharine Norman's piece is about aging and memory loss. It comes from a set of pieces influenced by a Bach Fugue, "a compositional teacher," as Katharine Norman puts it. Her mother was her first piano teacher and now she is a suffering from Alzheimers. In the piece, Katharine Norman is remembering her first piano lessons with her, because her mother can't remember them any longer. The pianist is Xenia Pestova. About the Your Compositions segment of On the Keys : This part of the show features newer works (since 2000) for the piano and sometimes accompanying instruments. Want your piece featured? Send David Kiser an email at Keys@scpublicradio.org

Jon Grier's piece Pisgah Songs captures the beauty of the NC National forests. The poets kindly allowed their poems to be posted below. Looking Glass (Keller Cushing Freeman) I send you winter love: ice crystals glittering like mica in the stiff red clay; the caught breath of a silent creek, turned glass by last night's cold; the oldest stars shivering light from distances re-marked in years; lines a severe wind drew and then erased, tracks a-cross the landscape of a face, a bare December heart, wreathed with all the lost green seasons it remembers. Black Mountain (Marian Willard Blackwell) In the eggshell light of winter dusk awash behind a tracery of limbs, I am suffused with apprehension: everything I love in this deep world is fragile. Long after our footprints (Jan Bailey) folded into leaf and the sprig of holly you snapped and stuck in the lapel of your loose coat curried and browned; and long after we stopped speaking of the vexed hawk which shrieked as we dawdled on the parkway

On this two-part series on tonality and sonata form, David Kiser gives the microphone over to Professor of Piano at Converse College, Douglas Weeks who guides us through the sonatas of Mozart and Beethoven. In the course of this series you’ll learn about tonality and the importance of key structure. Douglas Weeks likens it to moving to different rooms of the house, where “Tonic” is the hearth, home base, the center of the house. Below is Part Two. Find Part One and a comprehensive list of terms here . Sonata Form: A Quick Structural Guide Sonata form is the most commonly heard form in the first movements of 18th, 19th, and, to some degree, 20th Century sonatas, symphonies, and instrumental chamber music. Sonata form can be used in other movements of the sonata and symphony as well, but is less common. “Textbook” Sonata Form Introduction entirely optional usually slow Exposition (first show) First subject area (33:28) in tonic “A” theme Bridge (40:10) modulation or half cadence Second

On this two-part series on tonality and sonata form, David Kiser gives the microphone over to Professor of Piano at Converse College, Douglas Weeks who guides us through the sonatas of Mozart and Beethoven. In the course of this series you’ll learn about tonality and the importance of key structure. Douglas Weeks likens it to moving to different rooms of the house, where “Tonic” is the hearth, home base, the center of the house. The podcast will be posted after the show airs on Thursday, September 22, 8 pm, Classical Stations. Below are the time stamps to key terms as they occur during the program. Can’t remember a term? Just find the exact time in the audio player below. Terms are listed in alphabetical order. Scroll down the page to find the written definitions and further explanations. Find Part Two here Authentic Cadence : 21:55 Cadence: 16:25, 20:10 Chord: 6:18 Chromatic: 3:58, 11:29 Diatonic : 11:15 Deceptive Cadence : 32:37 Half and whole steps : 5:14 Half Cadence: 26:50

Ivan Moshchuk is a Detroit based pianist and winner of the 2010 Gilmore Young Artist award. He is also a fine composer, or was a composer. Hear his lovely piece, Album Leaf that's reminiscent of Sergei Rachmaninoff and learn why he can't focus on too many things at once. Currently he is a pianist, but let's hope this program is an encouragement to him to continue composing. Piano Concerto any one? His personal audio diary and a recording of the piece will be posted after the show airs Thursday, 8 pm on the Classical Stations. He kindly granted us permission to share the Feuillet d'album score. See below for the complete piece. The Great Pianist from History this week is Leo Smit . The University of Buffalo, his final place of work, has a nice collection of photos . Leo Smit was not only a versatile pianists, he was a composer who studied with Copland and Kabelevsky . During the show you'll get a chance to hear Smit as composer and pianist in his Ostinato. He is the most American of

This week on On the Keys , the Canadian composer Chris Harman's piano piece After Schumann I will be featured on the Your Compositions movement of the show. Have you written piano piece after the year 2000? Your Compositions is open to submissions. Please send inquires to host David Kiser at keys@scpublicradio.org. After Schumann, like the title suggests is highly accessible, modern music inspired by the Album for the Young by Schumann. Mei Yi Foo gives a lovely performance of this 10 minute piece consisting of 8 short movements based on 7 pieces from that Album. David Kiser explains how it works during the broadcast. Xenia Pestova, pianist and electric music pioneer kindly allowed us permission to post her performance of After Schumann. In fact, Christ Harman wrote the piece for her!