Murray Perahia, Poet of the Piano

Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley is a regular stop for Murray Perahia, who happens to be my former classmate at the New York City High School of Performing Arts (The “FAME I wanna live forever school”).

I’ve already reminisced about “P.A.” and Murray’s inspiring musical presence: http://arioso7.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/murray-perahia-pianist-is-in-a-league-of-his-own-videos/

For those of us who shadowed him after classes, grabbing any opportunity to partake of his amazing talent during chamber music rehearsals and more, we were amply rewarded:

He fed our own practicing with that extra dose of inspiration.

So seeking more of the same decades later, I made the jaunt to Zellerbach in Berkeley accompanied by two adult piano students who planned for an afternoon of exquisite music-making.

They were not disappointed. (Perahia’s program featured the J.S. Bach’s French Suite in G; Beethoven Op. 90 Sonata in E; Brahms Klavierstucke; Schubert Sonata in A, and various Chopin works)

The tour de force, encore, a Perahia favorite that caps many of his solo recitals, was the Schubert Impromptu in Eb, Op. 90

These performances, in separate venues validate the popularity of this work:

1) Barbicon in London, England

RELATED:

My NYC High School of Performing Arts Yearbook and What I Found:

http://arioso7.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/my-new-york-city-high-school-of-performing-arts-fame-yearbook-and-what-i-found/

Recommended:

Murray Perahia rehearses Mozart Concerto No. 21 in C Major, and speaks to Sir Dennis Forman:

Murray Perahia’s Brahms/Handel Variations wins a Grammy! (Listen and watch Perahia discuss and play portions of the composition)

Murray Perahia website:

http://www.murrayperahia.com