Whenever I give a concert for
regular folks I get the same
pieces of advice: play a
variety, keep it short, play
stuff they know and like. Also,
play Phantom of the Opera.
This can be a little
disconcerting if you are a
classical pianist, but over the
years I've developed several
ways to make even some pretty
heavy repertoire go down
favorably. I've found you don't
have to pander in order to be
successful. Which is a good
thing, since I'd like to do more
than scratch the same limited
musical itches all the time. But
I do understand people's fears
that I might tie people to
chairs and make them listen to
the complete works of Beethoven
and that it might be long and
boring. I get it.
A couple of months ago...
