Tell us about a concert or musical event that has profoundly impacted you.

1995 at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall. A friend took me to hear Alfred Brendel play Beethoven Opus 109, 110, & 111. Honestly, that concert changed my life somehow: his playing lifted me up and set me down in a whole different place.  At the end of the recital, all that could be said musically had been said, so what could he do for an encore? Bach-Busoni: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland. Perfection. And then, almost unbelievably, we had dinner with him afterwards and drove him home to his hotel.

Watching Don Giovanni made me realize how amazing Mozart and his music is, and how powerful art can be. The opera is really intense and dark and left feeling stunned. It had me thinking for several days, about Mozart, this opera and the role of art. This is how extraordinary it is. Even though I've seen it several times at home, in a theater, it's a whole different experience, you feel the intensity of the music and drama way more

This is one of the top 3 operas ever made, along with Figaro. I suspect he used it as a way to comment on disadvantages that women have in society.

http://www.todimusicmasters.com/ This was my first festival and having lessons with 5 different teachers helped me understand different styles of teachers. 2 of my teachers Delagado and Reach are much older who teach in what seems like the older way. I learned so much and liked the warmness of the lessons. I also had Chen Baldi and Frölich who are also wonderful but more modern way like my current instructor but more intense and also learned so much. Being with so many other kids young and old and in an environment for 2 weeks was so nice.

Here are my two pieces they helped me so much with

Todi Music Festival Day 16: My performance Beethoven Concerto 4 Mvt 1 - YouTube

Todi Music Festival Day 7: Student Recital Ravel Ondine - YouTube

Many years ago I was invited to, as it turned out, one of the last recitals of the great so called universal pianist Sviatoslav Richter. With a small brochure which was distributed he greeted everybody and especially the students of music. He said that the common praxis to have to play by heart did not justice to the infinite cosmos of wonderful music which is laid out in front of our eyes because this habit would limit the understanding and joy music gives to all of us. They should not shy away from playing, even in concerts, from using notes. Then the old man who was virtually able to play everything by heart played a beautiful concert using notes. After the concert I had the opportunity to meet him. 
From all the concerts I attended in my life this message to the music world was one of the most impressive experiences in my whole music life.

A performance of Brahms’ piano sonata #3 by Grigory Sokolov at the University of Maryland during the week of the Kapell Competition.  It was the only piece on the first half of the concert, and it received a resounding standing ovation, which I have never seen before or after for a first half performance!

I was 11 or 12 when my parents took me to my first symphony concert, with the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra performing in my hometown of Hamburg, Germany. Buxtehude's Chaconne in E minor and Brahms' First Symphony were on the program - both gorgeous pieces that deeply impressed me. But the highlight was Schumann's A minor concerto with Martha Argerich as the soloist. Although I had been playing the piano for several years already, it wasn't until then that the spark was lit and the eternal flame started burning. Shortly thereafter, the concert master of the Hamburg Philharmonic gave a recital, accompanied by an outstanding pianist, at my high school (which his daughter happened to be attending). That suddenly seemed to bring the wondrous world of classical music very close and somehow "within reach". From then on, I passionately wanted to play and make music, as much and as well as possible, rather than merely listen.

When I was 12, in '73, and had been studying piano less than two years, my piano teacher took me to a concert by Van Cliburn at the basketball gym at the University of Florida, in Gainesville where I grew up. I had just started trying to learn Clair d' Lune, and Van played it for one of his three encores. It blew my mind, and fueled my nascent desire to play the piece and the piano, forever. I've been a professional pianist, composer-songwriter and singer for 40 years this year. And, though not a classical pianist by trade (I do world music, jazz, standards, classic country, blues/boogie and pop stuff), I had a resurgence in my interst in the classics a few years back (especially during Covid, when I had TIME), and am nearly obsessed with it, and with how I can bring its pianism and musical richness into my own stuff and playing. I'm currently focused on Scriabin (early stuff), Debussy (ditto) and Chopin (Nocturnes). A tresure trove! Thanks for the inpiration, Van!

When I was about 11 or 12, my parents took me to a concert for a local pianist.  He was blind & a friend of the family.  He was playing with an orchestra.  The only piece I remember is Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”.  I was awestruck that he could play that.  While I had been taking lesson for a few years, that event pushed me to really work at it.  I wanted some day to be able to play “Rhapsody in Blue”.  I did learn it a few years ago, but it needs much more work.  I should have done that for the “Unfinished Business” challenge .  That gentleman later tuned our piano.  He was always a great encouragement.