My First AAPF

This past sunny and seventy-eight degree Saturday, I had the privilege of attending the Asheville Area Piano Forum. The group met in a beautiful Hendersonville home which has two of our Perzina grand pianos side by side. As a member of the AAPF, Keith opened the “program” with a brief explanation and demonstration of the Equal Beating Victorian Temperament (EBVT) that he uses for many of his clients’ pianos including our hosts’ Perzinas.

One purpose of the gathering is to provide opportunities for musicians to perform for one another. It was a delightful experience for me in several ways.

First of all, I really enjoy meeting people and there was a variety of people there who share a common love for music. A couple of the men that I spoke with not only enjoy classical music but jazz. They were well acquainted with the subject of last week’s blog, Thelonius Monk and said they would go back and read it. You know that blessed me.

Secondly, I enjoy listening to music. One of the women played “Londonderry Air” in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. Another one played a Chopin piece and several Debussy preludes. Christopher Tavernier, who I often write about, and Dr. Cobb played Bach’s Piano Concerto in D-minor, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini 24 Variations and Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto.

I love the Tchaikovsky but I think my favorite piece of the day was the “Playful Paganini.” That’s my name for the variations. They just made me feel playful and happy. After the twelfth variation, Dr. Cobb jumped ahead and took a few minutes to explain something very interesting. As Christopher demonstrated on the piano, Dr. Cobb described how Rachmaninoff treated the Paganini theme with a different key, made it major, turned it upside down, slowed it down and added harmony, transforming it into the world famous eighteenth variation.

In those few minutes of explanation and demonstration, excitement and anticipation built within me. When they began to play the eighteenth variation, I was surprised by the emotion I felt. I actually began to cry tears of joy. Music will do that to you.

Another highlight of the morning was meeting Sharon Lawrence and hearing her play the second movement, “Romance,” from Henri Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No. 2, accompanied by Dr. Cobb. Before the program began, I had the privilege of seeing the unique violin she brought for the performance. She lovingly and respectfully told me that it was made by Francesco Guadagnini in Turin, Italy in 1934. It has ivory tuning pegs, an ivory chin rest and an intricately carved wooden tailpiece. Beautiful.

Keith has been telling me about Sharon for a while. It was an absolute delight to meet her. Keith tunes her home piano with the EBVT. Before she performed, she explained why she especially likes that tuning for playing with stringed instruments. Among other groups, Sharon performs with The Rutherford Chamber Consort and The Symphony of Rutherford County, in which Keith is playing bass. Please check out the website schedules for the free spring concerts.

One last thing, many of the people who are part of the AAPF are teachers. In honor of that, I want to include a YouTube video I discovered today that shares a masters’ class featuring Barenboim and Lang Lang. It is fascinating.

Life is Grand

Joann

One thought on “My First AAPF

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*