I had the opportunity to play on a recital last night with several other fine pianists from the area on a Prescott Fine Arts Association concert honoring the 200th birthdays of Schumann & Chopin.

I played my set of "cat pieces" entitled Three Pieces for Jasmine, and I premiered a set of short works entitled Three After Schumann's Album for the Young -- short works geared for students and inspired by three works in the Suzuki Piano repertoire: Happy Farmer, Melody, and The Wild Rider. Each of my works started with a concept from one of Schumann's pieces, and I used that concept as a basis for the short character piece I wrote.

Each of the pianists brought something magical to the concert. In particular, Christina Cuda-Robertson brought great joy to the piano, and Michael Mahany had us all laughing with his musical humor. And then the highlight of the evening (for me) was a performance by Steinway artist James Nalley of Liszt's Ballad #2 in B Minor. The performance was so stunning that it brought tears to my eyes.