a unique piano recital, nice for those of us that do not have a whole lot of musical expertise
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Rating: 4 out of 5by t0ppb0 on 11/8/14Vern Riffe Center for the Arts Shawnee State University - Portsmouth Rating: 5 out of 5 Siegel's Keyboard Conversations a Real Treat
by MrGreen2 on 1/21/13Montalvo - SaratogaJeffrey Siegel masterfully rendered the music of American composers Gershwin, Gottschalk, MacDowell, Joplin, and Copeland. But what he added to his powerful performance in his "Keyboard Conversations" is something you rarely encounter in concerts: brief, very informative talks about the music, along with intriguing, moving, or humorous anecdotes about the composers themselves. For example, Siegel told us how George Gershwin was enjoying a of pool when his brother Ira rushed into the pool hall with a copy of the "New York Times" that announced a new major work by Gershwin was scheduled to be performed in 3 weeks. George had knew absolutely nothing about the event, but set to frantic work on "Rhapsody in Blue," finishing it in time for Paul Whiteman's orchestra performance. After this anecdote and a brief explanation of the music, Siegel launched into Gershwin's piano solo version of the piece with incomparable passion and technique. After the concert is over, he also held a question and answer discussion with the audience. I have been to other of his Keyboard Conversations that were equally amusing, educational, and moving, where he gives insight into the likes of Chopin, Beethoven, and Rachmaninoff in his discussion and, of course, from his keyboard. Amazingly, he's been doing these gigs for 40 years, after being inspired by Leonard Bernstein's televised concerts. There was one man in the audience who said he'd seen Siegel perform 30 years ago, had now brought his children to listen.