The pianist behind the curtain…

There are extroverts and then there are the rest of us. Adolph Henselt was a great pianist in a time of great performers and yet we know little about him because of an unfortunate accident, he had a memory slip. This happens to pianists and when it happened in Henselt's debut recital he tried to find his way, could not and fled the stage and this traumatized the artist. It is unfortunate because the pianist had a lot to offer. Liszt spoke of Henselt's "velvet paws" and said he would have to work to develop what Henselt already achieved. Other artists were amazed by the stretches in the composer's music and wondered if Henselt was a freak of nature. He wasn't, but few pianists worked as diligently on their technique as this German who would sit at a piano with damped strings playing Bach's fugues while talking to friends for hours at a time.

For a glimpse of what all this hard work accomplished tune to the Piano this Sunday afternoon at 5 on KPAC and KTXI and let music from one of the quiet geniuses of the Romantic movement sweep you away.

host, Randy Anderson