The Canadian pianist Oscar Peterson once described the power of his instrument in succinct but emphatic terms: “I believe in using the entire piano as a single instrument capable of expressing every possible musical idea.”
Last month — in collaboration with our partners at Jacobs Music, to celebrate the 171st anniversary of Steinway & Sons — WRTI had the pleasure of welcoming six exceptional pianists to our performance studio for a thrilling, wide-ranging recording session. These performances, spanning everything from Ravel’s suave Sonatine to improvisations based on Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, are living proof of Peterson’s enduring wisdom, and speak to the myriad connections between classical music and jazz.
Tune in to WRTI at 3 p.m. every day from March 25 through 29 to enjoy a different classical performance from WRTI’s 2024 Steinway Week. A sterling jazz performance — featuring improvisatory takes on Bach by the Adam Birnbaum Trio — will air at 6 p.m. between March 26 and 28, and you can watch a video of their “Prelude in D Major” here.
Here are some highlights from our session.
More About the Pianists
Avery Gagliano
Avery Gagliano made her Carnegie Hall debut at age 20. She was the First Prize winner of the 2020 National Chopin Competition; represented the United States as a semifinalist in the 2021 International Chopin Competition; and now at 22, was just named a finalist in the 2025 American Pianists Awards. Later this spring, she will graduate from the Curtis Institute of Music with plans to continue her studies with pianist Sir András Schiff in Germany next fall. Gagliano joins us to play Ravel’s Sonatine. “I find that as expressive as [Ravel] is, it's always done behind a veil, in a way,” she tells WRTI. “So, there's some sort of reservation to his music. And yet it's so colorful, and it's all about finding different sounds and aesthetics to bring this world to life.”
Listen on Monday, March 25 for Avery Gagliano’s performance of Maurice Ravel’s Sonatine.
Charles Abramovic
Professor Charles Abramovic is the Chair of Keyboard Studies at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music, where he has taught since 1988. Abramovic regularly performs in Philadelphia with the Dolce Suono Ensemble, Network for New Music, and Orchestra 2001. He came in to perform Terry Riley’s “The Walrus in Memoriam,” based on The Beatles “I Am the Walrus.” Abramovic says: “Much of classical music is really based on popular elements, going way back to the 19th, 18th century. And certainly in the 20th century. Terry Riley, early in his career, was a jazz pianist [who] supported himself financially in Paris playing [jazz] in nightclubs. So ‘The Walrus in Memoriam’ is an interesting take on the Beatles tune in a very in a jazz, minimalist vein.”
Listen on Tuesday, March 26 for Charles Abramovic’s performance of Terry Riley’s The Walrus in Memoriam.
Emiko Edwards
A graduate of The Juilliard School, London’s Guildhall School of Music, and Temple University, pianist Emiko Edwards has emerged as a champion of contemporary music and American composers. In addition to her busy performance schedule, she teaches piano performance and chamber music at Saint Joseph’s University. Speaking about Aaron Copland’s Four Piano Blues, Edwards says she loves the “the many different flavors that you get out of those particular harmonies that are rooted in this blues tradition.”
Listen on Wednesday, March 27 for Emiko Edwards’ performance of Aaron Copland’s Four Piano Blues.
Ching-Yun Hu
The Taiwanese-American pianist Ching-Yun Hu is a Steinway Artist, the founder of the Philadelphia Young Pianists’ Academy, and a member of the piano faculty of Temple University’s Boyer College of Music. Her album Liszt Metamorphosis will be released by the label Pentatone this July. She joined us to play one of Earl Wild’s Virtuoso Etudes on George Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm,” a foundational text of the jazz canon. It’s a liberating exercise for a classical pianist, she tells WRTI. “We learn as accurately as possible what's in the score,” she says, “but playing this piece you kind of just have to just let go and … go with the flow and be very relaxed.”
Listen on Thursday, March 28 for Ching-Yun Hu’s performance of one of Earl Wild’s Virtuoso Etudes on Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm.”
Young-Ah Tak
Korean-American pianist Young-Ah Tak is a Steinway Artist and Associate Professor of Piano at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. Her most recent album is a collection of Beethoven Piano Sonatas, but at WRTI she performed “Concert Paraphrase on Verdi’s Rigoletto,” by Franz Liszt. Tak says that Liszt was the one who “brought the concert stage alive” for pianists, adding: “I feel very lucky to be able to experience what it is like to perform and study his music.”
Listen on Friday, March 29 for Young-Ah Tak’s performance of Franz Liszt’s Concert Paraphrase on Verdi’s Rigoletto.
Adam Birnbaum
A Juilliard graduate and a Steinway Artist, pianist Adam Birnbaum is a fixture on New York City’s jazz scene, as well as an Assistant Professor of Jazz at SUNY Purchase. Last year, he released the album Preludes on Chelsea Music Festival Records, featuring improvised reimaginings of 12 preludes from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier for jazz trio. “Bach was a great teacher, and he liked to leave puzzles and games for his students,” Birnbaum says. “These pieces were written as exercises in all 12 keys, because that was a new concept.” Learn more about Preludes in this story by our Editorial Director, Nate Chinen.
