Piano Forum

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112101115&sc=fb&cc=fp

So what do you all think of this? I know many of you are probably downright sick of this piece. I know I am. However, I think it has inspired a new curiosity in me and I would definitely buy this if and when it comes out on DVD, just like when Andsnes made that documentary that included him playing Grieg on the top of a mountain in Norway (that was a great DVD, by the way, which I recommend).

It seems this piece is destined for infinite re-interpretations. In the early 70's I was driving from Cincinnati to Cleavland (Ohio), listening to the only radio station that had any music I could stomach at that place in time, and I heard that Emmerson, Lake & Palmer were playing, along with several other major rock groups of that era, at the "World Series of Rock & Roll" in the Cleveland baseball stadium. I was intrigued, and having a rare bit of spare time, I checked into a motel in Cleveland, and went directly to the stadium, got a ticket and found a reasonably decent seat (between some strangers who kept passing pipes back and forth  ). Well, eventually ELP played their set, the last of many, and it included all their best work, and when we thought it was all over, they came out and played their infamous interpretation of "Pictures at an Exhibition" for an encore.

First, I was in my early 20's, enjoying a conflict between my mostly classical background and the "progressive rock" that was all the rage at the time, and I admit I was a fan of ELP (along with King Crimson, Pink Floyd, YES, The Who, and many of the bands I saw play at the original Woodstock, just a few short years before), and I am not ashamed!  Now, 40 years later, I have long since abandoned most of what I once thought was fracking fantastic.

So, if ELP could pull it off (and make quite a lot of money doing it!), I believe Andsnes can certainly do it again, undoubtedly with a far more artistic exposition. Personally, I pretty much hate hearing the piece, more than hating the piece itself. Andsnes is doing a lot of interesting things, and while this effort may seem dubious to some, he might just capture a new audience, something (hopefully not too closely) akin to ELP.

What a long strange trip it's been...

Lontano