Greg Anderson Greg Anderson

Cliburn Agency

 

I’ve joined The Cliburn's exciting new venture, the Cliburn Agency, as a both a solo and duo pianist.

For over a decade, Liz and I have enjoyed a richly rewarding partnership with The Cliburn, appearing on their concert series and hosting their webcasts in 2015, 2017, and 2022. Our missions have been unified from the start, which has made it extra exciting to watch their organization grow and their mission succeed. We’ve seen the advent of their webcasts and their many new initiatives, including the Cliburn Junior competition, Cliburn Sessions (classical piano in bars), Cliburn in the Classroom, and Cliburn Kids, not to mention the many developments and commissions associated with the main competition itself.

And now, there’s the Cliburn Agency. Earlier this year when they invited me to join the roster as a soloist, I couldn’t have been more honored and thrilled. Their directive was simple: do what I want. That was it. I’ve spent much of the year asking myself what that might be—what do I most want to do with my love for music? The answers haven’t come easily, but it’s easily been one of the most rewarding journeys of my lifetime, and I’m thankful to The Cliburn for making it possible. I’m eager to share my discoveries, new music, and experiments over the next year and beyond!

I—and Liz and I—look forward to co-creating a powerful impact on the world of music with the Cliburn team and the other inspiring artists on the roster!

Be sure to follow my new solo social media channels on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

(And of course, don’t miss the duo’s channels, too: YouTube, Instagram, Facebook.)

 
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Greg Anderson Greg Anderson

Amy Beach's "Dreaming" + listening guide

 

I’ve been obsessed with Amy Beach’s “Dreaming” (1892) for years. I first heard the piece in 2003 while listening to Alan Feinberg’s memorable album, “The American Romantic,” on a CD player in the Juilliard library (because that’s how we listened to music in 2003…). I immediately found myself intoxicated by the drifting harmonies amidst the melodic meanderings, and I’ve never forgotten the feeling.

To enhance your listening experience, I created three one-minute listening guides that articulate some of what goes through my head at the piano:

 
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Greg Anderson Greg Anderson

Eight new scores available for sale

 

I’m pleased to release several new scores, including my first two works for 8 hands at 2 pianos. I look forward to hearing what you do with these!

Solo piano:

One piano, four hands:

  • Mozart’s “Ave verum corpus.” This beautiful (and less challenging) arrangement for piano duet is dedicated to Liz’s daughter.

  • Bach/Gounod “Ave Maria.” The arrangement is inspired by stained glass windows and has been one of the most requested scores at recent Anderson & Roe performances.

Two pianos, four hands:

Two pianos, eight hands:

  • Rachmaninoff’s “Vocalise” arranged for 4 pianists on 2 pianos. The arrangement was commissioned by the Geneva Tuesday Quartette for their 100th anniversary(!) and is based on my version for piano duet.

  • Dvořák’s Slavonic Dance Op. 42, No. 5 (in its original form for piano duet) with an overlay for a second piano duet. A wild, fun, and virtuosic showpiece!

 
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Greg Anderson Greg Anderson

Aspen Music Festival commission + conducting debut

Last year the Aspen Music Festival commissioned me to compose something a little… unusual: a piece for 8 pianos and 32 hands (yes, that’s 16 pianists in total).

I initially balked at the idea. Having composed several works for multiple pianos, I was already well aware of the inherent difficulties. A piano’s sharp, percussive attack leaves little room for error in synchronization. Achieving precision with two pianists can be difficult enough; sixteen pianists seemed destined for chaos. Moreover, contrary to intuition, when multiple pianos strike the same note simultaneously, the sound doesn’t increase in volume; the sound waves seem to clash in mid-air, canceling each other out in some sonic tug-of-war. Then there were the duet logistics: writing for two pianists at one piano can be a puzzle of awkward hand collisions, yet the solution can’t always be to spread out the four hands over the full range of the piano—the result would be a grating steamroller of sound. Writing for 16 pianists across 8 pianos exponentially compounded these concerns.

But beyond the technical challenges, the most important question I kept asking myself was: How do I musically justify all these pianos and pianists? What’s the reason for 16 people on stage?

I spent five months working on the score, day and night, even asking for a one-month extension. The process was more demanding yet more creatively fulfilling than I anticipated.

Titled Star & Stripes: Fireworks for 8 Pianos, 32 Hands, the 10-minute work is based on John Philip Sousa’s “The Stars & Stripes Forever March.” Conceived on a grand scale, much of the piece features unique effects made possible by the mass of pianos. The 16 parts weave together overlapping layers of tremolos, scales, and arpeggios that blend into sonic impressions of clouds, fireworks, and rainbows—like painting with sound.

I conducted several of my pianistic idols and mentors in the world premiere (and my conducting debut) at the Aspen Music Festival, including Veda Kaplinsky, Hung-Kuan Chen, Arie Vardi, and Anton Nel.

The score is available here, and enjoy excerpts from our dress rehearsal over on my Instagram account.

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Greg Anderson Greg Anderson

Van Cliburn International Piano Competition 2022

Piano lovers, rejoice! The quadrennial piano olympics begin this week and promise to be chock-full of mind-blowing talent, incredible music, and hair-raising performances. The entire competition will be streamed free-of-charge and hosted, in part, by yours truly.

While co-hosting the 2017 Cliburn Competition was hugely rewarding for us, it was also exhausting. Incredibly and impressively, The Cliburn has tripled the size of the production team for the 2022 competition. Look for an entirely new webcast setup this year — more bells & whistles, hosts, and content. You’ll find us highlighting many of the behind-the-scenes activities, and Liz will be co-hosting at the anchor desk for the finals alongside Buddy Bray!

Watch the drama unfold live here.

From The Cliburn:

The entire sixteenth edition of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (June 2–18, 2022) will be streamed live online from the first note to the announcement of the new 2022 gold medalist.

The Cliburn was a pioneer in the early days of webcasting, and it continues to innovate and expand this vital program as a global leader in the field; this year becoming the first classical music competition in the world to broadcast in 4K HDR.

The 2022 Competition webcast promises an even higher level of quality of sound and picture; a compelling, immersive program around the performances that gives viewers behind-the-scenes access and insightful commentary; and the widest selection of ways to watch of any classical music competition in history.

Viewership is expected to top 10 million.

Discover streaming options: https://cliburn.org/2022-webcast/

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Greg Anderson Greg Anderson

Album release: Bach & Rachmaninoff

In celebration of what would have been Sergei Rachmaninoff's 141st birthday, I'm super excited to announce the release of my brand new solo album. From the heavenly heights of Bach's French Suite No. 5 to the fiery depths of hell portrayed in Rachmaninoff's Piano Sonata No. 1, the album makes for a thoroughly unearthly and transcendent journey. 

Together they represent my personal journey as a pianist: I first played the French Suite as a fledgling pianist growing up in Minnesota, and the sonata I began years later as a doctoral student at Yale University. They are forever special to me; I hope that you'll similarly find meaning and beauty while exploring them.

In celebration of what would have been Sergei Rachmaninoff's 141st birthday, I'm super excited to announce the release of my brand new solo album. From the heavenly heights of Bach's French Suite No. 5 to the fiery depths of hell portrayed in Rachmaninoff's Piano Sonata No. 1, the album makes for a thoroughly unearthly and transcendent journey. 

Together they represent my personal journey as a pianist: I first played the French Suite as a fledgling pianist growing up in Minnesota, and the sonata I began years later as a doctoral student at Yale University. They are forever special to me; I hope that you'll similarly find meaning and beauty while exploring them.

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Greg Anderson Greg Anderson

gregandersonpiano.com

In an unfortunate mishap with my former domain name provider, I lost access to andersonpiano.com, my website of nine years (it's now a Japanese blog!), so I've been required to move on. Alas. As a result:

Welcome to the brand new gregandersonpiano.com!

The new site is considerably cleaner, though it still features an extensive stockpile of information, including hundreds of Q&As and both traditional and non-traditional program notes. I've also fashioned a brand new and vastly improved sheet music store.

I'll be celebrating with a new solo album out next month and a variety of other surprises. Stay tuned!

In an unfortunate mishap with my former domain name provider, I lost access to andersonpiano.com, my website of nine years (it's now a Japanese blog!), so I've been required to move on. Alas. As a result:

Welcome to the brand new gregandersonpiano.com!

The new site is considerably cleaner, though it still features an extensive stockpile of information, including hundreds of Q&As and both traditional and non-traditional program notes. I've also fashioned a brand new and vastly improved sheet music store.

I'll be celebrating with a new solo album out next month and a variety of other surprises. Stay tuned!

Rehearsing on stage in Chongqing, China. December, 2013.

Rehearsing on stage in Chongqing, China. December, 2013.

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