On this week's episode of the ASCAP Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Award winning program Between the Keys, The Classical Network's Artist-in-Residence Jed Distler explores the wide-ranging artistic legacy of American pianist William Masselos (1920-1992).
The New York Times famously dubbed Masselos as “a crusader for the forgotten, the neglected, the strange and the new.” This extended to composers as popular as Brahms and Schumann, not to mention his giving the world premiers of Charles Ives’ First Piano Sonata and Aaron Copland’s Piano Fantasy.
Yet for all of his critical acclaim and high esteem among fellow pianists, Masselos always remained a musician’s musician. He may not have sought the limelight, but the limelight frequently zeroed in on the pianist’s unassuming demeanor and utter economy of means at the keyboard.
Selections include works by Brahms. Schumann, Satie, Ives, Chopin, Alan Hovhaness and Marga Richter.
Tune in this Friday at 3:00 PM, with the rebroadcast Saturday at 6:00 PM, exclusively on The Classical Network and WWFM.org.
