Story Archives of 'Pianos'

George Winston is famous for his contemplative piano music. Most call it "New Age", but he calls it "Rural Folk Piano". Lots of people don't realize he also plays a mean slack-key guitar and blues harmonica. He stopped by our studios to play a little and talk about his almost three decades in the music business.

***This interview originally aired November 28, 2006***

Windham Hill records is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and tonight on the Front Porch, we talk with the man who started it all. Will Ackerman no longer owns the label that introduced the world to New Age music, but he still records and performs new work. He recently produced the new album by New Hampshire pianist Dana Cunningham. We'll talk with Will and Dana about the CD and how it fits into a genre that can be difficult to define.

Dana Cunningham's new CD is called The Color of Light. More information is available at her website.

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff's name has practically become a household word in this country. We'll look at the role of lobbyists in New Hampshire and compare it to Capitol Hill in a conversation with journalist Dan Tuohy whose article "Under the Influence," about the state of lobbying in New Hampshire appears in this month's edition of Business NH Magazine.

Also in the show: Internationally acclaimed concert pianist George Lopez performs this weekend with the Granite State Symphony Orchestra during their “Lopez, Mozart, and Mendelssohn” concert. We'll talk with George Lopez about the meaning of Mozart in his life as he prepares to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto #20 this Saturday.

Pianist Alan Feinberg has performed as a soloist with some of the countries finest symphony orchestras. He?s premiered over 300 pieces and has made a career of playing a wide breadth of music, from William Byrd to John Adams. But according to Alan, his career path was not always so promising. He?ll talk to us about his unlikely success and his concerns about the role of serious music in our culture.

Alan is a board member of the Monadnock Music Festival. As part of the Festival, he will appear with the Ciompi String Quartet on Saturday, July 23, at 8pm. The concert will feature the works of Haydn, Ades, and Shubert.

Bill Bolton is a piano tuner, restorer, and mover from Moultonboro. He has a very long waiting list for his work as a rebuilder of old upright, grand, and player pianos. He tells us about his work and we get to hear a player piano in action.