The Oberlin Review
<< Front page Arts September 9, 2005

Pianist Anthony Molinaro plays with lightning

Classical music audiences everywhere have dwindled, prompting the current generation of artists to develop new methods of attracting the public. Pianist Anthony Molinaro of Chicago strives to revitalize the genre by “bring[ing] something new out to the audience.”

Hailed by critics for his “edge-of-the-seat brilliance” and “musically imaginative mind,” Molinaro has performed throughout the United States since his stunning victory in the 1997 Naumburg International Piano Competition.

His rendition of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue received a standing ovation in a packed house at the 2005 Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, N.C., attended by many enthusiastic Obies this summer. While some are hesitant to rework tried-and-true classics, Molinaro surges forward with his own improvisatory motives.

The pianist nonchalantly nudged Gershwin aside, displaying musical flexibility by citing various jazz influences mixed with the virtuosic flourishes signature of Franz Liszt. Concerned only with creative innovation, Molinaro produced lightning on the keyboard with merely 10 fingers.

Despite Molinaro’s success in achieving brilliance through spontaneity, he is a humble man, remembering past greats who labored over compositions for the inspiration they bring.

“Bach is the greatest thing, the greatest music of all time,” he said.

Despite this, there is no looking back for Molinaro. Having already mastered standard classical piano repertoire, he has debuted as an improv pianist and an innovative composer. Combining opposite ends of the spectrum in musical aspects such as rhythm and pitch, from classical to jazz, Molinaro believes that “composing and improvising go hand in hand.”

Although classical music still generates a handful of faithful followers, support is disappearing rapidly. Great symphonies by Tchaikovsky and Mahler fail to hold a candle to the all-out grandeur of attractive celebrities, fast-paced action movies and death-defying stunts. The latter, which can be experienced for $10 or less, capitalizes on instant gratification, while its more refined and costly counterpart preaches cultural enrichment over time.

Pop culture has stretched its web around the globe with HDTV and wireless Internet. With easy access to so many forms of entertainment, the concert hall has significantly lost its appeal. The elitist mindset can be broken if musicians, such as Molinaro, let their raw and unfettered emotions influence their performance. Only then will a blockade cease to exist between the apron of the stage and the plush seats in the audience.

Even with the clear lack of support for classical music, Molinaro finds that impromptu concerts succeed in drawing the audience in because “improvising is right there, right in the moment...a person expressing himself in the now.”

Musicians must stop expecting listeners to instantly understand the art, while listeners should give supposedly stuffy classical music a chance. Innovative interpretations must be sought after and inventive methods should be implemented.

In the words of Molinaro, “There has to be something magical in everything you do, or why else would you do it?”
 
 

   


Search powered by