In June 2011 I began recording piano pieces and putting them on the web. My goal, besides sharing all this wonderful music, is to force myself to practice with more focus. This project is dedicated to the memory of Michelle Yu.

If possible, use headphones - you'll hear a lot more detail.

I put some of these on on YouTube in hopes of more listeners. Didn't happen.

Download a zip of all the MP3 files (1.4 GB)

Recent recordings

Satie: Avant-dernières Pensées

My favorites

By composer

Albeniz

Bach

Well-Tempered Clavier, J.S. Bach

Bartok: Romanian Folk Dances

Berio, Luciano

Bolcom

Beethoven

Brahms

Monica Chew

Chopin

Copland

Collins, Judy

Cosma

Couperin

Debussy

Dvorak

Bill Evans

Franck

Ginastera

Glass

Grieg

Grieg: Lyric Pieces

Handel

Robert Helps

Scott Joplin

Elena Kats-Chernin

Liszt

Mendelssohn

Federico Mompou

Mompou: Musica Callada

Mompou: Variations on a theme of Chopin

Mozart

von Paradis, Maria-Theresa

Paradisi, Domenico

Piazzolla

Poulenc

Poulenc: Mouvements Perpétuels

Prokofiev

Ravel

Satie

Satie: Croquis & Agaceries d'un Gros Bonhomme en Bois

Satie: Gnossiennes

Satie: Avant-dernières Pensées

Scarlatti

Schubert

Robert Schumann

Selections from Clavierstücke für die Jugend (Piano pieces for the young) by Robert Schumann, Op. 68

Scriabin

Stephen Sondheim

Tchaikovsky

Turina

Villa-Lobos

My repertoire as of about 2003

• Chopin: Several of the Nocturnes
• Del Tredici: Chana's Story (with Laurie Amat, soprano). At least the 1st and 2nd songs (out of 6). Started work summer 2002.
• Chopin: the 'leftovers': the 2 Preludes and 3 Etudes not normally grouped with the rest, followed by the Godowski study (based on the last Nouvelle Etude). Started work summer 2002. Performed Jan 5, 2003.
• Schumann: Symphonic Etudes. Started work 3/2002. Performed Jan 9, 2003. It went pretty well. A couple of minor memory lapses.
• The following were performed at my house on March 10, 2002:
  • Hugo Wolf: two songs, with Laurie Amat, soprano.
  • Two songs by Flanders and Swann (Madiera and Armadillo).
  • Godowski: Study on Chopin's etude in A flat, op. post. Godowski wrote a massive set of studies, based on the harmonic/melodic material of Chopin's Etudes. They're all absurdly difficult. This one involves polyrhythms (e.g. 9 vs. 6 vs. 4 vs. 2).
  • Schumann: Noveletten #1.
  • Chopin/Liszt: Fruhling (from 17 Polish Songs).
• Various young New Zealand composers: four songs, with Laurie Amat, soprano. Performance 1/2002. I actually got paid for this gig!
• Chopin: Preludes 1 and 8, 2 Etudes, and 2 Mazurkas. Performed 12/2001. Also 'Standchen' (song by Schubert, arranged for piano by Liszt).
• Scriabin: two etudes (the first and last ones he wrote, don't have the opus #'s handy). The latter has an interesting harmonic scheme based on what in Jazz is called the 'tritone substitution', namely that dominant chords a tritone apart (e.g. G7 and Db7) have the same 3rd and 7th (albeit reversed) and can generally be substituted for each other. Interesting side note: the Beethoven sonatas I'm playing (op. 57 and 109) both use the tritone substitution; in both cases it appears in a theme and variations (middle mvt. of op. 57, last mvt. of op. 109).
• Poulenc: Sonata for Cello and piano (with Gael Alcock). Performed 10/98.
• Beethoven: Sonata op. 109 (performed 3/98 and 5/98).
• Two songs by Schoenberg from Waller im Schnee (with Francoise Chanut, soprano). 3/98 and 5/98.
• Tarantelle, duet for voice by Faure; Nomi Harris and Francoise Chanut, 3/98
• Christoper Berg: 4 songs on poems by Vladimir Nabokov (with Penny Boys, soprano). 3/98
• Various other songs with Penny Boys: Ihm Fruhling and ?? by Schubert, 2 arias by Mozart, Dido's Lament by Purcell, folk song arrangement by Britten. 3/98
• Liszt: Les Funerailles 2/98
• Schumann: Kreisleriana (selections) 12/97
• Schubert: Klavierstucke in E: 9/97
• Beethoven: 6 Bagatelles op. 126: 8/97
• Liszt: Jeux d'Eaux a la Villa d'Este: 6/97
• Chopin: Waltz in A flat; 5/97
• Ginastera: Danzas Argentinas Performed 3/97.
• Turina: Sevilla from Suite Pittoresque. Performed 1/26/97.
• Schubert: Sonata in D, 1st mvt. Performed 2/97.
• Liszt: Gnomenreigen. Performed 12/96.
• Steven Sondheim: Merrily We Roll Along (accompanist) performed June 7/8/9 1996, Randall Museum, S.F.
• Moskowski: Spanish Dance #3 (4-hands) with Diana Rowan. Performed 4/21/96.
• Hugo Wolf: five songs. Performed with soprano Laura Storm 3/10/96.
• Prokofiev: Visions Fugitives (5 out of 20) Performed 2/11/96.
• Beethoven: Sonata op. 54 in F. Performed 12/95.
• Bach: Toccata in e minor. Performed 11/95.
• Schubert: Fantasy in f minor, 4 hands. Performed with Diana Rowan 10/95.
  
  
  Back Burner

  Beethoven: Sonata op. 57 (Appassionata).

  Stravinsky: selections from Petrouchka (NOT the composer's arrangement, which is unplayable by mortals, but a Schirmer edition which (typically) doesn't name the arranger. The arrangement is surprisingly playable, sounds pretty good, and even includes some melody lines omitted in the Stravinsky).

  Bach: Selections (namely the easy ones) from the Goldberg Variations.

  Philip Glass: Wichita Vortex Sutra. I discovered this piece via the incomparable Mark Thomas at Sorabji.com (Sorabji, by the way, is a name not likely to appear elsewhere on this page any time soon).

  Bach/Busoni: Prelude and Fugue in D (organ; transcribed for piano)

  Granados: Epilogo from Goyescas.

  Franck: Prelude, Aria and Finale