Music
I started playing piano when I was 4, and clarinet when I was 11. Music has been
a constant in my life, especially classical music, since my parents first played
it to me as a child. I quite enjoy the camaraderie associated with making music
with others. There’s something about the shared focus of both performance and
listening that, I believe, taps deeply into what it means to be human.
Favorite Pieces
Classical
I enjoy much of the Classical repertoire, but am particularly fond of
impressionistic and modern works. Ravel is probably my favorite orchestral
composer, and on piano it’s a close tie between Chopin and Liszt.
Here are some of my favorite pieces with links to performances (in no particular
order):
Orchestral
- Daphnis et Chloé Suite No.2 (Ravel, Maurice)
- Scheherazade, Op. 35 (Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai)
- The Firebird Suite (Stravinsky, Igor)
- “Polovtsian Dances” from Prince Igor (Borodin, Alexander)
- Pictures at an Exhibition (Mussorgsky, Modest)
- Pines of Rome (Respighi, Ottorino)
- Schelomo (Bloch, Ernest)
- Boléro (Ravel, Maurice)
- An American in Paris (Gershwin, George)
Symphonies
- Symphony No. 5 (Mahler, Gustav)
- Symphony No. 5, Op. 107 “Reformation” (Mendelssohn, Felix)
- Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 “Choral” (Beethoven, Ludwig van)
- Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36 (Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich)
- Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43 (Sibelius, Jean)
- Symphony No. 2 in D-flat Major, Op. 30 “Romantic” (Hanson, Howard)
Piano
- Liebesträume, S.541 No. 3 (Liszt, Franz)
- Fantaisie-impromptu in C-sharp Minor, Op. 66 (Chopin, Frédéric)
- Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2 (Chopin, Frédéric)
- Trois études de concert, S. 144, No. 3 - “Un sospiro” (Liszt, Franz)
- Ständchen, S. 560 (Schubert/Liszt)
- Impromptu in G flat Op. 90 No. 3 (Schubert, Franz)
- Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (Rachmaninoff, Sergei)
Clarinet
Choral
Miscellaneous
Contemporary
See 2025 Favorites.