Lincoln Mayorga explains classical connections to American pop music on piano

[Fear My Potato]

Who the {censored} is Lincoln Mayorga? Why would I be interested in going to see him, much less read about him? Those were my words to my good friend as he dragged me to one of the best things to ever happen to me musically. Everyone has a number of pivotal musical moments in their life, and this was one of mine. I've been having a hard time getting out as much as I used to lately, but this was an instance where I'm certainly glad I didn't stay in.

 

The other night, March 15, I had one of the most rewarding musical experiences of my life. Lincoln Mayorga played piano and illustrated with unmatched prose and eloquence (both in words and music) the classical roots of American popular music.

 

He covered a number of composers including Domenico Scarlatti, Wolfgang Mozart, Franz Shubert, Johannes Brahms, George Gershwin, Leigh Harline, Frederic Chopin, Louis Gottschalk, Claude Debussy, Bix Beiderbecke ("Davenport Blues," excellent piece), Edward Confrey, Fleix Arndt, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Jerome Kern, and Irving Berlin.

 

Except for the Mozart, Lincoln Mayorga didn't read a note of music and played every piece fluidly and with the appropriate emotion...which astounds me. To be able to move between massive gaps like that, all those composers and styles and feelings, and to do them all well is mind blowing. On top of that, he would take something like Brahms and just offhandedly say something like "okay if Gershwin had written this piece it might sound like this..." or "Here's Brahms ragtime". That was what drew the clearest connections, the fact that he didn't just talk about something he played...he actually had the skill to just sit down and actually play it as if this classical piece were written in 20th century America. For me, it really clarified exactly how the pieces were related, since the style barrier had been effectively broken down. Amazing. He wasn't scared to dive into the theory aspects either...at one point taking I believe it was Rachmaninoff's "Prelude in E flat Major (Opus 23)" and transposing it on the fly perfectly. He played it in E flat major, then afterwards was talking about the theory involved and decided to point it out, but felt that it would be more clearly done in the key of A major, to G major. That blew my mind

 

The atmosphere was less a performance and more a seminar (in a good way ). What always makes the strongest impression on me about pianists is the fact that they're generally incredibly articulate and sharp, even in their old age. They generally have little difficulty explaining things, and he was absolutely brilliant, captivating, and informative about it.

 

I was able to see this for free at the local Schenectady County Community College. I highly recommend seeing him play if he's ever in your area. Here is some background on him from the program since he's not a huge name:

 

Lincoln Mayorga is that rare pianist who is greatly admired both in the traditional concert world and in the field of popular music and jazz.

 

His performances include collaborations with such as Arnold Steinhardt, Michael Tilson Thomas, Richard Stolzman, Gerard Schwarz and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. During the past several seasons, his concert tours have taken him to Russia, Europe, and over 200 cities in North America. In 1988, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra engaged him as soloist in their first concert devoted entirely to American music - from which the Gershwin selections were released as "A Gershwin Celebration," on Sheffield Lab.

 

Lincoln Mayorga's talents are widely recognized in Hollywood where he was staff pianist for Walt Disney Studios and performed on the soundtracks of "The Competition," "The Rose," "Harold & Maude," "Splash" and many other films. His composing credits include background scores for the hit series "Fame." In the pop music field, he has accompanied and written arrangements for Barbara Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Vicki Carr, Andy Williams, Mel Torme, and Quincy Jones.

 

During recent seasons, Mr. Mayorga has appeared in hundreds of recitals across the U.S. as well as in concerto performances, including such diverse repertoire as the Beethoven "Triple" and Bolling's "Suite for Chamber Orchestra and Jazz Piano Trio," of which he gave the West Coast premiere. The latest of his many recording projects include the complete Chopin Preludes and works by Brahmns and Prokofiev. He has also recently completed recordings of songs by Irving Berlin, featuring Margie Gibson and songs by George Gershwin and Jerome Kern, with soprano Marni Nixon. Mr. Mayorga was recently featured as a guest on "Piano Jazz," Marion Mc Partland's popular radio show on NPR.

[SirGarrote]

awesome, dude! sounds like a great experience for sure

 

-G

[Fear My Potato]

Aboslutely! I highly encourage everyone, at least in the USA, to check into their local universities and especially community college (that have music programs). Oftentime the music departments will host free concerts that are informative and a total blast. As a kid I hated intermission...now I love that ten minute break where you run out to the car with some friends in the middle of the concert...nuf said anyway...

 

Hey, you pay taxes, you're paying for me to enjoy classical piano. Might as well get your tax-money's worth too

[Fear My Potato]

bump piece for the sunday afternoon crew

[Mr. Botch]

I have several of the "Lincoln Mayorga and the Boss Brass" recordings back from the "direct-to-disc" audiophile recordings on Sheffield Labs and Mobile Fidelity were popular. Nice to hear he's still kicking around, and sounds like a great seminar to try to catch. Thanks for the head's-up, FMP!