Abbey Simon News Today

The annual Immanuel & Helen Olshan Texas Music Festival will bring 80 music students to the University of Houston for three weeks of rehearsals, private lessons and master classes by day and a multitude of concerts - many of them free to the public - by night.

Chopin’s two sets of Études invested the didactic keyboard study with unparalleled artistry and musical substance. Jed Distler considers a selection of the finest recordings from the past 90 years

Uncommonly Studio presents Brahms Horn Trio, a series of performances by violinist Samuel Gray, pianist Mika Chang, and horn player Erik Hyman. The trio will present the world premiere of Estuary, a newly-commissioned work from young composer Pyam Pendleton and conclude each evening with a performance of Johannes Brahms' poignant, deeply introspective Horn Trio in Eb. The performances will take place at 8:00pm on May 13, 15, 20, and 21.

(5 out of 5 stars) "When this recording first hit the shelves in its original Vanguard LP incarnation, the acclaim in the review periodicals was virtually unanimous. The only disclaimer presented by these reviewers (the only meaningful one, at least) was that the sound of the piano was somewhat "brittle". Not every reviewer saw it fit to voice the same reservations, however, and my guess is that only those who routinely shunned recordings that did not capture the "richest and deepest" of tones...