News stories tagged with "steinway"

(12/28/11) Crane School of Music professor of piano Paul Wyse has mastered two art forms. He's a classically trained concert pianist and also paints portraits. Earlier this month, he unveiled a full-length portrait of "piano man" Billy Joel in New York City. The artist joined the bestselling musician to unveil the painting at Steinway Hall. Paul Wyse was commissioned by Steinway and Sons to paint Joel's portrait. Two of Wyse's portraits of award-winning pianist and conductor Leon Fleischer are part of the Smithsonian's permanent collection in Washington D.C.

Wyse has performed at the piano on the concert stage around the world and his oil portraits hang in public and private collections and appear in national publications.

So, how does a classically trained concert pianist become an award winning visual artist? "It's hard to explain," says Wyse. But he adds that it's not uncommon for musicians who study the structure of a symphony to use those same skills in the visual arts.

During a visit to his portrait studio in his home near Prescott, Ontario, he told Todd Moe that the mystery of transforming cloth and pigment into something that is looking back at you is powerful, alluring, and part of the compulsion to paint.

(02/22/08) SUNY-Potsdam's Crane School of Music will officially dedicate its new Steinway pianos with a lecture and concert on Sunday. The school's 142 new pianos are the first major acquisition of pianos for SUNY Potsdam in 50 years, and the largest single purchase of pianos for the college. It's also the largest single purchase of pianos in Steinway & Sons' 154-year history. The dedication concert will feature Crane piano faculty and students, and a lecture by James Barron on his book, Piano: The Making of a Steinway Concert Grand. Todd Moe has this preview. more