On Demand
Soundcheck
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Anthony Tommasini (David Corio)
From Cover Bands to Cool-Headed Pianists
Today we're joined by Joe McGinty, co-founder of the Loser's Lounge, a constantly-morphing collective of New York musicians. Their trademark? Tribute shows to their favorite pop artists of the '60s and '70s. This Saturday, they’re resurrecting their hit show, No Time for Losers: A Tribute to Queen. Also: today's concert pianists come in two flavors, says Anthony Tommasini, chief classical music critic of the New York Times: those with a "cool," unsentimental stance, epitomized in the Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, and those with a "hot" Romantic temperament, like young Chinese superstar Lang Lang. Which players are wooing audiences? Take a wild guess. Tommasini joins us today to look at the young lions of the keyboard, and also discuss how the phenomenon of piano competitions have shaped the current crop of artists.
» Met Museum's Festival of International Piano Competition Winners
» Loser's Lounge Web site
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