George Winston contract

[gjg2@humboldt.edu]

> The big question that I still have...and I've heard is CDs, is he a good
> pianist?
> Tom Servinsky
>

Tom,
I'm sure you're asking this out of just plain curiosity-- not as a
reference to what kind of job you might decide to do (*grin*) so I'll give
you my take.  I would call him accomplished in the best sense of the word;
but within the very special boundaries he has established for himself.
Some consider him the father of the "New Age" style of solo pianism and
say he still offers the most convincing manner of playing this type of
composition.  Whether this style appeals to you or not, watch him and
listen and you will agree that he plays with real passion and commitment.
He also knows his way around Vince Guaraldi's solo piano music, does
admirably well with the compositions of some of the piano jazz greats of
the "stride" era-- challenging music by any standards of technical skill.
Then he hauls out his guitar and plays a few tunes in the Hawaiian "slack
key" style-- a musical culture of which he is known to be a big exponent.
Very hard to classify in the traditional sense of the word, I'm sure
you'll agree.  Can he play Beethoven's opus 111 or a Rachmaninoff etude?
Nope.
He actually may have enough technical equipment to play these types of
things given the effort-- but I doubt if he is interested, so they don't
really apply as a reference.
My 2 cents.

Greg

Greg Granoff  RPT