My Classical Side
One of the “miracles” of my recuperation has been the opportunity to rediscover my musical roots in both classical music and the blues. In Berkeley, California, my childhood teacher, Jolan Kanyuk, taught Liszt technique from the Budapest Conservatory and steeped me in Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Debussey, Liszt, and many others. Relearning this repertoire has been a thrill and a reminder that it’s all music, no matter the style. It all gets improvised in the brain first, written later, and gives the performer a marvelous high-dive platform to jump off into the joys of improvisation.