September 9: Terre Haute - The Cosmopolitan Pianist / by Nathan Carterette

the recital hall at ISU in terre haute

the recital hall at ISU in terre haute

bill hughes taught piano at ISU for 40 years

bill hughes taught piano at ISU for 40 years

the lovely michelle & alexis 

the lovely michelle & alexis 

terre haute is a town a little over an hour from indianapolis and was the site for the next Cosmopolitan Pianist. the recital hall is gorgeous if a little zealously air-conditioned and the steinway D is superb with new hammers and dampers. 

after the concert i met Bill Hughes, who was on piano faculty there for 40 years. he told me that in 1968 he was drafted for vietnam, and his temporary, two-year replacement was Anthony Smetona, my formative teacher in my cleveland years. they never met in person. it was Anthony's name in my bio, that brought him to the concert.

i didn't realize till later, that my idolized view of Anthony was not shared by the wider musical community in cleveland, and the realization of how wide that gulf was still haunts me today. every appearance of his name is like a mirror i can't help peer into - but dimly. still dimly.

i had planned to scrap the Gottschalk 'La Savane' after baton rouge but it proved too popular, and played it again.