"We started in 2001 so this [2013] is the 12th year of the project.  The motivation for doing this was our pride in the quality of the pianists at Stony Brook, our desire to create an even stronger bond amongst our students and the richness of the piano repertory.

 

We began with the entire 24 Preludes and Fugues of Shostakovich as a magnificent set of works that were not often heard as a whole.  It was also an elegant way of ensuring the participation of the entire piano class.  We had a few intermissions and interspersed the performances with a series of small lectures about the composer and the works.  We all loved the day and found that in addition to bonding as a group, we had a profound experience.

 

Subsequent years have explored many topics-----Music between the wars,  Fantasies, Two piano works, the Hungarian influence, Music at the turn of the past three centuries, among others.  The goal is always to try to explore a particular topic in some depth and to provide the community as well as the pianists with a unique and rich experience while showcasing our young artists.  We hope and intend to continue this process as long as it seems constructive despite everyone's extremely busy and stressful lives."

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-Gilbert Kalish, 2013