Independent Arts News Reporting Pianist Haskell Small Announces Tour
Thursday, November 2nd, 2023
Pictured Above: Pianist Haskell Small. Photo Credit: Contributed.
Newsroom Post: PHILADELPHIA, PA
Philadelphia, PA – Pianist Haskell Small will tour nine key cities in the US with his program Celebration of Healing, performing Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations. His first official out-of-town stop will be at the American Philosophical Society’s Benjamin Franklin Hall in Philadelphia on Saturday, Nov. 4th. at 7pm.
In 2021, Composer and Pianist Haskell Small suffered a debilitating stroke that rendered his left hand and foot paralyzed. At the time, Small feared his accomplished professional career would come to an end. Two years later, he is not only playing piano again (with both hands!) but also set to embark on a nationwide Celebration of Healing tour launching in Philadelphia on November 4. Haskell will be the subject of a documentary film entitled Small Steps directed by Christopher McGuinness to be released later this fall. The trailer can be viewed below.
As captured in The Washington Post, Small used his painstaking journey of rehabilitation as a creative muse. Unwilling to stay away from music, he began arranging and performing classical masterworks for his right hand alone, as well as writing and performing a new composition, Diary of a Stroke: The Adventures of Herb and Pete (playful nicknames Small gave to his paralyzed hand and foot). Today, Small’s rehabilitation has further progressed and he has returned to playing with full use of both hands. Small’s Celebration of Healing Tour will not only mark his full recovery, but fulfill his life-long dream of performing Beethoven’s immensely difficult and sublime Diabelli Variations.
“To go from thinking my career might be over, to touring the country with one of the most demanding and sublime works in the repertoire has become a life-saving journey,” says Small. “I’m hoping that my story can resonate with others who have suffered setbacks and offer inspiration that you should never give up on your dreams. Sometimes what seems like a disaster can in fact be an opportunity to grow and challenge yourself in a whole new way.”
Pictured Above: Pianist Haskell Small. Photo Credit: Contributed.
Haskell Small has been critically praised for the exquisite blend of sound and silence in his compositions and for his prodigious technique and subtle touch at the piano. His discography includes over a dozen releases of his own compositions as well as Bach, Mompou, Gershwin and more on the MSR, Naxos, Centaur and 4Tay labels. On national and international tours he has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Arts, and Spoleto USA, among others, and he has received commissions from the Washington Ballet, Georgetown Symphony, Three Rivers Piano Competition, and more. He studied piano with Leon Fleisher and William Masselos and composition with Vincent Persichetti, and is on the faculty of the Washington Conservatory of Music. For more about Haskell Small, you can visit his website here.
To Secure Tickets visit: https://Haskellphilly.eventbrite.co Tickets: Regular: $20 / Students & Seniors: $10 More information available at www.haskellsmall.com
Other stops on the tour will include:
November 16, 2023 – Chicago, IL – Epiphany Center for the Arts
November 18, 2023 – Milwaukee, WI – Charles Allis Art Museum
April 7, 2024 – Santa Monica, CA – First Presbyterian Church Santa Monica
April 13, 2024 – San Francisco, CA – Sunset Music and Arts
April 14, 2024 – Berkeley, CA – The Berkeley Piano Club
April 23, 2024 – Seattle, WA – St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
June 5, 2024 – New York City – Weill Recital Hall
