Teddy Abrams: Preludes

Episode 5 of Reverberations centers on a book of piano preludes written and performed by conductor, composer and pianist Teddy Abrams. In the episode, Connery and Abrams discuss his social and pedagogical agenda to reach amateur pianists around the country and the world. “I realized that there are very few living composers who have entered the repertoire for pianists,” says Abrams. “I wanted to write some music that would literally be accessible to anyone.” The episode also explores Abrams’ striking decision to use electronic production on the album. The ultimate result, a collaboration with producers Gabriel Kahane and Casey Foubert, exemplifies Abrams’ desire to enliven the classical music of today through novel juxtapositions with neighboring musical worlds.