Sam Rotman Piano Concert: Intense and Inspired

12th October: American pianist and educator Sam Rotman played a selection of seven classical music pieces with gusto and precision for an audience of enthusiastic students and staff members. Before each piece, Rotman delivered a vivid synopsis of the composer's place in musical history and told the students, many of whom study piano at Woodstock, specifically what to listen for.

Listening to and observing Rotman perform was not only a pleasurable musical experience, but also a study in this highly accomplished pianist's personal interaction with the music. Whether he was interpreting a sonata by his favorite composer, Ludwig van Beethoven, or caressing the notes of Claude Debussy's "Preludes," Rotman seemed to put his entire being-from intense facial expressions and sweeping movements of his arms and upper body, to pounding his left foot to the rhythm-into a personal expression of, almost a conversation with, the music.

After the recital, Mr. Rotman shared transforming aspects of his life: his drive to study piano from age 9, winning a competition at age 16, and entering the Juilliard School when he was 17 years old, where he practiced for 10 hours a day.

In response to questions from the audience, Rotman said that of all the concert halls where he has played (more than 1,600 performances), the Great Hall of the Conservatory in Moscow was the best and that the Russians are the most sophisticated audience in the world, with many reading from sheet music and following every note. Woodstock student Boris Popov, from Moscow, spoke up, "I agree!"

Asked whether he composed music, Rotman said that he studied composing under a world famous composer at Juilliard but, "I couldn't burp out a note." The professor told him that he would be great at playing the music of dead men.

Mr. Rotman was brought up in an orthodox Jewish family which had fled the Holocaust in Romania (fourteen of his father's family members were killed by the Nazis). At Juillard he met fellow students who challenged him the read the New Testament for himself. This proved to be a life-changing experience, and while at Juillard he became a committed Christian. To read a full account of his life journey, see his website: www.samrotman.com.

For nearly 20 years, Mr. Rotman was director of the Piano Department and for 10 years was director of the D'Angleo School of Music At Mercyhurst College, Pennsylvania. This is his first tour in India, where he will play 27 more concerts. This will include a series in Nagaland, at the invitation of the parents of Woodstock piano teacher Zingrin Shishak, who are friends of Mr. Rotman in the USA. Mr. Shishak's father is a Naga.

Mr. Rotman's recital at Woodstock included the following selections: "Sonatas" by Scarlatti; "Impromptus," Schubert; "Pathetique Sonata," Beethoven; "Two Polonaises," Chopin; "Preludes," Debussy; "Rondo Alla Turk," Mozart; and "Folk Dances," Bartôk. He has released four CDs of his recordings: Portrait of a Piano with the works of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Debussy, and Rachmaninoff; Impressions: Piano Portraits of Claude Debussy; Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition with Piano Works by Rachmaninoff; and Piano Music of Beethoven.

Kathleen Hamman, Development Department, Woodstock School