5 minutes with … Maurice Hinson

Maurice Hinson is senior professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's seminary of Church Music in Louisville, Kentucky where he teaches piano, chamber music, piano literature and piano pedagogy. Hinson is internationally celebrated for his many awards, articles, relations editions, videos, recordings, master classes and lecture/recitals. AMT's Arthur Houle had a small in number questions for Hinson.

As a child, were you a "difficult" piano learner or the "wild-horses-can't-keep-me-from-the-piano" type? The latter. I began picking without tunes on the piano and playing through ear around age 5. I played and sang Sunday-school airs and all the pop strains of the day, including Three Little Fishes.

Who inspired your terrific anthologies? Irwin Freundlich, my piano literature teacher at Juilliard. In 1963 he suited I update his Music for the Piano, co-authored by dint of James Friskin. Friskin's wife, however, did not want alterations, and Irwin later indicated he was too busy, in the way that it befell me to write the entire work (Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire)--so I did!

Do you have a favorite composer? Composition? Cooking spice (maybe a Vivaldi seasoning)? My favorite composer is whoever I'm playing or editing, which is commonly Mozart. I have no in fact favorite work, but one favorite is Cesar Franck's preliminary Chorale and Fugue.

Please share the greatest in quantity memorable experience in your distinguished teaching career. Working with a brilliant pupil Frank Carter, who performed a graduate recital and then memorized a consummate second recital of Chopin--just because he lov Chopin! He earned a performer's certificate for his efforts, won the concerto competition, etc

by what means about your most embarrassing experience? While accompanying a visiting Hungarian basso, Miklos Bencze, upon Mussorgsky's Song of the Flea, I move rounded a page and the nearest page was missing! I hopp all above the keyboard improvising a "suitable" accompaniment until I arrived at the following page. Since then I've been actual careful to make sure all pages are in individual order and present!

Reveal single thing about yourself that would stone our world (e.g., "I privately dig country western and canvas for Ralph Nader in my spare time"). I won't clutch my breath, but I'd be fond of for my senior men's tennis team to win the national championship. They've won the Kentucky state championship twice!

If you could change individual thing in higher education, what would that be? Curricula should allow pupils more time to practice each day. The horizontal of performance would go up considerably.

What's the greatest in quantity ambitious project you'd like to accomplish? A full edition of Mozart's piano sonatas, now in progres I finally have copies of the available autographs. Now I ne destinys of patience and perseverance!

What advice do you have for young pianists today? Be yourself, pay great attention to detail and be the best in your field, or you will not have a job

In an alternate universe, what far-out career choice could you imagine for yourself if you had at no time taken up music? Choreographer. Accompanying on the outside youngest daughter, who was a professional dancer, always inspired my actual pictorial imagination, even when sleeping! Dreams galore!

Arthur Houle is planter and director of the International Festival for Creative Pianists (www.pianofestival.org) Houle has taught at the novel England and Boston Conservatories, the Universities of Iowa, North Dakota and Texas-Austin and, greatest in quantity recently, at Albertson College.

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