“I’ve never bought into that attitude about ‘shoulds’ in classical music.”


playing all 32 sonatas composed for that instrument by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), a brilliant pianist himself and arguably (and you will get arguments) the greatest composer of all time. Schoenhals, EMU professor of piano, is three-quarters of the way to the top of that mountain: he’s performed 26 so far through the fi rst six of eight Pease Auditorium concerts that will eventually span four years. Plenty of pianists have recorded all of the sonatas, and one,


“T 18 Eastern | SUMMER 2015


Stewart Goodyear, played them all in a single day in Dallas (coincidentally, his so-called “sonatathon” took place the day after Schoenhals’ most recent Pease performance last March). But it’s hard to overstate how exceptional Schoenhals’ project is, and what a rare opportunity it off ers to area music lovers. Hearing a complete traversal performed live is unusual


enough, and ordinarily entails a renowned touring virtuoso giving a series of concerts in one location. The last time this happened locally was when Andras Schiff did it in eight concerts


hey call it the Mt. Everest of piano playing,” says Joel Schoenhals. Considering how many tourists


scale that peak these days, there may need to be a better metaphor for


between 2007 and 2009 at Ann Arbor’s Hill Auditorium. But for a locally based pianist to assay the task was, until now, unheard of. “I’ve never bought into that attitude about ‘shoulds’ in


classical music,” says Schoenhals. “I didn’t do this because I felt I was ‘ready.’ I did this because I wanted to understand the music better, I wanted to spend my days with great music, and I felt like, even though these pieces are really famous, the students and community at Eastern needed to hear this. When an idea coalesces for me, the energy comes together. It’s kind of an evolutionary process where you get to a place where you realize ‘I really want to do this right now.’ ” In this case, part of that timing was the birth of his son,


Aaron, four years ago. “I started this project right after that, and one reason was I didn’t want to be on the road and away from him that much,” he says. “When I take a break from working at home, I can see him.” It wasn’t part of the original plan, but thanks to the


generosity of a handful of classical music fans in the area, Schoenhals performs each program half a dozen times or so prior to its Pease presentation in private homes at what are called “salon concerts,” helping him paternally as well as professionally.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40