Jon Kimura Parker Piano Concert at LaSells Stewart Center in Corvallis, Oregon

Jon Kimura Parker Corvallis-OSU Piano International's Steinway Piano Series featured a stirring piano performance Jon Kimura Parker on April 7, 2013 at the LaSells Center in Corvallis, Oregon. His performance left me with the same sensation I get when I meditate. Watching Parker was delightful. He plays the piano with his whole body. Yes, his fingers manipulate the keys, but he leans into and out of the performance. He seems to almost lift off the piano bench during the performance. He smiled while he described the two longer pieces he played. I'm not a musical person by nature, in that I can't read scales or sing or play an instrument, and I often struggle to recognize a song by its opening notes. I can feel a beat and dance. And, I did. I felt my toe tapping and my shoulders swaying as he played. He played Sergei Prokofiev's Sonata No. 3 in A minor, op.28 (D'apres de Vieux Cahiers) as his opening number. From there he moved on to an invigorating and amazing performance of his own arrangement of Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. It gave me chills!Before he started it, he told the audience how he came to put this arrangement for the piano together. After intermission, he played Sergei Rachmaninoff's Prelude in G minor, op.23, No. 5. Then he moved into his other longer piece, Pictures at an Exhibition. He explained the origin of the piece to the audience before he began. Once he began playing, his friendship with the piano filled the room with its energy and vibration. A beautiful performance that not only energized and relaxed but left me with poetic lines jumping through my thoughts. If John Kimura Parker plays in a city near you, I suggest you check it out!

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