Raves and Recommendations

Thomas L. Friedman
Columnist, The New York Times
My wife, two daughters, and I have attended Jeffrey Siegel's Keyboard Conversations on several occasions and have greatly enjoyed them. He has a way of talking about music that really illuminates it, and he does this without talking down or dumbing down, and this makes listening to the music he plays more accessible - and fun - for everyone.

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Detroit, Michigan
In this age which lacks arts education in general, Jeffrey Siegel's Keyboard Conversations are a welcome addition to everyone's concert calendar. His presentation and performance add immeasurably to the listener's understanding of how and why a piece of music exists. I can't think of anyone who does this kind of programming better.
Leonard Slatkin, Music Director

WIGMORE HALL
London, England
Keyboard Conversations are a unique and successful way to engage new audiences for classical music. Jeffrey Siegel is both enthusiastic and well informed and his narrative, combined with passionate performances of the works, brings the music to life.
Elizabeth McCall, Senior Producer - Learning

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
Evanston, Illinois
In a hectic and ever changing world, some things remain constant: the moon and stars, brisk Fall days and, of course, Jeffrey Siegel's Keyboard Conversations series. There has never been another like Jeffrey and his audience continues to be ever faithful. Forty years on Chicago's North Shore and the conversation continues…
Richard Van Kleeck, Executive Director, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

McCALLUM THEATRE
Palm Desert, California
Jeffrey Siegel is a rare combination of talents. He is an outstanding musician and certainly one of the finest pianists of his generation. In fact, to be able to showcase a pianist of his stature in our theatre is a rare opportunity. But Jeffrey has an additional talent that is quite unique. He talks to the audience and the audience listens. Jeffrey has a way of communicating to the audience that is intelligent yet completely natural. He speaks from the heart. He is able to engage both young and old, wrapping them in the warmth of both the music and his personality.
Mitchell Gershenfeld,
Director of Presentations and Theater Operations

KIMMEL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jeffrey Siegel delivers a truly magnificent performance through his Keyboard Conversations. His mastery of the piano is brilliant, yet it is his ability to engage the audience in a meaningful and inviting dialogue that makes classical music come alive to the new and old audiences alike. We can't wait to have him back!
Anne Ewers, President and Chief Executive Officer

STEINWAY & SONS
New York City
Jeffrey Siegel's Keyboard Conversations are works of art unto themselves. He has the remarkable gift in drawing audiences into the music he plays, whether a veteran concert-goer or an audience member new to the world of classical music. You will be enlightened and entertained by his comments and captivated by his performances. Of the scores of concerts that I attend each year Jeffrey Siegel's Keyboard Conversations are among the ones that I most eagerly anticipate. I have had the good fortune of hearing his programs in several different cities around the country - I have never been disappointed.
Peter B. Goodrich, Vice President Concert and Artist Activities

HENRY HOLT & COMPANY
New York City
Not since the golden days of Leonard Bernstein has a musician with equal verbal and musical skills attempted to engage, inform, educate and thrill us as Jeffrey Siegel does in his masterful and entertaining Keyboard Conversations.
Stephen Rubin, President and Publisher

THE JUILLIARD SCHOOL
New York City
Jeffrey Siegel is that rare artist who can combine a superb performance with an illuminating, inspiring, educational experience. Keyboard Conversations are truly a treasure that will delight music lovers everywhere.
Yoheved Kaplinsky, Chair, Piano Department

SCOTTSDALE CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Scottsdale, Arizona
This year the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts will celebrate its 30th consecutive season featuring Jeffrey Siegel's Keyboard Conversations. This series' devoted audience continues to expand as does its appreciation of classical music thanks to the illuminating and charming commentaries that accompany each work performed. His presence in our seasons has become a tradition that is continuously refreshed by his imaginative programming.
William Banchs, President and CEO, Scottsdale Cultural Council

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
Fairfax, Virginia
I can count the artists on one hand whom I have resolved to present every year of every season I produce "no matter what, no matter where" - and Jeffrey Siegel accounts for at least three fingers on that hand. Jeffrey reveals the timeless value of each work he selects for his recitals. His joyful, insightful Keyboard Conversations move Jeffrey beyond the status of an excellent concert artist, connecting him with his audience almost as a member of the family. Keyboard Conversations are entertainment at its best, art at its finest, education at its core.
William Reeder, Dean, College of Visual and Performing Arts

PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
State College, Pennsylvania
Through his informative insights, wit and fine interpretations, Siegel breaks down the barriers - both imagined and real - between artist and audience, composer and listener. Siegel incorporates both the classics of the repertoire and little-known piano treasures, weaving together programs that are interesting, informative and stimulating and that always leave us wanting to hear even more.
George Trudeau, Director, Center for the Performing Arts

CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY
Cleveland, Ohio
Through his Keyboard Conversations, Jeffrey Siegel has brought an intelligent and sensitive understanding of important music to our campus for more than a decade. I wouldn't miss him for the world.
Michael Schwartz, President-Emeritus, Cleveland State University

And The Raves Continue...

Felix Mendelssohn once said that music is a language that takes over when words fail. I have learned this, as I have learned many memorable things, from Jeffrey Siegel, who is as gifted a talker as he is a pianist. Every time he embarks on one of his famous Keyboard Conversations, speaking clear, witty, informative English, and (when the moment comes for the music to express itself) producing brilliant sounds from the piano, the communicative miracle Mendelssohn described happens afresh. Mr. Siegel deftly gets to the heart of each piece, big or small, explaining what’s unique about it in words that are as revelatory as they are simple. Then he plays work entire, with effortless virtuosity, and we listen with sharpened ears and deeper understanding.
Edmund Morris
Author of Beethoven: The Universal Composer and prize-winning biographies of Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan

I have had the pleasure of attending Jeffrey Siegel's Keyboard Conversations on both sides of the Atlantic. They are much more than lecture recitals. Mr. Siegel has the knack of creating a magic circle within which he places the composer, the audience, and himself, who all must exist as equal partners if the musical experience is to mean anything. Aside from his engaging manner, there is something else which should be acknowledged - among scholars, he is one of the finest pianists and among pianists, he is one of the finest scholars. This is an enviable combinations that ensures that we are in safe hands.
Alan Walker
Author of the three-volume, prize winning biography of Franz Liszt
Former Music Producer, BBC Music Programmes

Attending Jeffrey Siegel's Keyboard Conversation in London's Wigmore Hall, I was curious as to whether his kind of explanatory talk about music that goes down so well in New York would also win over a London audience. I needn't have worried. Mr. Siegel shares my admiration for Leonard Bernstein and like Lenny he has developed a language that avoids talking down yet gets to the heart of the musical matter. What he says (and plays) makes excellent sense, not to mention great enjoyment.
Humphrey Burton
Biographer of Leonard Bernstein
Former Head of Music and Arts Programmes, BBC TV

In a world filled with flummery and jargon, Jeffrey Siegel tells and plays it like it is. No one takes you faster from here to the heart of the music, and no one makes you feel more confident that music has a vital role to play in your life.
Norman Lebrecht
Music Commentator, Author, BBC Broadcaster

A piano virtuoso and first class communicator, Jeffrey Siegel makes you leave the theatre hungry for more music.
David Suchet, CBE
Actor
Broadcasting Press Guild, Royal Television Society, and International Emmy Awards Winner