‘Keys across america’
Written by Sue Wade for Florida Weekly
Narrative Musicale celebration is all American and all Melemed
Grand Piano Series’ next event, “Keys Across America” with pianist Mackenzie Melemed on Thursday, Aug. 20, is the Series’ contribution to the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
At 31, Melemed is a bit old to be considered a prodigy, but he did start young and continues to be a prodigious showman.
His grandfather bought him a $1 yard-sale keyboard when Mackenzie was three, his parents signed him up for lessons at the local Steinway dealer, and he was on his way.
By the time he was five, the kid was playing piano and calling bingo numbers at central Massachusetts senior centers, happy to be paid in ice cream, happier still to be schmoozing with the seniors.
At eight, he portrayed another prodigy — the young Mozart — in the Discovery Channel series “Medical Mystery.”
Before he was 12, he had 500 concerts under his belt, including headlining at the age of nine in Atlantic City’s “Prodigy at the Tropicana,” where he played more numbers from musicals, Billy Joel and jazz than the canon. But connecting with people was still what he loved the best.
“We’re not sacrificing any of our artistry,” he said, expressing what he believes with all his heart, “by welcoming the audience into the music we perform.”
His latest project, the landmark “Keys Across America,” spans two years with more than 50 performances in over 30 states. An enthusiastic celebration of America’s 250th birthday, it explores nearly two centuries of American piano music, from Amy Beach and Edward MacDowell to Aaron Copland and Ned Rorem.
“This is the most interesting take on the recital program that I have seen in a long time,” said pianist Emanuel Ax.
The entire program would take two hours but has been hand-curated as one of Grand Piano Series’ hour-long Narrative Musicales, the last of only four Florida KAA performances.
“This is playing of international stature — incredible sound and speed, impeccable musical instincts, and a flair that is irresistible. Mackenzie should be heard everywhere. It’s impossible not to love him,” said Dr. Cathy Kautsky of Lawrence University.
This second summer Narrative Musicale will be hosted as usual by series Director of Education and Community Engagement, composer/pianist Konstantin Soukhovetski, whose multifaceted events are intermissionless, immersively intimate multimedia programs, known for combining live music, storytelling and visuals.
Melemed explained, “Throughout the program, we’ll be speaking together from the stage, guiding the audience through the historical context of each work and the lives of these trailblazing composers. This type of engagement is something I’ve believed in since childhood … and … remains one of the most meaningful aspects of my work today. It just matches my personality.”
It matches Soukhovetski’s as well.
Every KAA concert starts by catapulting the audience back into the romanticized American frontier of cowboys and lassos, with Aaron Copland’s “Buckaroo Holiday.” The Naples recital then flows from the lyricism of America’s Amy Beach to Jaakko Kuusisto’s rippling score for the “farthest out in the sea” Finnish island of “Jurmo,” before concluding with Gottschalk’s star-spangled medley interweaving American tunes from “The Star-Spangled Banner” to “Yankee Doodle.”
The afternoon will portray America as a crossroads mirroring Melemed’s own life in both America and Finland, where he looks out on the Baltic Sea each morning.
From Amy Beach’s summer cabin on Cape Cod, evoking memories of his childhood summers in Dennis Port, to Kuusisto’s sonic seascape of the Finnish archipelago, the program manages to be both all American and all Melemed.
“This is playing of international stature — incredible sound and speed, impeccable musical instincts, and a flair that is irresistible. Mackenzie should be heard everywhere. It’s impossible not to love him,” said Dr. Cathy Kautsky of Lawrence University.
This second summer Narrative Musicale will be hosted as usual by series Director of Education and Community Engagement, composer/pianist Konstantin Soukhovetski, whose multifaceted events are intermissionless, immersively intimate multimedia programs, known for combining live music, storytelling and visuals.
Melemed explained, “Throughout the program, we’ll be speaking together from the stage, guiding the audience through the historical context of each work and the lives of these trailblazing composers. This type of engagement is something I’ve believed in since childhood … and … remains one of the most meaningful aspects of my work today. It just matches my personality.”
It matches Soukhovetski’s as well.
Every KAA concert starts by catapulting the audience back into the romanticized American frontier of cowboys and lassos, with Aaron Copland’s “Buckaroo Holiday.” The Naples recital then flows from the lyricism of America’s Amy Beach to Jaakko Kuusisto’s rippling score for the “farthest out in the sea” Finnish island of “Jurmo,” before concluding with Gottschalk’s star-spangled medley interweaving American tunes from “The Star-Spangled Banner” to “Yankee Doodle.”
The afternoon will portray America as a crossroads mirroring Melemed’s own life in both America and Finland, where he looks out on the Baltic Sea each morning.
From Amy Beach’s summer cabin on Cape Cod, evoking memories of his childhood summers in Dennis Port, to Kuusisto’s sonic seascape of the Finnish archipelago, the program manages to be both all American and all Melemed.
NARRATIVE MUSICALE: Keys Across America
When: 4 p.m., Thursday, August 20
Where: Ubben Signature Event Space, Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Boulevard, Naples.
Purchase tickets: ($50) at grandpianoseries.org or artisnaples.org.
Call Artis—Naples at 239-597-1900 for assistance.