Friday, May 18, 2012

APM's Piano Puzzler Turns 10!



For several years, I had lost the Piano Puzzler from my podcast line-up because I hadn't realized that it moved from National Public Radio (NPR) to Performance Today on American Public Media (APM). But happily I was reuinited with my favorite classical geek podcast through this post on the Piano Street Blog. I also didn't realize that you can now purchase the scores for some the super cool creations from Bruce Adolphe here:



Piano Puzzlers: Thirty Familiar Tunes Disguised in the Styles of Famous Composers

Wow, how cool is that?  Last time I geeked out over the Piano Puzzler was back in 2006. Lately, I've been catching up on everything on the feed and was really awed by the April 25, 2012 show (clicking the link will open a streaming window).  The contestant was a pianist in the US Marine Band.  Not only did he correctly guess the tune (Mozart Symphony No. 40) and the composer (Chopin) whose style it was performed in, he also took to the piano and played the Mozart Symphony in a jazz style.  A piano conversation between Bruce Adolphe and the contestant!  It made the music geek in me completely flip over the awesomeness of it all.

If you're in Minnesota, check out the Piano Puzzler 10th Anniversary party being held at the UBS Forum in St. Paul on June 20th.  Happy piano puzzling!

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