Seven artists who started with classical piano. Who are they?

Answers at the end of this blog.

1. He was set to represent the United States at the 1966 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow but was disqualified because he was also a pop star and composer of “Calendar Girl” and “Breaking up is Hard to Do.”

2. He studied five years at the Royal Academy of Music in London, playing Chopin and Bach, and became famous for his outrageous costumes and electrifying pop songs.

3. He emulated the technique of Polish pianist Paderewski and, at 20, played Liszt’s Second Piano Concerto with the Chicago Symphony. Despite his superb technique, he was better known for his velvet tuxedos, candelabra and flamboyant attitude.

4. This jazz superstar studied with Paul de Marky, who studied with Istvan Thoman, who studied with Franz Liszt. As a child he practiced four to six hours a day, and when someone asked how he got his great technique, he answered “Czerny and Hanon.”

5. The sixth of eight children born to a poor family in North Carolina, she was refused admission to the Curtis Institute of Music because of her racial background. Vladimir Sokoloff took her on as a private student. Her musical style fused gospel and pop with classical music as she went on to record more than 40 albums.

6. He was awarded a Master of Music from Juillard in 2013 and is the current bandleader for Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show.

7. This American singer-songwriter studied classical piano until she was 18, practicing six hours a day since the age of seven. She credits classical music with giving her the discipline, focus, work ethic and knowledge that “unlocked the ability to write my own music.”

Answers:

1. Neal Sedaka

2. Elton John

3. Liberace

4. Oscar Peterson

5. Nina Simone

6. Jon Batiste

7. Alicia Keys