William Kapell, Van Cliburn, Glenn Gould, Leon Fleisher, Gary Graffman, Jacob Lateiner, Eugene Istomin. These were among post-World-War-II American piano ambassadors. In the 1930s and '40s, so many artists, scientists, and intellectuals came to America. Then, in the '50s, these American-trained, fresh faces went into the world to reread the Classical music canon, part of the accidental urban-renewal of European culture. What happened next? To … [Read more...]