Benkman will Return to the Cadillac Hotel with a Solo Piano Recital

Following up on last Friday’s innovative and engaging duo recital with cellist Rebecca Roudman, pianist Noel Benkman will return to the lobby of the Cadillac Hotel next month for a solo piano recital. It was clear, from the reception that these two received, that the classical repertoire has as much of an impact on Cadillac audiences as jazz does. Furthermore, last week’s repertoire required the pianist to serve as an equal partner with the cellist; so there was much to enjoy in Benkman’s interpretations of both Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms, not to mention the experience of discovering the work of Johann Nepomuk Hummel.

As a result there should be much to anticipate in Benkman’s return. Thus far he has only announced the composers whose music he will play, rather than their specific compositions. Once again both Beethoven and Brahms will be on the program, but Benkman also plans to play music by Beethoven’s best-known teacher, Joseph Haydn.

It is hard to try to second-guess what Benkman will be playing. None of these three composers ever settled into a single, predictable approach to composition. Rather, each of them went through several different periods through which their individual creativity revealed itself through an impressive diversity of techniques. All we know for certain is that it is virtually impossible to select a solo piano composition by any of these composers that can be dismissed as uninteresting!

Like all Concerts at the Cadillac events, this recital will begin at 12:30 p.m. and will take place on Friday, April 7. The Cadillac Hotel is located at 380 Eddy Street, on the northeast corner of Leavenworth Street. All of these events are presented without charge. The purpose of the series is to provide high-quality music to the residents of the hotel and the Tenderloin District; but all are invited to visit the venue that calls itself “The House of Welcome Since 1907.”