A few years ago, Norman Malone made a bit of music history at the University of Chicago’s Logan Center for the Arts: He played the world premiere of “Norman Malone’s Rag,” which he commissioned from ragtime piano genius and MacArthur Fellowship winner Reginald Robinson. On Nov. 19, 2021, Norman returned Read more…
Most of the great concertos for left hand and orchestra – including Ravel’s – were commissioned by Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein, whose daughter, Joan Ripley, is featured in “For the Left Hand.” After watching the film, Ms. Ripley sent this letter to Howard Reich, quoted here in full (with her Read more…
Documentaries spark conversation, and a lively one occurred online Oct. 27, when Sylvia Ewing spoke with “For the Left Hand” subject Norman Malone, co-director Gordon Quinn and writer/co-producer Howard Reich. The idea was to take viewers, who can stream the film at pbs.org, deep inside the making and meaning of the Read more…
“For the Left Hand” made its California debut at a festival created in 1998 for a specific purpose: “to honor the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” according to festival founder and executive director Jasmina Bojic. Too few countries have observed the tenets of that crucial United Read more…
Chicago music lovers had waited for years for this moment: the local premiere of “For the Left Hand” – at the Chicago International Film Festival. No wonder the Oct. 17 event quickly sold out. You could feel the anticipation as filmgoers streamed into the Gene Siskel Film Center. The audience Read more…
We had a revelatory residency at The Defiance College, in Defiance, Ohio. It all began on the evening of Sept. 30 with Norman and Howard speaking to a Leadership class, the students ranging from 21-year-old locals to veterans who’d seen combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. The vets found common cause Read more…
We had a magical — and quite unusual — evening at the New Haven Documentary Film Festival. The event took place in the historic St. Paul & St. James Episcopal Church, built in 1832. At twilight, rays of light streamed through the stained glass windows above the organ loft — Read more…
For the Left Hand opens at Woods Hole Film Festival and Norman plays the best he has yet.