Broad Street Review: 'My Croatian piano debut' by Maria Thompson Corley

[The author (right) in Cavtat with e-pal Ivana: An unusual chain of events, to say the least.]

We recently found this comment about an article at BroadStreetReview.com: “A composer checks in”   Re “My Croatian piano debut,” by Maria Thompson Corley — Great article. Maria Corley shows she’s a fine writer as well as a fantastic pianist. I’m also proud that she chose my work as part of her repertoire. H. Leslie Adams, Cleveland, Ohio October 22, 2008

My Croatian piano debut (with a little help from the Internet)

MARIA THOMPSON CORLEY 

“As a performing pianist, I was told that I should have a website. But I couldn’t afford one, so I got a page on Myspacemusic.com instead.” “One day I was visiting a fellow musician’s page when I spotted a picture that seemed to radiate life. I clicked on the image, listened to some gorgeous Bach and wrote a comment, the gist of which was that it was a pleasure to see and hear such a luminous spirit conveyed visually and aurally. I got a lovely message in return, and my correspondence with Ivana Marija Vidovic was born.

Ivana was in the process of organizing the first Epidaurus Festival, which consisted of 11 concerts held in Cavtat, near her hometown of Dubrovnik, Croatia. Based on my audio clips and our messages, she invited me to perform during the second festival, scheduled for a year after our online meeting. In return, I promised to try to get Millersville University, where I’m currently employed, to sponsor a visit from Ivana, who is scheduled to perform at Duke University in North Carolina in January 2009. I sent some e-mails to my Millersville colleagues, obtained the necessary commitments (which included covering my airfare to Europe) and reserved space in the hall. [Full Post] [H. Leslie Adams (b. 1932) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]