In the Hands

My piano music weblog and podcast — the musical heart of this site. In the Hands features new recordings on a regular basis: Chopin, Brahms, and my other favorite old masters; my own compositions; completely spotaneous improvisations; and occasional guest recordings from other performers.

The blog also includes my rambling commentary on what I play, and set lists, notes, and audience comments from my concerts. It is, in general, the thrilling chronicle of Paul Cantrell's life as a composer and a pianist.

(Here's how I make the recordings.)

Zo

I regularly hold small, informal concerts in my living room. I've never really felt that the formality of the classical recital ritual suited my playing, and wanted a more intimate and risk-friendly venue — so I made one! The music at these concerts is whatever I'm working on or just enjoying playing at the moment; it's sort of like "In the Hands Live."

My apartment is not large, so seats are by advance reservation online. Learn more about these concerts, read what what people have said about them, or just be bold and reserve some seats!

Other Recordings

Donald Betts

Don, my teacher, mentor, and dear friend, plays with an introspection and a poetic sensibility like no other musician I know.

• The Inner Voice: A magical album of Schumann, Beethoven, and original Betts.
• Betts Plays Chopin: Before recording this, Don said to me, "I'm in love with Chopin." It shows.

Keys Please

I do an annual concert with fellow pianists Carei Thomas and Todd Harper, and sometimes a non-pianist guest. It is playful, genre-bending, and a rollicking good time.

• Keys Please!
• The Monster from Keys Please!

Other Live Recordings

• My undergraduate senior recital: An abundance of Chopin, a dash of Beethoven, and three Paul originals. As a friend put it, "classical, but definitely not legit."

Scores

Fun to look at! Fun to play! Little black dots the whole family can enjoy!

These are the written forms of my own compositions, and they're really creative works in themselves. Even if you don't read music, I think they're rather appealing just as abstract visual art. And if you do read music, well, so much the better! Have a gander.