Russell Sherman Plays Liszt and Schumann at the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Reviewed by Charles Warren
Rockport Chamber Music Festival
Sunday, July 17
Russell Sherman, piano
The Rockport Chamber Music Festival concluded its official season with a piano recital by Russell Sherman, consisting of music by Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt. Of course, things go on year round now in the Festival's wonderful new hall, the Shalin Liu Performance Center—it is intimate, beautiful, sounds great, looks out onto the harbor and the open sea—not enough admiring can be said about it. So there will continue to be good reasons for music lovers to visit Rockport.
Russell Sherman is one Boston's great treasures, and most of the music audience hereabout have heard him play over the years in a wide range of repertoire. He is a great musician, a great teacher, and generally speaking, a great friend to music and the enterprise of music. Everyone should read his thoughtful, highly readable book, Piano Pieces—it brings one closer to music. Sherman has now passed his eightieth year. He is a spare man who looks a bit pale and frail. But he walks and moves well, and is still accurate and fleet of finger and well able to fashion color and control voicing and rise to sonorous climaxes in the music he plays. No diminishment apparent in energy and physical abilities as he played through Sunday's challenging program. And emotional and intellectual interest seemed greater than ever—the interest he took in the music and the focus he brought to it, and the interest he gave the listener.

