Daniel Weiser says his chamber music organization, AmiciMusic, is about more than simply presenting concerts. And that’s reflected in the group’s name, which translates to “music among friends.”
“It’s about breaking down barriers between performers and audiences by setting up a more informal atmosphere at concerts and through informative talks about each composer’s life before each piece is played,” says Weiser, 59, a former Baltimore resident and Peabody Institute-trained pianist.
Jmore recently spoke with Weiser about AmiciMusic, which is based in Baltimore and Asheville, North Carolina.
How did AmiciMusic get started?
I was living in New Hampshire in the early 2000s, scrambling to make a living, taking every playing and teaching job I could find, some of which I really disliked. A piano student said, ‘Why don’t you play a concert in my house?’ She invited her friends, and I talked about and played Chopin and made more money than my other paying jobs. I started inviting other musicians to join me.
In 2009, my family moved to Asheville, then to Baltimore in 2013 — I’d lived here in the ‘90s when I got my master’s and doctorate from Peabody — and now Savannah, and I created a home concert series in each city, expanded to larger venues. In 2011, I formalized AmiciMusic as a nonprofit to make music more accessible to more people.
Why is breaking down barriers so important?
Maybe there was a time when classical music was more popular. It largely destroyed itself by being elitist and assuming people would just come in and watch. I went to concerts as a kid in Buffalo [New York] and got bored because they’d come out in tuxedos and bow and play and leave.
I like the stories behind the music. A lot of these musicians were drinking and doing drugs; they were the rockers of their times. We try to sanitize them now and say they were gods. But they were real humans with lots of psychological problems. And they still wrote amazing music. These stories help today’s audiences relate to the composers and music in a new way.
Why do you always shuffle through papers during introductions at performances?
That’s intentional. I don’t want to have a set speech. I have certain ideas in my head, markers on my papers about what I want to talk about, but I improvise. I can tell some audiences are more interested in certain aspects that I mention, so I can do more with those, and some just want me to get to the music.
I really want people to laugh, to see the humanity in it. So I hope my paper shuffling, as well as what I’m saying, helps the audience relax and take in the music in a new way.
Another difference is a video camera showing your hands on the keyboard.
At piano recitals and classical music concerts, everybody wants to sit on the left side to see the pianist’s hands. Baltimore violinist Emmanuel Borowsky helped me figure out how to project the keyboard onto a screen so everyone could see it.
How do you select musicians?
Some musicians focus on perfection, but I’m not aiming for that. There was a time when you couldn’t go on stage and risk making a mistake because of what some critic might say. AmiciMusic isn’t for the critic; it’s for the audiences.
AmiciMusic comprises almost 100 musicians. You quickly learn how to adjust to their varying styles. But I really do enjoy it. And the musicians — and the audiences — become part of this family.
How does Judaism influence what you do?
Education and music are integral to Judaism. We talk a lot, and we love to question things. I sometimes think I couldn’t have done this had I not been Jewish.
Did you always want to be a pianist?
It was my mother’s dream for me. Even though I took a lot of wrong turns, she kept me moving in that direction. I started piano lessons when I was five but quit at 14. She suggested I go to a weeklong chamber music camp just to stay involved.
At Columbia, when I needed an extra credit, she suggested I take piano lessons. I always say she was the only Jewish mother who was happy when her son quit Harvard Law School and returned to music.
Where do you perform?
I play about once a month in Asheville, Baltimore and Savannah. I still run my New Hampshire program. I just did the Jewish jazz program in Florida, and I’m going to Miami and Naples and St. Pete, playing in people’s homes. I was just out in Santa Barbara. And then I also have some concerts I do up on Cape Cod. Last year, I did 125 different concerts.
For information, visit amicimusic.org/concerts/baltimore-area/
The story is now coming out about three Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany who built Iceland’s classical music scene from scratch.
The history of Jewish Barcelona is fascinating and complex, and a tour of the Jewish Quarter offers a glimpse into the city’s tragic past.
Dr. Gerd W. Ehrlich's manuscript offers a unique look at life in Germany during World War II.
Quick: how many of Maryland’s 23 counties have you visited? There's plenty to see and do in the "Old Line State."