Pianist Ethan Uslan visited Sanford as part of 中央卡罗莱纳社区学院's Academic and Cultural Enrichment Series.
桑福德——“大家下午好，我叫伊森. 今天我是你的钢琴手.在伊森·乌斯兰开口之前, he introduced himself and his ragtime style with a dazzling rendition of Fats Waller's "Picadilly," a number that brought a storm of enthusiastic cheers right out of the gate.
他的许多听众可能以前从未听过这样的东西. Uslan, who was praised by the Chicago Tribune a few years ago as "an accomplished pianist with a deep understanding of far-flung performance practices,出现在10月11日. 25日，天坛剧院. The free concert was organized by 中央卡罗莱纳社区学院 as part of a series bringing in accomplished artists and scholars to share ideas with university transfer students and create an intellectual discussion.
这是一个兼收并蓄的团体. 一些学生正在研究哈莱姆文艺复兴, 在这种音乐风格下，这是一个直接切题的话题, 但还有一些来自音乐鉴赏课程, 流行文化和美国历史. There were older community members in the audience as well; many of these Academic and Cultural Enrichment Series events are open to the public. But for younger students right out of high school, the entire idea of ragtime seemed obscure.
Ragtime hit its zenith around the turn of the 20th century thanks to driving syncopated rhythms and popular African-American composers like Scott Joplin, 谁被广泛认为是“拉格泰姆之王”." But its last rise in popular culture came when Paul Newman and Robert Redford starred in "The Sting,这部奥斯卡获奖古装片推动了《推荐正规买球平台》的上映,这是乔普林的经典, 进入当代意识，直到No. 在公告牌流行音乐排行榜上排名第三. 但那是1973年, 差不多半个世纪以前, 在这些高中毕业生出生之前的几十年.
在这场热闹的一小时音乐会中，这似乎无关紧要. 法兹·沃勒的两首开场曲, students in the balcony were leaning forward to take in the music and then relaxing a bit when Uslan added in some light comedy or told stories about a few of his more unusual gigs.
就像那次他录吸血鬼节目一样.
当他坐在钢琴凳上讲故事的时候, Uslan answered his phone one day to find on the other end someone from AMC who was about to produce this TV show about a vampire who played piano. 这听起来很奇怪, but then the caller explained how a screenwriter had seen Uslan perform a song on YouTube that would be perfect for the episode. So, would the pianist be willing to fly down to New Orleans and record "Interview with the Vampire"?
When Uslan reached the French Quarter, the whole experience seemed surreal. 在他上电视之前, 他得去做吸血鬼指甲"因为, 大家都知道,他说, “吸血鬼的指甲很尖." That made it especially hard to navigate the keyboard, but the TV people told him not to worry. 他们说，指甲只是为了视觉效果. 音乐实际上是后来在录音室录制的.
So now everyone can rush out to see Ethan Uslan guest starring in the episode, 《正规买球app十佳排行》, 它倒.“正确的? 好吧，算是吧. “你们会认出我的手，”乌斯兰对笑着的观众说. “从腰部以上，你知道，这是一个演员. 但当他们拍手拍的时候，你会说，‘哦，我认识这个人!'"
Throughout the concert, Uslan took other detours, pretty much all over the topical map. 他在一次科学会议上提出了一个化学理论, something about simple musical elements combining in his genre to form a "covalence ragtime bond" making possible the more-complex compound called "Ragtimian." (Apparently that went over big with the scientific crowd -- as it did with the students in Sanford.)过了一会儿, 他走了一个完全不同的方向, paying loving tribute to his wife by performing her favorite public health song, “扣上你的大衣,并邀请大家一起唱. 当他开始演奏引言时, there was just enough time to slip in another quick fact: "This was a big hit for Betty Boop."
There were more stories -- like playing the song "Rockin' Chair" to a captive audience in the Charlotte airport sitting in, 你说对了, rocking chairs -- and he even circled back a few times with ongoing allusions to vipers and those vampire fingernails. 你必须在场.
Behind the piano, Uslan is a package of potential energy waiting to release. 他以极快的速度敲击琴键, 他的手指从键盘的一端跳到另一端, 而他身体的其他部分则随着拉格泰姆节拍保持稳定的反弹. 就连他的脚也在不停地运动. 钢琴家很努力地踩右踏板是很正常的, 手指经过琴键后仍能保持声音的琴键. But Uslan is all over the left one too, a less-used option that muffles the sound. 很难判断那个是否有效, 因为所有的东西都融合成一个快乐, 狂热的视觉和声音的爆发.
然而，在后台，他却截然不同.
Chatting quietly on a couch in the green room just before walking on stage, Uslan said today's performance wouldn't be much different than what he does for any audience. 他解释说:“这不会有太多的教育意义。. "Music by nature is educational, so this is not that different than performing for any other crowd. 人们想听到他们正在听的东西."
特别是, the pianist said he wouldn't get too "deep into the weeds" about his musical genre; what he plays is widely recognized as ragtime, 但实际上包括了更广泛的20世纪20年代和30年代的爵士乐. (他甚至把贝多芬的“Fuer Elise”解释为拉格泰姆, a number once captured in a YouTube video that logged 5 million views before the filmmaker took it down; he got a new camera and thought the older video looked too fuzzy.)
But Uslan did expect the college students to enjoy the same things about ragtime that attracted him: its high energy, 完整的声音, 强烈的节拍和清晰的旋律. And perhaps most of all, an unusual balance of sophistication and accessibility.
“他们不需要成为像我一样的拉格泰姆狂, 但如果他们能玩一个小时，我会很高兴的,他说. "And if they go home and Google some of the pieces I play or some of the musicians that I mention -- or even me! ——我会特别激动的."
这就是发生的事情，甚至在他的听众离开圣殿之前.
Bianka Stumpf, the instructor who organizes 推荐正规买球平台's Academic and Cultural Enrichment Series, 计划让乌斯兰在演出结束后回答四五个问题. That session ended up stretching to almost 20 minutes and covering all kinds of topics, from technical questions about musical structure to his favorite composers and songs.
早些时候，一名学生问这位钢琴家是否在Spotify上. “你知道，我不确定，”他回答. “那不是很可怕吗? 我好像生活在20世纪10年代." It didn't take very long for another student to do the search and find the answer.
"This isn't a question," came a voice from somewhere in the audience a few minutes later. “我只是想让你知道:你在Spotify上!" Which was followed by yet another loud round of cheers and the musician's surprise: "How 'bout that!"
* * * * *
推荐正规买球平台's Academic and Cultural Enrichment Series continues this semester with yoga and Tai Chi workshops for some students, with others attending "Murder for Two" or "A Christmas Carol" as part of the college's ongoing relationship with Temple Theatre. 今年春天的亮点包括一位大屠杀纪念发言人, 西非鼓手，以及摄影和诗歌方面的活动. 有关春季课程的更多信息将于明年初公布.
Pianist Ethan Uslan visited Sanford as part of 中央卡罗莱纳社区学院's Academic and Cultural Enrichment Series.
Pianist Ethan Uslan visited Sanford as part of 中央卡罗莱纳社区学院's Academic and Cultural Enrichment Series.
Pianist Ethan Uslan visited Sanford as part of 中央卡罗莱纳社区学院's Academic and Cultural Enrichment Series.
Pianist Ethan Uslan visited Sanford as part of 中央卡罗莱纳社区学院's Academic and Cultural Enrichment Series.
Pianist Ethan Uslan visited Sanford as part of 中央卡罗莱纳社区学院's Academic and Cultural Enrichment Series.
Pianist Ethan Uslan visited Sanford as part of 中央卡罗莱纳社区学院's Academic and Cultural Enrichment Series.