Interview with Pianist and Composer Bruce Adolphe

Bruce Adolphe is a composer, author, and pianist. He is the Director of Family Concerts of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the composer-pianist of the weekly Piano Puzzler.

Polly Want A Janáček Opera?

Max Raskin: I have a general theme that I want to talk about with this interview, which is how creativity and all your high ideas interact with the day-to-day of your life.

I want to start by asking: What’s the last piece of music you listened to?

Bruce Adolphe: It depends how you think about this. I have a parrot, and he needs to hear music all the time. So, when I have breakfast, I'm sitting with the parrot and my wife is usually there. We are always listening to an opera because that's what he likes.

MR: What's your parrot's name?

BA: Polly Rhythm. He's an opera singer; he is a great singer. But for myself, I don't sit and listen to music that much during the day because typically I would be improvising, getting prepared for a concert, or writing.

MR: When you do listen is it to the radio?

BA: It's usually the radio, though in the morning I tend to put on a CD so I can control what it is because Polly wants to hear singing.

MR: What radio station do you listen to the most?