Posted: May 9, 2008; 11:19 AM EDT

RATING: (POLITE APPLAUSE) Composer-pianist Ferdinand Hiller was a minor figure in the explosion of piano performance in the early 19th century. He was an exact contemporary, and sometimes friend, of Chopin, Liszt, Schumann and Mendelssohn, and was receptive...

Posted: May 9, 2008; 12:56 AM EDT

Janice Friedman, the agile pianist who creatively mixes melody and rhythm into intriguing, beguiling performances, has been playing piano since she was four -- and began rendering classic American standards not long after. Now, she knows about 2,000 evergreens, and rolls them out whenever she can.

Posted: May 9, 2008; 1:24 AM EDT

Talented musicians don't only play in the performance halls of major venues. Starting with piano lessons 11 years ago at the age of 8, Jeffery Ou has risen from a novice to a noted pianist.

Posted: May 9, 2008; 3:15 AM EDT

Jeffrey Siegel, a New York pianist, began his "Keyboard Conversations" in the mid-1960s. ... - By Jim Lowe Times Argus Staff