From Ear to Ear: A Pianist's Musical Journey Review

People wonder what classical musicians do all day. Do they spend every waking hour, when not performing, closeted in a practice room, isolated from the world, their only companions dead composers?

The reality is, of course, rather different. And memoirs such as Jeremy Denk’s Every Good Boy Does Fine and Stephen Hough’s Enough offer valuable insights into the everyday life of the professional musician, reminding us that musicians are ordinary people too, who just happen to be able to conjure extraordinary magic from their chosen instrument.

Steve Blier

From Ear to Ear, the forthcoming memoir by American pianist Steve Blier, is a worthy companion to the aforementioned books and adds another dimension to the “what do musicians do all day” question because Blier is primarily an accompanist or collaborative pianist. A career spanning half a century is described in this entertaining, insightful and honest memoir, from Blier’s earliest encounters with music (a toy xylophone and an upright piano at nursery school) to taking the stage with some of the greatest singers of our time (Renée Fleming, Cecilia Bartoli, Jessye Norman and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, to name a few).

The book begins with Gilbert and Sullivan, an early obsession for Blier, and the UK’s pre-eminent G&S troupe, the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company. Mesmerised by the voice of D’Oyly Carte soprano Valerie Masterson, the teenage Blier had found his “gateway drug” to music, and song has remained at the heart of his musical life ever since.

Michael Spyres and Steve Blier © Cherylynn Tsushima

Although he took piano lessons from an early age, Blier did not secure a place to study music at conservatory, and so instead, he learnt “on the job”, as it were, as a pianist for opera rehearsals and auditions, musicals and even cabaret. In the chapter “University without walls”, he describes how he extended his musical education by devouring reviews in High Fidelity and other publications and immersing himself in recordings and live performances. A stint at Juilliard’s Evening Division (now called Extension Division) gave him the opportunity to study with Martin Isepp (then head coach at Glyndebourne Opera) and work with a string of singers eager for experience.

Blier’s affection for the music, coupled with his good nature and flexibility towards colleagues, shines through every page of this wonderfully readable, witty and self-deprecating memoir. He takes us behind the scenes and beyond the notes to the day-to-day, less glamorous, but no less important, aspects of the musician’s life while also offering valuable insights into the artistic process and the minutiae of preparing music for performance. Through Blier, we meet some of the greatest singers of our time, but as normal people, as his colleagues, equal partners sharing the pleasure of making music together.

Joseph Parrish and Steve Blier | “Night in Tunisia” Dizzy Gillespie

In addition, there is fascinating detail about the creation nearly four decades ago of the New York Festival of Song (NYFOS), founded by Blier and fellow pianist Michael Barrett to deliver imaginative programmes that draw together rarely heard songs of all kinds, blurring the traditional distinctions between musical genres.

In the Memory Palace- Steve Blier and Andrew Garland

Alongside this, he gives an unflinching account of his lifelong battle with fascioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD), a rare inherited form of muscular dystrophy which could have ended his career or severely curtailed his career were it not for his stubborn determination and wry sense of humour.

The final chapter brings us right up to date when Blier describes how he coped with the lack of work during the Covid pandemic. With his typical flexibility, he made a virtue out of necessity and continued NYFOS through a series of online video concerts, and, resolving to “play the piano every day”, spent his time in lockdown playing everything from Bach to the blues.

He still performs, with some adjustments such as a pedal extender to allow for the limitations of his FSHD.

Throughout, one has the sense that Blier finds positivity, joy, and value in everything he does, with music providing the bedrock of his life, along with esteemed colleagues, friends, family, and his husband, Jim. Not only is this a fascinating insight into the world of the professional musician, but also a heartfelt affirmation of the joy music brings to performers and audiences alike.

“…mind, fantasy, and technique link arms, and the result is the music that has given me a sense of purpose for almost all my born days”. – Steven Blier