A Voice of Love
Dear friends, Dante writes of “that Love which moves the Sun and other stars”. This Love, I have found in music, and as composer, pianist, tenor, and teacher, am moved to share it.
For many years I did so as pianist of the Orfeo Duo and through a concert series in New York City, “What a Neighborhood!”; I now share this Love from the depths of the Thai countryside, from land where it shines forth in trees and flowers.
Castalia
In a weekly letter, Castalia, I offer song and lyric pieces — live recordings of Lieder, Scottish song, songs-without-words… Castalia has music at its heart, but is, like Wagner’s operas, a Gesamtkunstwerk, a total work of art, reaching out in word and image as well to the marriage of Earth and Heaven, of Time and Eternity.
Music as a Path
I also coach musicians online, guiding composers and performers alike to deeper connection with the Muse. This is a journey of the whole person, music as a path — a journey which often involves the study of techniques (harmony, counterpoint, analysis…) but reaches far beyond technique.
Some of My Life Story
I was educated at home and, as a double major in composition and piano, at the Curtis Institute and Mannes College, where my teachers included Richard Goode (piano), David Loeb and Robert Cuckson (composition), and for music theory, Edward Aldwell and Carl Schachter. I was also deeply marked by lessons with Mieczyslaw Horszowski.
Crucial for me was the chance to study Heinrich Schenker’s approach to music theory — a romantic, Platonist approach which now is at the heart of my work. It is for me, not only a key to music, but to life. Composition is variation — the melodies of our lives, variations on eternal themes.
As a vessel of eternal truth, music has a word for everyone. I have spread this word widely, not only giving concerts but leading composition workshops; coaching singers, composers, and pianists; and teaching courses in music theory, both at Mannes College and schools here in Thailand.
Contact me
(66) 096.282.1428
My free weekly letter: http://ishmaelwallace.substack.com
Ishmael Wallace 