The maestro of method actors

Hershey Felder doesn't just perform classical music, he gets into character as the composers.

By Gloria Goodale | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

from the July 13, 2007 edition

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Westwood, Calif. - Inside the dark, empty Geffen Theater, a diminutive figure onstage holds court with a Steinway concert grand piano, speaking in a German accent to an imaginary audience. A voice from the front row interrupts him. "We need to get back to the music before now!" The pianist smiles, brushes back his tousled, shoulder length hair and breaks into a few bars of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata."

Pianist/actor Hershey Felder is hard at work with his director, Joel Zwick, on the final chapter of an ambitious composition more than a decade in the making: his "Composer's Sonata." For this trilogy of one-man shows, the maestro brings to life three titans of classical music – Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin, and George Gershwin – by donning period costumes, wigs, and even accents.

He is currently performing "Gershwin Alone," here at the Geffen Theater and will present "Monsieur Chopin" in August. Felder plans to première the final movement, "Beethoven, As I Knew Him," in San Diego next year.

Each of the movements in "Sonata" consists of nearly nonstop music wrapped around a dramatic narrative.

"Gershwin" recounts a life of triumph and heartache, most notably the failure of what the composer hoped would be a "new, American opera," "Porgy and Bess." The evening climaxes with a virtuosic performance of "Rhapsody in Blue," then winds down with a round of audience participation.

"Chopin," on the other hand, offers what might have been an afternoon piano lesson from the Polish teacher, moving through many of the famous waltzes, preludes, and polonaises, including the "Militaire" and "Heroique."

For "Beethoven," he tackles a number of the "chestnut" works, such as the "Moonlight" and "Pathetique" sonatas, while exploring the man's many professional and personal challenges.

Throughout all three works, Felder plays and profiles each composer's best-known work. That's what the audience expects. But more important, he says, the classic playlist is the best avenue into the hearts and souls of these composers.

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