Pianists who can grasp and master the particular challenges of orchestral piano playing are uncommon.  Stellar soloists and even accomplished chamber musicians often have difficulty with the very unique ensemble skills that are required. Furthermore, everything an orchestral pianist plays is a solo, making the position a unique nexus point between finely honed ensemble skills and soloistic virtuosity.

Many pianists are unused to following a conductor's beat patterns, particularly when they can change so dramatically from one music director to the next.  

Another challenge is the difference in sound production between the piano and  the other instruments in the orchestra - the piano produces immediate and instantaneous sound, while wind and string instruments have more cushion and delay to the beginning of their sound, as the breath or the bow connect with the air column or string. These differences in sound production result in necessary adjustments on the part of the orchestral pianist, so as to play in perfect synchronicity with the ensemble.

Another issue is distance: since light travels faster than sound, and the piano is normally placed physically in the back of the orchestra, playing directly with the beat one sees can cause a pianist to sound ahead of the other instruments. All of these issues combine to create a musical puzzle that is always different and always has a different solution. 

Furthermore, pianists do not train for these challenges. Since any given orchestra generally has need for only one pianist, most don’t even consider orchestral playing in the constellation of activities they might pursue as a professional musician. I was fortunate to discover, about ten years ago, that I have a particular knack for this kind of adaptive, flexible, connective playing. Marin Alsop's first day on the job at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra was my first as well. The challenge has been remarkably rewarding.

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Ms. Johnson is the Resident Pianist of the Baltimore Symphony. She has been performing with the ensemble regularly since September 2007, when she played her first concert with the symphony under the baton of Maestra Marin Alsop. She continues on in her position now, as the BSO navigates the first season under new Music Director Jonathon Heyward. She has collaborated extensively in orchestral performances with Yo Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Midori, Leila Josefowicz, Joshua Bell, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Pinchas Zukerman, the St. Lawrence String Quartet and has performed with the orchestra on 5 commercial recordings released by the symphony:

1. Leonard Bernstein's Mass, which was nominated for a Grammy award.  Ms. Johnson played principal keyboard and organ on this recording.  Released 2009, Naxos label.

2. Mark O'Connor's Americana Symphony. Released 2008 on O'Connor's private label.

3. Jean-Yves Thibaudet plays Gershwin Concertos with the Baltimore Symphony. Ms. Johnson played orchestra piano in the Concerto in F.  Released April 2010, Decca label.

4. Bartok, Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta.  Released 2012, Naxos label.

5. Bernstein Symphonies #1 and 2.  Ms. Johnson played piano on Symphony No. 1.  Released 2016, Naxos label.

 

Classical music hallows its past. We cherish our heritage, revere the great composers who founded and fostered our tradition, and consequently create the impression that we function as a museum that presents only old works by composers who have been gone from us for hundreds of years. In fact, classical music is alive and teeming with exciting music that represents our time. This music of now has diverged quite far, in many cases, from the style of the old beloved masters, and for some performers it lies outside their comfort zone. Since my early teens when I was first exposed to freshly composed works, I have been attracted to and comfortable in this medium. Rather than connecting with a text, the performance of new music offers a performer the opportunity to connect directly with its author, to receive suggestions and feedback straight from the horse's mouth, to learn the composer's intentions from the source. How many times do musicians long for the opportunity to ask Beethoven a question about tempo, or Bach a question about articulation? In the world of new music, all such questions can be answered.

My work as a performer of new music connects me not just to individual composers but to the musical and artistic landscape of my society as an integral and vibrant member of its arts community.

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Ms. Johnson has performed, commissioned, and recorded new music for the 17 years, as a member of the Towson New Music Ensemble, in residence at Towson University, and  Verge Ensemble, the oldest running contemporary music group in Washington D.C. She has collaborated on five recordings featuring contemporary classical music compositions:

1. Premiering Greg Bullen’s Piano Concerto, The Water is Wide, with the Adesso Chamber Orchestra, BMA, 2023.

2. Premiering Greg Bullen’s Violin Sonata at the BMA in 2023 with Netanel Draiblate.

3. Complete Flute Music of George Rochberg, released in March 2015 on American Classics (Ms. Johnson performed Rochberg's Between Two Worlds, for flute and piano with Christina Jennings, flute)

4. Music of Jeffrey Mumford, released in January 2014 on Albany Records (Ms. Johnson commissioned and performed Mumford's evolving romance for flute and piano with Christina Jennings, flute)

5. New Paths: Music of composer Lawrence Moss, released in November 2011 on Innova Recordings (Ms. Johnson performed the song cycle From the Chinese with soprano Kathryn Hearden)

6. Mark O'Connor's American Symphony, self-released in 2008 by Mark O'Connor (Ms. Johnson performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestra Marin Alsop)

7. Night Music by Karen Amrhein, self-released in 2008 by Karen Amrhein (Ms. Johnson performed Amrhein's solo set Dance Card)