In our recent interview, Piano Spheres core artist Thomas Kotcheff explained that the foundation of the Los Angeles-based presenting organization has always been to “foster new works, new performances, and generally a different approach to programming.” With this approach baked into the group’s ethos from day one, it should come as no surprise that Piano Spheres’ 30th anniversary concert season is an exceptionally inspiring portrait of the piano and a vision for its future.
Founded in 1994 by Leonard Stein, Gloria Cheng, Vicki Ray, Mark Robson, and the late Susan Svrček, Piano Spheres has offered three decades of pianistic leadership and presented over 1,000 new works for the instrument. Piano Spheres is uniquely artist-led; in addition to their roster of core artists, the organization also features a range of talented performers through their Emerging Artist Series, Leonard Stein Artist Residency, and Jazz Series.
To mark their 30th anniversary, Piano Spheres launched an ambitious “30 for 30” commissioning project to power a season-long marathon of newly commissioned works ranging from local community perspectives to rich international dialogue. Eight of the 30 pieces were commissioned by HOCKET, the longstanding project of pianist-composers Kotcheff and Sarah Gibson aimed at expanding the definition of a piano duo.
With a long history of fostering strong relationships, HOCKET launched their most ambitious project to date: a large-scale Dadaist puppet show accompanied by Satie’s complete Piano Music for Four Hands. HOCKET commissioned companion pieces for each movement and only asked that the composers use the same title in their work. In the spirit of Piano Spheres’ unconventional approaches—which extends to programming and audience experiences—Thomas says they “wanted the audience to not have the connection be over-explained.”
Jihyun Kim — Photo by Yuna Roh
This sense of experimentation also guides Jihyun Kim, one of the composers commissioned on the Satie project, who relished the freedom to write any kind of piece. “I was born and raised in South Korea, but I never actually wrote pieces that use Korean myth,” she said in our interview. “That’s something that I’ve been avoiding for a very, very long time… when Thomas approached me, it was right at that moment when I was thinking that it’s finally time for me to try.” Drawing from a childhood experience of Gut, a Korean rite with vibrant colors and strong sounds, Kim has imagined how this commission could influence her own piano performance.
It was a tragic shock to the Piano Spheres and LA new music community when Sarah Gibson passed away in July 2024. In all of my conversations with Piano Spheres artists, Gibson was particularly noted by her colleagues as a mentor and community-builder. Although all commissioning contracts were honored after her passing, the Satie performance was postponed and Piano Spheres will instead close its season with a deeply personal memorial concert that reflects their community-centered mission. For Kotcheff, that means premiering The Pepper Tent, a piece he commissioned from Gibson nearly a decade ago but never performed.
The memorial concert is one tribute, but Gibson’s passing reveals the varied ways a creative community responds to loss. Veronika Krausas, an LA-based Canadian composer and one of the HOCKET commissionees, is reconsidering her companion piece for Satie’s Manière de commencement (Manner of beginning). “I was originally imagining a slightly choreographed/theatrical work where the pianists move around each other, switching positions,” she said via email. “Since Sarah’s passing, I want to start (comménce) again and reimagine something reflective of her passing … maybe Manière de continuer (Manner of continuing) or de finir (finishing) or de se souvenir (remembering).”
Veronika Krausas — Photo by James Jacobson
Similarly, Celka Ojakangas is considering revising or even restarting her En plus (in addition). Her music is usually fun and playful, using humor to guide listeners through more serious topics. The surprising qualities of her music are exactly what Gibson and Kotcheff enjoyed, but Ojakangas shared on our conversation that she wants to go back and be very thoughtful about the writing process.
“30 for 30” has provided many composers with the chance to reflect on the crucial role Piano Spheres has played for both established pianists and students looking ahead to their futures. In that spirit, Piano Spheres Founder and Emeritus Artist Mark Robson commissioned Hannah Rice, who is studying composition at USC, for his recital “Spielfreude” (the joy of playing). “This perfectly encapsulates where I feel piano composition is going for me,” Rice said over email. “I AM” is a musical meditation based on three simple notes derived from Helen Reddy’s song “I Am Woman,” and Rice hopes that the piece offers the audience the time to feel, breathe, and heal.
While Piano Spheres is deeply rooted in LA, its influence extends far beyond. Their 2024-25 Leonard Stein Resident Artist, Colombian-American pianist Dr. Andrés Jaramillo, specializes in the performance of contemporary Latin American music. For his Piano Spheres concert, he commissioned Michigan-based composer Paola Márquez to write performance études influenced by her Colombian heritage. “Music unites people from all over the world,” Paola noted in our video interview, “and I have a background in psychology and social work. I did research about what psychology calls the stages of immigrants… so we decided that every étude is going to be a stage of the mind.” The commission is already changing canonical repertoire: Dr. Jaramillo’s students are asking to include the commission in their recitals. “We have a space through Piano Spheres and its mission to give voice to a lot of realities that are out there,” Márquez says. “It’s beautiful because this commission for the Piano Spheres community is creating impact.”
Paola Márquez — Courtesy of artist
On the same program is Josh Rodriguez’s Luz Entre Aguas (“light amidst the waters”), a “multi-layered image of the life and journey of the immigrant.” Rodriguez and Jaramillo share a commitment to including more Latin American composers in classical concert music, and Rodriguez also sees Luz Entre Aguas as an apt description for immigrants. “Upon making the dangerous journey to a new land, they will become a positive force for good in the new land they call home,” he writes via email. The two movements present the emotions of the immigrant journey through percussive, dance-like, and canonical writing.
Piano Spheres’ mission to “enlarge the piano repertoire by commissioning new works” seems straightforward, but New Mexico-based composer José-Luis Hurtado insists that it’s not so simple. Even with his concert-pianist knowledge, the sheer range of piano repertoire can be overwhelming. When composing Memories of 490 West End for piano and fixed media, Hurtado took inspiration from his teacher Mario Davidovsky, an Argentine-American composer and early pioneer of electroacoustic music. “I do really believe that there are still aspects of the piano that we haven’t exploited yet, aspects related to ‘traditional piano playing’ and not necessarily extended techniques,” he shared over email, so his music eschews extended techniques to focus on energy, direction, density, contour, and dynamics.
Mikhail Johnson, a Wisconsin-based composer commissioned by HOCKET, is similarly hopeful for the future of piano repertoire. Not only because it is an expansive treasure trove, but more importantly because “we are having more amazing works representing many cultures and voices that were once excluded from the repertoire,” he writes over email. “Furthermore, the scholarly works and performance practices wrought from these works will fortify a pianist’s way of playing and provide a more well-rounded approach to the ways the piano can speak…properly amplifying underrepresented voices gives a true representation of the stories and ideas that exist in the greater world around us.”
Mikhail Johnson — Photo by Alvin Connor
Having commissioned 133 works in 10 years through HOCKET, Kotcheff understands the commissioning process from all angles. “There’s so much that goes into it that’s nothing to do with what [composers] are up to and their music,” he said. For composers seeking commissions, Kotcheff offers veteran advice from his work with Gibson. “We need a point of contact to you, whether social media, recordings, in concert. Sarah and I just loved music, seeing what’s going on, [being] inspired by our colleagues and friends.”
When Kotcheff looks to the future of Piano Spheres, he hopes that each composer and pianist preserves the spark that makes their work unique. Josh Rodriguez agrees: the piano is “an expansive and flexible canvas on which people from vastly different cultures and musical backgrounds can create,” he writes. “So much great music has been written for piano, yet just when it seems that its limits have been reached, someone comes along to reveal new previously untapped possibilities.”
Piano Spheres has created a special ecosystem and laid the groundwork for another 30 years through commissions and adventurous, artist-led programming. Propelled by a new multi-year grant by the Perenchio Foundation in LA, they will continue their mission of supporting artists in their quest to treasure and expand piano performance.
The Sarah Gibson Foundation is established to develop the next generation of musical voices through financial assistance, mentorship, and professional opportunities. To contribute to the future of music through college scholarships, professional mentoring, and new commissions and performances, visit https://www.sarahgibsonfoundation.org.
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