PETER DONOHOE
in conversation
with R.A. Shapp
I caught up with Peter Donohoe at his U.K. home where he was busy practicing. Our conversation, naturally, focused on his return to the stage at the Kimmel Center on Friday, January 3, with Valentin Radu and the Ama Deus Ensemble for a program of well-known and lesser-known piano works by George Gershwin, and the Maurice Ravel Piano Concerto in G Major. It was the latter work upon which our conversation focused.
RAS: Peter, in preparing for our conversation I read up a bit on the Gershwin miniatures you will perform, and especially on Ravel and his G-Major Concerto. I came across a quote, reputedly by Ravel, that I think can begin this interview for the VoxAmaDeus E-Newsletter: “The most captivating part of jazz is its rich and diverting rhythm. …Jazz is a very rich and vital source of inspiration for modern composers and I am astonished that so few Americans are influenced by it.”