Pianist Kristín Jónína Taylor dives deep into the lyrical, evocative, and hauntingly beautiful works of three leading composers and educators from the Midwest United States on MIDWEST PIANO SONATAS. These profound spectrums of musicality and feeling are conveyed with stunning clarity by Taylor, an award-winning pianist lauded for her mesmerizing performances of nuance and depth.
Today, Kristín is our featured artist in the “Inside Story,” a blog series exploring the inner workings and personalities of our composers and performers. Read on to learn about her passions for family, baking, and being a mentor, and her discovery of the book in her family home that kick started her musical journey…
What have been your biggest inspirations on your musical journey?
Every piano teacher or professor I’ve had during my musical journey seemed to arrive at exactly the correct moment in time to take me to a new level of understanding of the music that I was learning. I also remember attending a performance of a Rachmaninoff concerto by Ruth Laredo with the Kansas City Philharmonic when I was quite young, and I believe seeing and hearing a strong woman giving such an incredible performance was formative for me. And most certainly, my parents had a very important presence in my life with their constant encouragement towards excellence, curiosity, determination, and hope.
Tell us about your first performance.
I believe I was 4 years old when I gave my first public performance. It was at a Baldwin Music store piano showroom in my hometown of Kansas City MO. I wore a pink dress with many ruffles and embroidered daisies all over.
What emotions do you hope listeners will experience after hearing your work?
This recording is meant to showcase different viewpoints of composers from the Midwestern United States. The storyline of Mike McFerron’s sonata is a powerful social comment from the point of view of the parents of children who lost their lives in the Sandy Hook shootings, but I hope it will encourage more constructive conversation around the issue of gun violence in the United States instead of the brick wall we seem to not overcome. The Baker and Stanley sonatas are equally powerful in their own different ways.
What were your first musical experiences?
My father’s upright piano was in the family room of our house, and there are photos of me as a baby reaching up and trying notes on the piano. When I was 3, I found a primer-level method book on the piano and started paging through it. I had started to read words by that point, but I did ask my mother for help figuring out where Middle C was on the piano itself. She also showed me how the notes went up and down on the page and how that compared to the notes going up and down on the piano keyboard. Shortly thereafter, I had the whole book memorized, words and music.
What are your passions beyond music?
One of my true joys in life are my students and serving as a mentor in their musical journey. I also love embroidery work, which I consider to be how I create visual art as a different artistic outlet. For some reason, I seem to be particularly good at baking. But, unquestionably, the most important passion and responsibility of all in my life is raising my young son together with my husband and enjoying life through my son’s eyes and perspective.
Dr. Kristín Jónína Taylor is an Icelandic-American pianist who has been enthusiastically received for her multitude of performances of Nordic piano works, including the North American premiere of Jón Nordal’s Piano Concerto in 2003 and programs by invitation in Washington DC for the Ambassador of Iceland and President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir. She has performed widely in the United States as well as in Iceland, France, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Sweden, Austria, Serbia, Canada, Latvia, and Lithuania.
