I know this is last minute, but if you're in New York, do everything you can to get to hear pianists Stephen Gosling and Blair McMillen together, this Thursday and Friday nights. They loom large on the New York new music scene, pretty much the same way that people like the the late Robert Miller and Paul Jacobs did thirty-plus years ago, not to mention Ursula Oppens and Gilbert Kalish, who thankfully are still with us and still playing great.

Gosling originally hails from Sheffield, but has been in New York since 1989. He first came to my attention in the mid-1990s while still a Juilliard Masters' candidate, and he must have been one of the few back then to program Sorabji in a student recital. His reputation for tossing off Godowsky/Chopin etudes and the piano part of Boulez' Flute Sonatine from memory turned out to be true. He often can be heard in chamber and guest soloist contexts where difficult new music lives, such as the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Continuum, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Ensemble Sospeso, Speculum Musicae and the Da Capo Chamber Players.

McMillen's credentials mirror Gosling's to a tee although he's been known to serve up so-called "standard rep" on disc and in concert (he recorded an obscure yet beautiful disc encompassing Copland, Debussy, Scriabin and Liszt). A few years back he played a memorable recital at Columbia University's Miller Theatre that juxtaposed solo piano works by Berio and Scelsi, and also gave one of the most assured renditions I've ever heard of the piano part in the Brahms Quintet.

While Gosling and McMillen don't team up often, sparks fly when they do, and they bring real energy and passion to their collaborations. They're playing the same program Thursday and Friday nights June 24 and June 25 at Faust Harrison Pianos, 205 West 58th Street at 8:00 PM. The program is as follows: Hallelujah Junction by John Adams, Chiaroscuro by John Corigliano, Kilter by Mary Ellen Childs, Subway by Amanda Harberg, Dilukkenjon by Doug Opel, the world premiere of Deep Blue Ocean by Robert Paterson and Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues by Frederic Rzewski.

Seating is limited. I think it best to order tickets online here:
www.americanmodernensemble.org to guarantee seats. I'll be attending on Thursday night. Hope to see you.