Alum Impresses, Advocates Modern Music

Few pianists dare attempt French composer Olivier Messiaen’s monumental “Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant Jésus.” Even fewer have the additional distinction of graduating summa cum laude from Harvard with a degree in mathematics.

But not only has Christopher P. Taylor ’92 done both, he has also emerged as one of the great young American pianists, garnering several major awards and considerable attention for his masterful approach to contemporary music. Taylor gained recent acclaim for his performance of “Vingt Regards,” which has been called some of the most complex and difficult music ever written for piano.

Messiaen’s 1944 expression of faith fluctuates from dissonant cluster chords, to intricate meters based on Hindu and Greek rhythms, to sleepy chant-like melodies, to exuberant bird calls. Taylor played the complete 176-page score from memory at Columbia University’s Miller Theater to glowing praise for his precise and tender interpretation.

Although all 20 movements of “Vingt Regards” are rarely played together at one time, famous pianist Peter Serkin once performed the complete work 25 times on a tour in 1974-5 after four years of intensive study. By contrast, Taylor knew only a few of the 20 “Regards” a year before his concert and was still memorizing weeks before.

He plans to play it at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. next year.

Taylor’s long list of accolades includes the 1990 Gilmore Young Artists Award, a scholarship for exceptionally promising American pianists aged 22 or younger. The pianist—known as “Kit” to his friends—also received a bronze medal in 1993 at the renowned Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, and won the William Kapell International Piano Competition. In 2000 he was nominated for a fellowship by the American Pianists Association.

Taylor stands out not only for his meticulous technique, but also for his thought and invention.

Although Taylor has done impressive work with Romantic music, the 33-year-old artist is better known for his unconventional programming and advocacy of late 20th century music—although he will modestly tell you that this is because fewer pianists choose to play it.

Taylor says he does not usually perform “19th century Romantic blockbusters,” but prefers pieces “off the beaten track” like the Rubenstein concerto in D minor that he is currently studying.

As The Washington Post put it, “Taylor should be watched. He may be one of the most impressive young pianists on the horizon today.”

Fred Sherry, a cellist who hired Taylor for the recent “A Great Day in New York,” music festival, says Taylor’s mind and playing are equally impressive.

“when you talk to him, you feel that things are percolating inside his head, but when he plays, that all goes away and his attention is totally focused,” Sherry says. “Whatever he brings to bear goes into the music.”

And there is no doubt that Taylor brings a lot to bear.

His early fascination with Beethoven drew him to the piano by the age of seven when he studied piano with Julia Bees in Boulder, Colorado. He gave his first solo recital at the young age of 10.

While at Harvard, he studied piano with Russell Sherman, biking to Lexington each week for hours of training.

The Winthrop House resident used his electives to take music classes, yet also managed to study Arabic, Japanese and ancient Greek and to form a trio that played chamber music.

The year after graduation, Taylor became the first American to reach the finals of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition since 1981.

The contest, held every four years, pits the top 30 pianists under the age of 32 in the world against each other in a “rigorous and comprehensive examination of every facet of each contestant’s musicianship and technical proficiency.” Twelve semifinalists are chosen to play new works and chamber music, and six finalists perform two concerti with an orchestra, before the winners are awarded with cash and concert engagements.

The last round of the 1993 competition was dominated by Rachmoninoff concertos, but Taylor impressed the judges with his interpretations of the Brahms concerto in B-flat major and Bach’s concerto in d minor, and received wide acclaim for the resulting recording. He saved Rachmaninoff for an encore, when he played the “Etude-Tableau.”

Taylor’s cerebral interests also set him apart from the crowd.

After graduating from Harvard, he has kept abreast of mathematical issues, and he says he dabbles in philosophy and computer programming.

Although he says he enjoys composing, time has always been the factor limiting Taylor’s growth as a composer. He has produced mainly music for the piano, as well as some orchestral music, but is currently concentrating mainly on performing and teaching.

Though Taylor says he feels that competitions were helpful in jump-starting his career, he does not plan to enter any more in the future. During the years following the Van Cliburn, he performed all over the country before getting his Masters in teaching at the New England Conservatory of Music. He believes teaching is an important part of being a musician.

For the past few years, Taylor has been an assistant professor of piano at the University of Wisconsin.

He has played with the New York Philharmonic, the Buffalo, Los Angeles and Seoul Philharmonics, the National Symphony, the Atlanta, Houston, St. Louis, and Pacific Symphonies, among various others in the U.S. and abroad. He was recently honored with the Avery Fisher Career Grant, and currently records for the Jonathan Digital label.

Right now Taylor is learning pieces by Mozart and Gershwin, as well as keeping up his already-impressive repertoire in anticipation of upcoming concerts. He has been married to his wife, Denise, for almost ten years, and the couple is expecting a second child this spring.

According to Taylor, one of the best things about being a pianist is that one never runs out of pieces to play. He loves to encounter new challenges, and the “rush of learning new notes.” Although his repertoire has expanded greatly during his career, Beethoven remains central to it. Taylor has set a personal goal of learning all 32 Beethoven sonatas—and he has just eight to go.

—Staff writer Isabelle B. Bolton can be reached at ibolton@fas.harvard.edu.