As renowned pianist George Winston plays alone on a stage, his hands move independently from one another, left floating from key to key to create the bass line and right providing the bouncing melody. After nearly four decades of committed practice and performance as a solo musician, he’s come to realize that that path lines up directly with the way he naturally hears music.
“There are disadvantages,” he says. “You don’t have a singer, so it’s more abstract and indirect because it’s all solo and instrumental. It’s not quite as communicative directly as even a soloist singing. But that’s kind of just what it is. When I work on a song, I say, ‘Left hand does this part, and the right hand does that. Also, throw this in.’ It’s just how I think about it without thinking about it.”
Playing solo has also allowed Winston to develop his live performances to give audiences something new each time they see him while also letting him present his current artistic interests. Even within his two performance structures—the summer show and the winter show—he says about two-thirds of the season’s show will be different material each time.