“A splendid pianist—refined, searching and expressive, and her playing is loaded with insight and interpretative detail.”
The Washington Post
I am a pianist, pedagogue, and scholar, who aims to guide and inspire the next generation of musicians. I have performed and led workshops and master classes in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, including a New York debut recital at Carnegie Hall (Weill Recit
al Hall) in May 2004, which was favorably reviewed in The New York Concert Review. I am a native of Portugal and have devoted the last three decades to exploring and unearthing the music of Portuguese and Brazilian composers, especially that of Francisco Mignone. I am in the forefront of presenting Mignone’s piano music, and my performances, especially of his Valsas brasileiras (Brazilian Waltzes), have been widely acclaimed. Volume Two was released in 2007, and of both discs, the widow of the composer, Maria Josephina Mignone, stated: “It was very emotional to hear pianist Alexandra Mascolo-David perform the Valsas Brasileiras of my husband Francisco Mignone. Alexandra interprets Mignone with great sensitiveness, wonderful taste, and full knowledge of his compositional legacy. Undoubtedly, her musical contribution is important, of enormous beauty, possessing both a captivating sonority and a complete affinity with the romantic atmosphere of the waltzes.”
My continuing research on Mignone’s music earned a Research Excellence Grant from Central Michigan University to record Mignone’s Fantasias Brasileiras (Brazilian Fantasies) for piano and orchestra with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, under Maestro Raymond Harvey, for the White Pine Music recording label in a 2010 release. I am a founding member of the vocal piano duo Yara Ensemble (www.yaraensemble.com), with acclaimed mezzo-soprano Sarah Stone, stage director Annette Thornton, and media artist Eric Limarenko. The ensemble is devoted to showcasing music of the Iberian Peninsula, Latin America, and that of living composers. Yara Ensemble performances weave music, movement, and art into an intimate and accessible narrative journey designed for 21st century audiences. Our goal is to create an immersive performance experience where the audience is engaged in the act of discovery. Entertaining while educating is at the core of the ensemble's mission. In addition to performing traditional solo and chamber literature, I have championed works by numerous contemporary composers, especially those of the late David Maslanka. My performance in Maslanka’s “Piano Concerto No. 1 for Piano, Winds and Percussion” released by Albany Records in 2005 received accolades from the American Record Guide. I also co-commissioned Maslanka’s “Piano Concerto No. 3 for Piano and Wind Symphony,” as part of a consortium of universities. The world premiere of this work took place at Central Michigan University (CMU) in February 2017, with the composer in attendance, 6 months prior to his untimely death. I am a sought out and devoted teacher. American and international pianists attend Central Michigan University in order to study under my guidance. Students of mine have won prizes in auditions and competitions and consistently achieve success in their career paths. I am also an active participant in the movement devoted to performance anxiety management. My contributions to this cause include the development and implementation of a successful performance anxiety management course at CMU, as well as presenting papers at national and international conferences and offering lectures and workshops on the subject throughout the U.S. Another of my areas of interest has been that of how to teach effortless and injury-less piano technique. My own research and knowledge, coupled with private lessons with Edna Golandsky and Joseph Gurt on the Dorothy Taubman approach to piano technique, led Alexandra to create and develop her own method of building technical skills in a methodical and systematic way, whilst preventing students from incurring piano-related injuries, despite assiduous practice. I have taught at the Interlochen Arts camp, at Iowa State University, and currently am Professor of Piano at Central Michigan University. I am the ecstatic survivor of an unruptured brain aneurysm craniotomy (2010). Ever since my miraculous recovery, I have lectured throughout the U.S. on the vital role that music played in my full rehabilitation. After many months of motor, occupational and some speech therapies, I feel incredibly fortunate to have recovered my ability to play the piano and to have been given a renewed opportunity at life. I hold a piano diploma from the Oporto Conservatory of Music, Portugal, and the doctor of musical arts in piano from the University of Kansas, where my teacher was Portuguese pianist Sequeira Costa. I am the recipient of numerous prizes and awards in the music field. For additional information regarding my life, career and recordings, please visit the following Internet address: www.mascolodavid.com and www.Yaraensemble.com.
