reprinted from 06/24/2005 Issue of TimeOFF (of "The Princeton Packet")

FRESHLY MINTED

by Susan Van Dongen

Pianist Marvin Rosen will perform 'Classical Discoveries' from around the world.
   It's a combination public and global service that Marvin Rosen does for contemporary music.
   As the longtime host of WPRB 103.3 FM's Classical Discoveries, broadcast from 6 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, Mr. Rosen opens our ears locally to living composers on the other side of the world.
   With respect to Beethoven and Brahms, Mr. Rosen — a classical pianist, musicologist and music teacher — prefers to give airplay to folks like Kamalia Ali-zadeh from Azerbaijian, Yoichi Togawa of Japan and New Zealander Gareth Farr. On June 15, he celebrated eight years of Classical Discoveries, and he hopes to do many more. Thanks to a truly global connection — the Internet — new works by living composers just keep pouring into Mr. Rosen's collection and find their way onto the air.
   "My mission is to expose beautiful, little-known 20th- and 21st-century music to audiences through the radio program, as well as performances, lectures and teaching," he says. "So much of the music is accessible to the traditional concert-going audience. It's not difficult to listen to. There's a wealth of sounds out there."
   Because he is an instrumentalist, the creators often offer their music up for performance, as well. With all this wealth of repertoire, Mr. Rosen tries to do a concert every year showcasing these new talents. On July 7, he's planned an internationally flavored solo recital at Bristol Chapel on the campus of Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton. Titled The Ink is Still Wet, the concert is entirely devoted to music from the last 10 years by contemporary composers.
   The Ink is Still Wet was originally scheduled for March, but was postponed to the July date for personal reasons. Even in the last few months, Mr. Rosen has been showered with offers from his global friends in music — such as Boudewijn Buckinx from Belgium — to write works expressly for him. More locally, South Jersey-based composer Frank James Staneck wrote a couple of pieces for the concert. The ink will indeed be wet for the Staneck compositions, which Mr. Rosen just received in mid-June.
   "On May 25, I got a call from Frank who said he had some new pieces he was writing for me," Mr. Rosen says. "He's the American chairperson of the Ralph Vaughan Williams society and we've become good friends through the radio show. He's contributed two short 'impressions,' which he says were inspired by Alan Hohvaness works he heard me play."
   Later that very day, Mr. Rosen's father passed away after a lingering illness.
   "So the pieces were dedicated to me, but they're in memory of my father," Mr. Rosen says. "In fact, the whole concert will be done for my father."
   Another family connection is his wife, Beata, who puts together and posts Classical Discoveries meticulous Web site. Perhaps because she is from Eastern Europe, Mr. Rosen gives artists from that part of the world quite a bit of airplay.
   "There are so many musicians and composers there, writing beautiful, expressive music and it's sad because people don't even know it exists," he says. "I'm always checking various Web sites and music information centers from Estonia, Slovakia, wherever — I'm constantly reading about new composers.
   "I purchase a lot of material from the Internet," he continues. "In fact, I'm waiting for some new music I ordered from the Czech Republic. I'll go through, examine and listen to the music and get a number of things I think are worthwhile, then I'll put them on the air."
   To complete the circle, the composers get online, see their names on the Classical Discoveries playlist, then contact Mr. Rosen.
   "They write and say, 'Thank you for playing my works, I see you're also a pianist interested in new music. I've written some pieces — perhaps you would be interested?'" he says. "(Beata) posts detailed links for the composers, their Web sites and places where you can find their works. I've even heard from composers that they've heard from my listeners. The Internet has been so valuable. There are many, many recordings I've been able to get a hold of because of it."
   Mr. Rosen has a degree in music and music education from The College of New Jersey (then Trenton State College), a master's in musicology from the Manhattan School of Music and a doctorate in music education from Teachers College, Columbia University. His teachers have included Shirley Batchelor and Karl Ulrich Schnabel.
   From 1979 to 1982 he was a piano pedagogy student, then a staff member at the New School for Music Study in Kingston.
   He's given numerous recitals and lecture/recitals in Princeton, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, D.C. and Chicago. In 2000, he performed a concert of works by Alan Hovhaness, one of his musical heroes. In addition, Mr. Rosen presented a lecture/recital on American music at the Karlowicz Music School in Katowice, Poland, and a recital at the Szustra Palace in Warsaw.
   He's mostly known, however, for his dedication to Classical Discoveries and his teaching at Westminster Conservatory, where the students are especially energized by the works of living composers from around the world.
   "Experiencing the music of all these countries is so valuable, especially right now," Mr. Rosen says. "It's an exciting time for music. There's so much talent from countries that don't get exposure here in the U.S. — even Iraq. Music really is a universal language and a way to promote understanding of each other."

The Ink is Still Wet, a solo piano recital by Marvin Rosen, will be performed at Bristol Chapel, Westminster Choir College of Rider University, 101 Walnut Lane, Princeton, July 7, 7:30 p.m. Free admission/free-will offering. For information, call (609) 921-2663.

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