Keys Across America  

With more than 50 performances scheduled in over 30 states, Keys Across America is Mackenzie Melemed’s landmark recital project exploring nearly two centuries of American piano music in honor of the United States’ 250th anniversary. Keys Across America offers a vivid musical portrait of our nation, inviting audiences to hear American piano music not as a single style, but as a living conversation — one shaped by history, identity, imagination, and discovery. Melemed’s program includes “Buckaroo Holiday” from Rodeo by Aaron Copland, Ballade Op. 6 by Amy Beach, “Union” Concert Paraphrase on National Airs for Piano, Op. 48 by Louis-Moreau Gottschalk, as well as works by Arthur Foote, and Ned Rorem. Melemed is the recipient of the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant.

“This is the most interesting take on the recital program that I have seen in a long time.” — Emanuel Ax