Story, Liz

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Story, Liz

Story, Liz, American pianist and composer; b. Los Angeles, Oct. 28, 1956. She began playing piano at an early age, tackling Mozart’s 11th concerto at the age of 11; when she was in high school, her family moved to Germany, where she studied languages, philosophy, and poetry. On returning to the U.S., she studied at Hunter Coll. (1977) and the Juilliard School in N.Y. (1978–79); heard jazz pianist Bill Evans, and recognized her own interest in improvisation. She began studying with Sanford Gold, returning to Los Angeles to study at the Univ. of Calif, and at the Dick Grove Music Workshops (1980–81). Her compositions are in reality new-age improvisations with impassioned gestures; among her recordings are Solid Colors (1982), Unaccountable Effect (1985), Part of Fortune (1986), Escape of the Circus Ponies (1990), My Foolish Heart (1992), The Gift (1994), Liz Story (1996), and 17 Seconds to Anywhere (1998).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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