Malcolm Bilson

He is the Frederick J. Whiton Professor of Music in Cornell University, Ithaca, New York Bilson is one of the foremost players and teachers of the fortepiano; this is the ancestor of the modern piano and was the instrument used in Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven's time.

He studied for a doctoral degree at the University of Illinois with Stanley Fletcher and Webster Aitken, obtaining his DMA in 1968.

Arguably the key event in Bilson's career was his first encounter with the fortepiano in 1969, which he narrated to Andrew Willis in a 2006 interview.

And as a matter of fact, he had just built such a piano, after Louis Dulcken, c. 1785, and he wanted to take it around to show at colleges and music schools.

[1]The career shift ultimately proved successful; Bilson developed a reputation as a fortepiano performer, gave concerts widely and was also invited to make recordings (see below).

Coordinated under the Westfield Center, with a grant from the Mellon Foundation, the competition and academy were held at Cornell University; 31 young musicians from all over the world competed for prize money totaling $13,500.

Bilson created a DVD, "Knowing the Score," which questions many of the basic concepts of musical performance taught in conservatories and music schools around the world, specifically, the lack of adherence to notated articulations and assumptions about the length of rhythmic values.

Bilson's DG Archiv recordings of the complete Mozart Concerti were a milestone.The main-belt asteroid 7387 Malbil, discovered 1982, is named in his honor.

Malcolm Bilson in a masterclass at the University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, in 2009.
A modern fortepiano built by Paul McNulty in imitation of a historical instrument by Anton Walter . The smaller size, smaller range, and lighter construction of the fortepiano, relative to the modern grand, can be seen.