A Celebration of Healing Tour

Excerpts from Haskell Small playing the Diabelli Variations live in Philly on Nov 4, 2023:

Small had enjoyed an accomplished career which was suddenly ground to a halt. He received his musical training at the San Francisco Conservatory and Carnegie-Mellon University, studying piano with Leon Fleisher and William Masselos, and composition with Vincent Persichetti and Roland  Leich. A faculty member and former Piano Department Chair of the Washington (DC) Conservatory of Music, his international performance career included engagements at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Spoleto USA, and a nationally-broadcast PBS special. How could he keep this all going without the use of his left hand?

Since his stroke, Mr. Small has used his rehabilitation journey as a creative muse. Unwilling to stay away from music, he began arranging classical masterworks for the right hand alone. He also returned to composing his own works, creating a Diary of a Stroke: The Adventures of Herb and Pete (playful nicknames for his paralyzed hand and foot). In April of 2022, less than 14 months after his stroke, he resumed presenting live and virtual performances.

This "comeback" was featured in The Washington Post by Classical Critic Michael Andor Brodeur in After a debilitating stroke, a pianist feels his way back to music (April 8, 2022).

Filmmaker Christopher McGuinness has also been following Small’s recovery and will release a documentary, Small Steps, about his inspiring story in 2024. Watch the official trailer below.

Today Small’s rehabilitation has further progressed and he has returned to playing with full use of both hands. To celebrate his journey, Small has launched a national Celebration of Healing Tour, where he will fulfill his life-long dream of performing Beethoven’s immensely difficult and sublime Diabelli Variations as well as other favorites from his repertoire.

Haskell invites you to join him in this celebration…