A Conversation with Michael Feinstein on the Enduring Appeal of Popular Music
For aficionados of the Great American Songbook, Michael Feinstein needs no introduction. The man wears many hats—pianist, singer, arranger, songwriter, author, conductor, educator, nightclub owner, archivist, and historian all with an eye on presenting and preserving popular music from the first half of the 20th Century. His talent and passion have earned him a global following and scores of accolades including multiple Grammy and Emmy nominations. Feinstein also possesses arguably the greatest private collection of sheet music and music memorabilia in the world. He has donated the collection to Center for Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana, for the establishment of the Michael Feinstein Foundation for the Preservation of the Great American Songbook. The center’s president told The New York Times in 2011 that the collection “could fill a 70,000 square foot building.”
Feinstein spoke with The Syncopated Times from San Francisco, where he owns the nightclub “Feinstein’s at the Nikko” in the Nikko Hotel.
TST: When you were growing up in Columbus, Ohio during the 1950s, why did the music of decades earlier resonate with you? You have said your parents played a lot of music but what made you want to spend your life wanting to play it and preserve it?
Michael Feinstein: To answer “why”
