New York's only festival of contemporary solo piano music is back for its fifth season, with an expanded roster of 10 "front-rank soloists" (The New Yorker) presenting 29 recent works by contemporary classical masters & emerging composers along with jazz luminaries.

Join us at our new venue - the vibrant and hip Le Poisson Rouge - for a "pianophile extravaganza", where our "posse of leading ivory merchants" (TimeOut New York) performs "a remarkable range of contemporary styles." (The New York Times)

CONCERT VENUE
Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker Street (between Sullivan & Thompson Street)

Tickets: $20 general admission.
All concerts start at 7:30PM, doors open at 6:30PM.

Please call 212/505-3474 for information.

FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES
The Thorny and Serene, Submitted Side by Side

The Keys to the Future Festival, now in its fifth year, is devoted to new piano music, performed by specialists in contemporary repertory. Though relatively brief - this year's festival includes only three concerts - its charm is in its eclecticism and its big reach. Instead of imposing an overarching style, Joseph Rubenstein, the composer and pianist who runs the festival, seems to enjoy assembling programs in which harmonically thorny works, jazz-inspired scores and pieces that, if not entirely Minimalist, borrow from that style's technical arsenal, are offered side by side.
Read the full review »

FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES
A Celebration of the Piano in Its Many Personalities

Eclecticism has now overshadowed any particular compositional dogma, though to some degree crossover has long been established. Composers have mixed and matched for centuries, recycling themes and styles from earlier periods and incorporating folk tunes and popular idioms into their scores.
Read the full review »

FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Their Forte: The Piano

If you are a young music student hoping to make your mark, it helps to have eclectic tastes, a passion for your instrumentóand David Lang as your teacher. That was the case for pianist and composer Joseph Rubenstein, who was completing graduate studies at Yale and wondering what to do next. Mr. Lang, a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and a co-founder of the hugely successful Bang on a Can Festival, was, says Mr. Rubenstein, "great to bounce ideas off. He has a self-starting type of attitude."
Read the full review »

"New works for solo piano, usually tucked into recitalists' standard-repertory programs, are the entire focus of this groundbreaking festival... a remarkable lineup of contemporary and late twentieth-century works."
Russell Platt, The New Yorker

“New York is hardly lacking in music festivals of all sizes and persuasions, so it takes a lot to make an up-and-comer stand out. Keys to the Future, founded by the pianist and composer Joseph Rubenstein in 2005, has carved a valuable niche for itself by focusing on contemporary piano music.”
Steve Smith, The New York Times

"A wonderful survey of recent and lesser known piano compositions, admirably performed throughout with attention and intense emotion... a program rich in compelling melodic and textural content."
Jeff Harrington, Sequenza 21

"Keys to the Future offers a varied and wonderful program which is opening the future to our ears."
David Garland, WNYC 93.9FM