September is National Piano Month, a holiday launched in 1991 by the National Piano Foundation – the holiday is observed throughout the United States. The modern piano dates back to 1709, when Bartolomeo di Francesco Cristofori, a harpsichord maker in Padua, Italy, improved his craft, and brought the instrument to a new artistic level. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has on display the earliest surviving instrument dated back to 1720.

Catskill Mountain Foundation (CMN) in Hunter, Greene County owns and operates a Piano Museum, housing antique pianos, clavichords and harpsichords still in good condition – some of the oldest keyboards on display are as old as late 1700s, early 1800s, contemporary with Mozart and Beethoven. The Piano Museum is housed at the Doctorow Center for the Arts, located at 7971 Main Street in Hunter.

The Doctorow Center for the Arts is dedicated to music and cinematic art. Jazz and classical music performances are often presented at the center. In November The Windham Festival Chamber Orchestra will perform compositions by Vivaldi, Mozart, Handel and Haydn. For more information about events, and current hours of operation, visit http://www.catskillmtn.org/about-us/projects/doctorow-center-for-the-arts.html

Founded in 1998, Catskill Mountain Foundation is a pillar of artistic life in the region. Headquartered in the beautiful town of Hunter, Greene County, the foundation supports all artistic disciplines – visual arts, music, film, theater, and literature. CMN owns and operates several different arts venues in the region: the Kaaterskill Fine Arts Gallery and Crafts Shop, the Village Square Bookstore and Literary Arts Center, and the Doctorow Center for the Arts in Hunter, as well as the Orpheum Performing Arts Center in Tannersville, and the Sugar Maples Center for Creative Arts in Windham. CMN also publishes a monthly magazine – Catskill Mountain Region Guide, highlighting some of the most important artistic events in the area.

The Kaaterskill Fine Arts Gallery and Crafts Shop features contemporary art by local artists as well as lectures and workshops. It often presents new works by regional artists trained in the tradition of the Hudson River School of Painting. For more information and current hours of operation, visit http://www.catskillmtn.org.

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