Classical Music For The Masses, With Andrew Shapiro
BY MEGHAN FARNSWORTH
On the upper balcony of the McDonald’s at 160 Broadway, something very surprising greets you: a grand piano. The piano is not just for display, either. It is a platform of creativity for Brooklyn composer, Andrew Shapiro, to perform compositions every Sunday afternoon, and it is a job that has earned him the playful epithet, “Quarter Pounder with Keys.” With cash registers beeping, food wrappers crackling, and the hum of customers conversing, Shapiro’s music bridges the divide between art and life, scoring the composition of a fast food melody.
The Brooklyn-based Shapiro has been performing at this McDonald’s – not far from the heart of the Financial District – since 2004. Although he has only taken one piano lesson in his life, Shapiro sees his lack of formal piano training not as a weakness, but as simply informing and animating the way in which he composes his music, which is a stunning combination of the ambiance of minimalist music and the emerging culture that is becoming of Brooklyn.