End of Summer Link Extravaganza Part 2

Here is the second installment of some links I've bookmarked over the last while...

• Shopping for school supplies for the coming academic year? Instructify has a list of The New Essentials: Top 10 School Supplies for Today's Students. One of the featured sites on the Instructify list is Diigo, a social bookmarking site. Educators have already been busy creating groups dedicated to the future of education such as MusEd Resources for music educators and Classroom 2.0, started by technology-in-education pioneer Steve Hargadon. ReadWriteweb also has a back-to-school list of 10 Great Web Apps for College Students, including one of my current favorite programs, Evernote.
  
• Beth Levin in the online music review site La Folia writes some Advice to a Pianist Performing Brahms' B Major Trio, Op. 8:
  

  A word. Pay attention. The violinist in a piano trio is a show-off, or I’m not from Philadelphia. Don’t fret over his welfare and well-being. He will fend for himself, but more to the point, he will let you know when you’ve stepped over the line — any line — rhythmic, melodic, interpretive, emotional. He’ll also let you know when your hem is undone, but that’s another story.

• Faced any tough rehearsals lately? Bet what you've gone through is nothing compared to what the performers for the Olympic opening ceremonies were subjected to in their rehearsal process:
  

  While in Beijing, the constant exposure to the dizzyingly hot summer resulted in heatstroke for some students, particularly during one rain-drenched rehearsal that stretched on for two days and two nights.
  
  The students were kept on their feet for most of the 51-hour rehearsal with little food and rest and no shelter from the night's downpour, as the show's directors attempted to coordinate the 2,008-member performance with multimedia effects, students and their head coach told the AP.

• While we're on the subject of the Olympics, it is worth knowing that the Sydney Symphony Orchestra faked their performance in the opening ceremonies of the 2000 Olympics.
• Summer is almost over. It's time to advertise for the coming academic year and grow your studio. How do you do it? Sarah Luebke on the Music Teacher's Helper blog has compiled a comprehensive list of what to consider when advertising your studio.
• Those working as either teachers or collaborative pianists who are unsure of their mission may want to read Skellie's Freelance Switch compilation of 30+ Ways to Create an Incredible Client Experience.
• On Tuesday morning, Canada's CBC Radio 2 will be eliminating most of their classical programming. In this YouTube clip, Wayne Strongman of Tapestry New Opera Works talks at a May 24 rally in Toronto about the importance of classical music's current diversity and how important the demand for classical music is in many marginalized communities.
  
  
  

End of Summer Link Extravaganza Part 1

I've amassed quite a lot of bookmarks over the last while, musical or otherwise. Here is the first installment in a series with links to some sites that I've found interesting.

• Marina Pinto's submission to the Stand on Guard for CBC mailing list was featured on the group's blog: Classical Music Elitist? My Foot! Marina makes an excellent point that quality single-game tickets to the Toronto Raptors cost about the same price as a full subscription to the Toronto Symphony.
• Here are two interesting classical music portals to check out: Classical Music Homepage and Classical Music Toolbar.
• Wondering about the value of blogging and whether or not you should start one ? Education 2.0 site Instructify has several articles on the subject, including A Few Good Reasons Why You Should Start Blogging and 5 (More) Good Reasons to Start Blogging. Here is one reason:
  

  The web is a big, big place, and just because you teach in Greasy Corner, AR doesn’t mean you can’t be a rockstar on the web. With social networking sites in your niche, it is easy to become a teaching authority by accessing information from all over the world and helping to aggregate it.



• If you're ever been interested in learning those dastardly Hanon exercises, Piano Guy recently wrote a fascinating article on how they can be used.
• Two great links via Natalie Wickham's essential Music Matters Blog: Carnegie Hall Listening Adventures and an introduction to the instruments of the orchestra.
• Intimacy, commitment, spontaneity. Listen for those qualities in this rare piano-vocal arrangement of Sarah McLachlan's Hold On. This arrangement (released on the Freedom Sessions EP) is radically different than what was eventually released on her Fumbling Towards Ecstasy album, but I think is a much more moving version, and may have been recorded in one take:
  
  

Collaborative Piano Studies at Boston University

The School of Music within the Boston University College of Fine Arts offers a Master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano as part of the school's MusM with a Major in Performance program, as well as a Doctor of Musical Arts program in Collaborative Piano. The DMA program doesn't appear to have web documentation at this point--contact the school for more information.

I also managed to find a page on the previous incarnation of the BU site that lists audition and program information for the Master's Degree. Here are the audition requirements (check with the school to see if they are still valid):

Applicants must audition with all of the following repertoire. If requested, the School will provide collaborative partners. Applicants are urged to audition with their own collaborative partners whenever possible.

Vocal (Please prepare all songs in HIGH keys.)

Schubert Ganymed
Brahms Wie Melodien
Fauré La lune blanche lui dans les bois (from La Bonne Chanson)
Debussy C'est l'extase (from Ariettes Oubliées)
Barber St. Ita's Vision (from Hermit Songs)

Instrumental (Please prepare complete sonatas.)

Beethoven Violin Sonata Op.12 in D major
Brahms Violin Sonata No.2 in A major

Solo Work or movement less than 10 minutes in length from the Classical or Romantic repertoire; memorization not required.

Applicants will also be asked to sight read both vocal and instrumental literature. All applicants will be evaluated through a foreign language/IPA proficiency test.

This posting is part of a project to create links for all known Degree Programs in Collaborative Piano. If you know of a degree program that isn't on the main list, please email me info and web documentation and I would be glad to add it to the listings.

Creating Opera From Scratch at the 2008 Tapestry Composer/Librettist Laboratory

Today is the last day of the 2008 Tapestry Composer/Librettist Laboratory, which I've been playing at for the last few weeks. Here's what it is, in short:

4 composers and 4 librettists collaborative with each of the others in the opposite discipline to create 16 opera scenes over the course of the 9-day workshop. Each composer/librettist group has 48 hours to create a scene, after which the performers are called in, rehearse the work for 60-90 minutes, and then perform the work at a master class for dramaturge Michael Albano and musical dramaturge Wayne Strongman.

Here's another account of the workshop from the Tapestry site:

For most composers and writers the artistic process is a solitary one. Producers around the world agree that forming workable artistic partnerships between composers and playwrights is the single greatest challenge facing the development of new opera and music theatre. The Composer-Librettist Laboratory is Tapestry’s response to this challenge. Initiated in 1995, the laboratory is an intensive one-week workshop for composers and writers to explore the collaborative process. Currently, the program attracts participants from Canada, the United States, Germany and England. It is also the model for the English National Opera Studio’s All-in Opera, as well as Pacific Opera Victoria’s Composer-Librettist Workshop.

What's important to realize is that with some of the press that new opera workshops are getting (such as today's article in the New York Times about the Met's new opera projects) many people are tempted to think of the operatic development workshop as an entirely new idea. Not true. The Tapestry LibLab has been in operation since 1995, and the level of the work created in it, the level of discourse between composers and librettists, and the ability of the performers to create a performable account of the works from scratch has been improving to an astonishing degree.

If you're in the Toronto area, you can check out the final round of the workshop today at 4pm in the sanctuary of Rosedale United Church. Admission is free. Several scenes from the workshop will be featured in Tapestry's Opera Briefs in late September, as well as at the Word on the Street festival (more information to come shortly). From there, successful composer/librettist teams will then embark on larger operatic projects, either with Tapestry or other companies across Canada and the United States.

Here are the personnel for the 2008 Composer/Librettist Laboratory:

Composers

Scott Brubacher
Justine F. Chen
Teresa Connors
Jack Perla

Librettists

David Brock
Spy Denomme-Welsh
Ken Gass
Andrew Moodie

Singers

Carla Huhtanen, soprano
Krisztina Szabo, mezzo soprano
Scott Belluz, countertenor
Keith Klassen, tenor
Alex Dobson, baritone

Pianists

Christopher Foley (me)
Jennifer Tung

Dramaturges

Michael Patrick Albano
Wayne Strongman

Oistrakh and Richter Play Prokofiev F Minor 2nd Mov't

Here are David Oistrakh and Sviatoslav Richter in a badass performance of the second movement of Prokofiev's Sonata for Violin and Piano Op. 80. Notice the page turner doing double duty for both Richter and Oistrakh.

Being Creative...And Organized

For those of you struggling to juggle the creative life with the organized life, Merlin Mann of 43 Folders has written a 3-part series on attention management for creative workers entitled Making Time to Make. Here are the three essays in Merlin's series:

Bad Correspondence
The Job You Think You Have
One Clear Line

Here are some previous articles here on CPB about time management, goal-setting, and the creative life:

Building a Regular Practice Schedule Part 1
Building a Regular Practice Schedule Part 2
Short Term Goals
Medium Term Goals
Long Term Goals

How do you juggle inspiration with productivity?

Susan Graham Sings Asie from Ravel's Shéhérazade

I just discovered Imeem this evening and will be making my way through their classical listings in the next few weeks. Below is an embedded recording (via the Imeem Classical Music Group) of Susan Graham singing Asie from Ravel's Shéhérazade, with Yan Pascal Tortelier conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Koenemann Urtexts Are Back in Toronto Area Costco Stores

At Costco this afternoon, I once again beheld stacks upon stacks of grey and blue Koenemann Urtext editions. Among the volumes the Laird Road location had in stock were the Beethoven Piano Sonatas, the Bach WTC and French/English Suites, Chopin Etudes, Nocturnes, and Valses, as well as Mendelssohn, Grieg, and Debussy compilations. The price per book: only $3.89. Get them before they're gone!

Any other cheap Koenemann Urtext sightings elsewhere in Canada or in the US?

Opera Canada Review of TOT's Mikado

The reviews in Opera Canada are usually published several months after the productions close, but it was nevertheless a pleasure to see Paula Citron's review of the Toronto Operetta Theatre's Mikado in the summer edition of Opera Canada. Here's what Paula had to say about Wendy:

Mezzo Wendy Hatala Foley (Katisha) sported the most impressive voice of the evening, rich and fulsome in tone...

Stay tuned for more of what Wendy will be up to this year, as she has quite a busy season in the works.

The Path of Self-Promotion

Kristen Peterson's Musical Web Ensnares "Professional Geeks" in a recent issue of the Las Vegas Sun addresses the hurdles that need to be overcome by many seeking a musical career and how Jonathan Coulton skirted them by seeking the route of self-promotion via the internet. There are some lessons to be learned here by classical musicians: very few of us have chosen to take this route, and there is plenty of room for those with the courage and technical know-how to set up their careers in this manner. From the article:

"The story was that to make it big you have to drive around in a stinky van up and down the East Coast and play to empty houses. The van breaks down. You’re eating fast food, you’re up late and driving all day.”

Not for Coulton, whose fans are so devoted, so involved and so technologically advanced that they create videos to his mostly folk rock songs and post them on YouTube. Coulton releases all his music under Creative Commons, a license that allows for the sharing of material.

“It’s great to have someone say, ‘I love your songs,’ ” he says. “It’s even better to have them say, ‘Here’s a music video I made. I spent hours and hours putting this together.’ ”

Although most classical musicians aren't so keen on doing a lot of work leveraging the internet to jump-start their careers, the irony of the situation is that developing a large enough network of supporters online may actually assist you in getting help when you need it.

A great resource for those beginning the route of musical self-promotion on the internet is Andrew Dubber's New Music Strategies. His 100 Questions is a series-in-progress about how musicians can utilize technology to spread their brands and their music.

On the Recent Canadian Arts Funding Cuts

In the last few weeks, the Conservative government in Canada has announced some fairly substantial cuts to arts programs in a possible effort to bolster sports funding for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. From a press release sent out earlier today by the Toronto Arts Coalition:

Over the past two weeks, the arts and culture sector has learned almost daily that certain cultural programs have been cut or completely cancelled. By many estimates, the program cuts now add up to a loss of more than $ 46 millions in support of the arts and culture. Within Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the $4.7-million foreign travel grants program PromArt has been eliminated. Department of Canadian Heritage announced it is discontinuing the $9-million Trade Routes in addition to cancelling a number of other programs, such as $1.5-million Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund and $3.5 million to the Stabilization Project and Capacity Building within the Canadian Arts and Heritage Sustainability Program.

The Canadian Conference of the Arts has compiled a complete list of affected programs.


Globe and Mail article by James Bradshaw
Globe and mail editorial
CBC.ca article
CBC.ca article by Richard Handler
Toronto Star editorial
Another Toronto Star editorial

What you can do

If your work is directly affected by these cuts, email the Toronto Arts Coalition at coalition [at] torontoartscouncil dot org and tell them about it.

If you live close to Toronto, you can also make your voice heard at a town hall meeting scheduled for 7pm on September 3 in the Theatre Center at 1087 Queen Street West, hosted by Fuse Magazine.

------

A quick clarification for those new to the (proudly Canadian) Collaborative Piano Blog:

Although you'll see a lot of Canadian content here, I receive no federal, provincial, or municipal funding for running this blog, and it is not affected by any of these cuts. The work I do here on CPB is monetized by Google AdSense units and affiliate links, as well as teaching, lecturing, and performing work I get through the publicity generated by this website.

Lang Lang Plays Chopin Black Keys Etude w/an Orange

Backstage at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto via pogface's YouTube channel--this technique is said to have been pioneered by Daniel Barenboim. It's certainly less messy than a peach and rolls much better than an apple.

Benjamin Zander on Classical Music

Benjamin Zander talks about classical music, personal transformation, and the ability to empower others. Be sure to stick around for the last 5 minutes after he finishes playing the Chopin Prelude--the ending is extremely powerful...



(Via pkpiano)

Ravel's L'Indifferent with Tatiana Troyanos and Martin Katz

This 1985 performance of L'Indifferent, the third song in Maurice Ravel's Shéhérazade, features legendary American mezzo soprano Tatiana Troyanos with Martin Katz playing piano. I particularly like the way that Katz voices the opening of the song with an effortless sensuality of tone.



(English translation by Ahmed Ismail can be found here)

One Year Ago on the Collaborative Piano Blog

On August 20, 2007, I looked at the choices pianists face in the decision on what type of doctoral degree to pursue in The Doctoral Piano Degree: Solo or Collaborative. Any more thoughts on the subject? Leave them here or in the original post...

The Paradox of the Creative Mind

Ever wonder why artistic people can be logical one moment, irrational the next, organized at some times and chaotic at others? Ten paradoxical traits of the creative personality is a recent article in Psychology Today by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced me-high chick-sent-me-high) that looks at these apparent paradoxes of the creative individual. Here's one paradox that I notice all the time in musicians:

3. Creative people combine playfulness and discipline, or responsibility and irresponsibility. There is no question that a playfully light attitude is typical of creative individuals. But this playfulness doesn't go very far without its antithesis, a quality of doggedness, endurance, perseverance.

Above all, Csikszentmihalyi celebrates the artistic process and attempts to describe how creative individuals arrive at a sense of flow and create a positive working environment for their work/play. Also be sure to check out Merlin Mann's response to the article in 43 Folders.

Some Thoughts on How Singers Choose a Coach/Pianist

Last week, I asked the question How do you choose a coach/pianist? to the singing community. My goal was to collect some insight from classical singers as to what they need from a vocal coach and how they went about choosing one. I also wondered how singers thought about the coach/singer relationship, and how it differs from the voice teacher/singer relationship. This issue figured prominently in the comments from the post...

Jermaine Jackson, creator of the Vocal Performance Majors Anonymous: A College/Conservatory Connection Facebook group, states:

I believe that a coach is an advanced pianist who has studied language and music extensively, so therefore, they give feedback to a singer on tempi, phrasing, style, and diction. A coach IS NOT a voice teacher. Let me repeat... A COACH IS NOT A VOICE TEACHER! I have had SEVERAL coaches who try to tell singers how to actually sing, when they aren't singers themselves. Pianists, THIS IS NOT YOUR JOB! Don't tell a singer how to breathe, how to stand, how to phonate, or how to do anything that involves working the vocal mechanism.

If you have worked with several singers and consider yourselves to be an advanced coach, you probably have a good ear for bad technique or a flaw in the tone. Point out what you are hearing to the singer and THEN ask the singer to address this problem with his/her teacher. Do not try to correct the problem yourself. (I don't care how many voice lessons you have sat in on and played. Just because you hear a teacher saying something doesn't mean you understand it if you aren't a singer!) In going back to the original question, I try to AVOID these coaches AT ALL COST!!!

Gabriel talks about the coach's diagnostic role in vocal technique:

About coaches, I suppose they're people who understand these things and even more, and they can check the diction (as word phrasing) but I disagree about phonetics, I mean: the coach might point "that word isn't that good, try to make it better", but never tell you how to phonate it, that's your voice teacher's work.

In other words, the coach discovers and diagnoses potential problems and issues, which the singer then brings back to the voice teacher in order to solve. I agree completely.

One critical element in the development of young singers is that they need one and only one authority on how to develop the vocal mechanism. Even if coach and voice teacher are completely on the same track regarding how to build a voice, the mere act of hearing the same information from two different sources, and in two different sets of words, can potentially cause irreparable harm to a singer's developing voice. Far better for the vocal teacher to assume full responsibility for building the mechanics of the voice and have the coach work on other issues, of which there are plenty (ensemble, style, diction, poetics, etc.).

Also prominent in the responses were the needs of singers that have to be met through specific skill sets. Queen's University faculty member and fellow Eastman grad Elizabeth McDonald says:

First and foremost I have to actually LIKE the coach. After my voice teacher, this is the most personal relationship for me as a singer. Who are you and what is your mission as a musician?

Second, if you can't sight read or know the rep well enough to play it cold, stay home. This may seem harsh but singers get anywhere from 2-3 hours of good "full" singing in a day so it has to be productive and can't be wasted on waiting for a pianist to learn notes.

Third, I want to know what you HEAR. Can you sense the rate of vibrancy and when i'm going to breath? Do you make it easy for me to sing a long phrase? a fast phrase? Can you anticipate?

Fourth, can you articulate your ideas? I'm ok if you don't know everything. But can you articulate what you do know and hear?

From an anonymous commenter:

Having said that, obviously an advanced level of musicianship, knowledge of language, an ability to concisely and accurately tell me what you hear (not try to diagnose just highlight things for me to address with my teacher), knowledge of style, ability to sight read (or willingness to say you can't) etc are the basics.

Singers also need someone to put them on the right path of artistic development, not just from a place of practicalities, but able to put a singer in touch with their own artistic muse.

The anonymous commenter:

...first off is chemistry. The relationship between a coach or a collaborative pianist and a singer is as, no more, intimate on many levels than a marriage. This is a person who I’m going to be naked as an artist in front of so I need to feel safe. Ideally during our time together I’ll have the freedom to make ugly and perhaps unmusical sounds as I explore the boundaries of what I/we can do. I need to trust that when we leave the studio either you’ll be there to catch me or I’ll have the confidence to sing in the moment.

This approach ties in with what a lot of advanced singers need, singers who are poked and prodded at auditions, treated as product, told by "authorities" to become this or that if they ever intend to work, but still need to have the comfort to be vulnerable in the process of working up new and existing repertoire, and most importantly need to recover their own identity as artists in the coaching process. Jermaine sums it up admirably:

Coaches, also be open to collaboration. Don't treat singers like they are worthless human beings. Not all singers are stereotypically "slow" at music, especially in 2008. Don't act like you are the "supreme authority" on everything musical just because you are sitting at the piano.

Most importantly for all future pianists/coaches, remember to be innovative. I can't stand working with a pianist who won't budge on a tempo because that is how they've played it for 35 years, or they first played this aria slower or faster. Have new ideas and always be willing to compromise.

A big thanks to Jermaine, Elizabeth, Gabriel, and Anon. for their eloquent and frank advice.

Any further thoughts from singers or pianists? Please leave a comment below and let's continue the discussion.

Update 8/22: Recommended reading: a new discussion thread on Coaching vs. Playing Dumb (Facebook ID req.) has appeared on the People for the Ethical Treatment of Accompanists Facebook group that looks at the difficult choices facing many about whether or not it is wise to offer advice in the rehearsal room.

Insane Second Viennese School Commercial

Those of you enamored of Arnold Schoenberg and the Second Viennese School, and even those who are not may enjoy this parody from YouTube:



(Via the well tempered blog)

Grace Nikae Interview on Inner Rhythm

Grace Nikae was recently interviewed by Kavit Haria of Inner Rhythm on the subject of how she uses Web 2.0 to grow her audience. Grace utilizes a Flickr photostream, a YouTube channel, a MySpace page, Twitter, her blog Stretching Intervals, and a traditional website as her internet package with the goal of being able to reach out to audiences beyond the concert stage. Here is a short excerpt from the interview:

KH: Can you give a few quick examples of successful experiences you’ve had with social media?

GN: One of the most surprising discoveries that came about from my foray into social media has been meeting so many people who enjoy and like classical music, but are in many ways intimidated and frightened of it. This feeling has led many of them to not attend their local symphony orchestra concert, or to support the classical arts in their community. By connecting with them through social media, answering some of their questions, sharing aspects of my life and my creative process, I hope to bring classical music closer to them. I have also had artists in other creative fields connect with me and say that they realized something about their own work by reading something I wrote. This is really wonderful because it means that social media can also be used as a means of education, and as a means of contributing something to the arts in a way that extends far beyond me. There is a great satisfaction and fulfillment in that.

Although it seems that Facebook has become the most popular social media site among classical musicians (with its status updates, groups, and events proving very successful in filling concerts for those who know how to build networks and leverage them), classical musicians have been quite slow in utilizing other social media services that can allow them to reach an entirely new audience.

Getting Started as a Rehearsal Pianist

Jeremy Fisher has just written an extremely useful introduction to getting work as a professional theatre pianist, based on his 20 years of experience in London's West End. His description of how a rehearsal pianist fits into the theatre production process:

The contract usually runs for four to six weeks, from 10am to 5pm five or six days a week. During the technical week (the week before opening night or the first preview, when all the sets and costumes are added) the hours can extend quite dramatically - I would sometimes be working 12 or 13 hour days.

As a rehearsal pianist you have to be very patient, and to enjoy watching the process of performance creation. In addition, you should be able to perform musical numbers repeatedly to a consistently high standard. And you need to like working with actors! You may or may not have a conductor there, and occasionally you are given the task of training the singers, or playing for the dance calls.

You'll also need to be mentally alert for long hours, as well as have a reliable technical setup that allows you to play consistently for 8-hour days.

When you're moving to a new city or breaking into the profession, the rehearsal pianist route can generate a reliable income and prove very satisfying. Since the cast and crew of a show is a built-in social network, you can often rely on them in the future for staying connected.

Also read Jeremy's account of his dogged determination to get his foot in the door. The first engagement is always the most difficult one to get. Once you're active on the scene, producers and contractors are much more comfortable hiring someone that is already well-known as a valued colleague.

More articles:

How to Get Work as a Freelance Collaborative Pianist
Poll Results: How Much Do You Charge Per Hour for a Rehearsal or Coaching?
Poll Results: Should Accompanists Charge Clients for Practice Time?

La Campanella Showdown: Evgeny Kissin vs. Yundi Li

The YouTube videos of Evgeny Kissin and Yundi Li playing Liszt's La Campanella are often considered to be two of the top performances of the piece, although both are not without their detractors. Ludium Petroza recently wrote about the Kissin/Li wars and their impact on the debate about pianism in the July issue of Piano Pedagogy Forum. To see what he's talking about, be sure to click through to the YouTube pages after watching the videos and read the comments. Petroza makes an excellent point that YouTube comments are becoming a form of criticism in their own right.

Evgeny Kissin:



Yundi Li:


See also:

Anderson & Roe's dramatization of Moonlight Sonata comments
YouTube Beethoven Faceoff: Myleen Klass vs. Wilhelm Kempff

Huge List of 20th Century Art Song Composers

Australian composer Peter Billam has compiled a fairly comprehensive list of composers who contributed to the body of art song in the 20th century with Contributions to the Lieder Repertoire 1900-1999. The list is cross-referenced by composer, decade, and publisher and is definitely worth spending some time perusing. Of course, the sheer depth of what was written in the 20th century is difficult to nail down on a single web page, but a big hand of thanks to Peter for assembling this list. In case you know of any composers or songs that need to be added to the list, feel free to contact Peter.

Hysterical Rant About Pachelbel's Canon

At least pianists can play all the voices in Pachelbel's Canon in D. Just think of the tedium that cellists have to go through...Rob Paravonian rants about being stalked by this classical warhorse in this hilarious rant from a performance at Penn State.



See also:

YouTube Moonlight Sonata Comments...Dramatized
Skateboard Flutist
Piano-flinging Trebuchet at Burning Man 2007

Another Great Teaching Website

This morning I came across the website of the 88 Keys Piano Studio, owned by Edna Holland Mory of Wilmington, North Carolina. Those looking for piano and piano pedagogy-related links won't be disappointed, with sections on the importance of studying piano, practicing, theory help, and music history links, to name only a few. Kudos to Edna for building such a well-organized site that offers considerably much more than the average professionally-built teaching page.

Also take a look at the biggest and best of all piano pedagogy websites (which I've previously mentioned), the comprehensive Piano Home Page of Martha Beth Lewis.

Singers: How Do You Choose a Coach/Pianist?

The singer's process of choosing a coach or pianist is undoubtedly a personal one. Considerations of a pianist's ability are paramount: Can they play at a high level? Can they sight read? How much repertoire do they know? Can they coach diction? But what pianists also need to know about is the art of interaction--since singers are in effect developing their own body into an instrument, there is a personal element that is just as important.

Today's question is geared towards singers, and what influences their choice of whom to work with at the piano:

How do you choose a coach/pianist?

This comment thread is primarily for singers. Pianists: listen & learn.

Leave a comment

Previous questions:

What is your core repertoire?
What are your peak musical experiences?
What is classical music?


How to participate in the forums

31 Days to Better Practicing: A Reader's Guide

Nearly a year ago, I wrote 31 Days to Better Practicing, a month-long series on ways to make one's practice time more enjoyable, efficient, and diversified. The series consists of articles, links, anecdotes, thoughts, and videos of different artists performing. Since then, I've been honored to have received many letters from students and teachers that have found the series to be a great help in their work.

However, I was completely unprepared for a question a new student at the Royal Conservatory asked me a few days ago: What is the best way to read 31 Days? Day by day? All at once? I must confess that when I wrote the series, I was only thinking of putting my thoughts in order for the current article and deciding where to go for the next one. It's only with some distance from the writing process that I realize the importance of finding entry points to the series as a way of influencing how people utilizes it.

So without further ado, here are some possibilities on how to read 31 Days to Better Practicing and incorporate it into your practice routine.


1.) Start at the beginning and read one article every day. I wanted to write the 31 articles with a clear beginning, middle and end. The first few articles discuss how to set aside time for regular practice, move on to warming up, and goal setting, then move on to different ways of practicing, and end with techniques for putting everything together. There's so much information in the articles, links (with even more information), and food for thought in the video selections that it might be useful to incorporate some of the techniques over a longer period of time.

2.) Read the entire series in one sitting. Many of us (including myself) enjoy information overload. Read the entire series in one sitting, then figure out what's useful to you in your practicing.

3.) From the table of contents, read the articles with the information that pertains to you the most. I'm all in favor of getting down to business. Don't bother with techniques you don't feel have value to you, but cut to the chase and utilize what you need, now.

4.) Read the last article first. Find Your Muse, Find Your Process takes the series in an entirely different direction, and ends with the importance of the artistic journey that underlies the entire process. But when I finished the final article (with the embedded Linkin Park video that both inspired and confused many people), I had a horrible feeling that perhaps I should have started the entire series with FYMFYP and had everything follow from the premise of the artist's journey. If this is the reading that you feel is important to you, by all means start with the ending and move on from there.

5.) Read the comments as well as the articles. One of the wonders of writing and reading blogs in the Web 2.0 age is that the articles themselves don't tell the full story. Read the comments to see how others react to the subject and add their own perspective.

6.) Add more comments. The writing of the series is finished, but comments are still being accepted. If you have anything important to add to the discussion, or even if you disagree with what I've written, the comments are the place to voice your opinion for everyone's benefit.

How have you read and utilized 31 Days?

Connections and Realizations

Never underestimate the insights and ingenuity of your students. Here are two examples from my studio in the last few weeks:

• An advanced student was having trouble identifying intervals. Rather than purchase ear training software, he decided to put his computer programming skills to use by writing his own program that randomly plays the intervals for RCM Grade 9 ear training, which he would then identify. His interval ID scores since then have been close to perfect.
• An intermediate student was having trouble with the LH fingering of the dreaded C# minor harmonic scale. She also plays softball, and made a connection between scale-fingering and ball grip--that the hand position in the left hand when the fourth finger crosses over the thumb is similar to the way she throws a curveball when on the pitcher's mound.

Wendy's New Website

Just in time for the 08-09 season, the new website of my wife, mezzo soprano Wendy Hatala Foley, went live today. On her site you can take a look at her bio, resume, repertoire, gallery, and sign the guestbook. But the best-looking page by far is the calendar: Wendy's schedule is nearly full for the coming season, featuring engagements with Opera Hamilton, Opera in Concert, Toronto Operetta Theatre, the Etobicoke Philharmonic, and Chorus London.

Piano With Bovine Paint Job

This pimped-out piano in South China, Maine brings to mind the text of Samuel Barber's A Green Lowland of Pianos:

"after the vacation
they cause scandals
in a concert hall
during the artistic milking
suddenly they lie down
like cows

looking with indifference
at the white flowers
of the audience

at the gesticulating
of the ushers"

(poetry of Jerzy Harasymowicz, translated by Czeslaw Milosz)

Notice the pink pedals--if there was ever an argument against milking a piano through overpedaling, this is it.

(Via Frostey's photostream on Flickr)

Lang Lang Will Play at the Olympic Opening Ceremony

At tomorrow's opening ceremonies for the Olympic Games, celebrated pianist Lang Lang will be among the lineup of performers, performing "Horse Race" with his father Lang Guoping on Erhu. Lang Lang's quote in the official Olympic press release:

We have played 'Horse Race' some times, in White House for example. Every time I play it, I myself will be moved. It combines eastern and western elements. And that's why we play it at the opening ceremony. In this grand event, our music will spread through all over the world...I hope I can do something for the intellectually disabled.

Indeed, one couldn't possibly hope for a bigger audience than the Olympic opening ceremonies, which starts Friday morning at 7am EDT. CBC.ca is one of the places where you can watch the ceremonies online.

Here's Lang Lang playing his trademark red Steinway in China (possibly the Yellow River Concerto, according to a comment on the YouTube page) for an Olympic Games Countdown concert in Beijing:

Steinway Ice Sculpture

It must have been sad to see this piano sculpture melt.

(Via ~Spencer~'s Photostream on Flickr)

Collaborative Piano Studies at Baylor University

The School of Music at Baylor University offers a Master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano. According to the Major in Collaborative Piano prospectus, the GRE is not required of performance and pedagogy majors in piano (and presumably collaborative piano majors as well). Core and specialized course material is also listed in the prospectus. To graduate, knowledge of 2 additional languages (taken from French, German, and Italian) is needed, as well as two graduate recitals and a comprehensive oral exam. Graduate assistantships are also available.

For more information, contact the Baylor School of Music.


This posting is part of a project to create links for all known Degree Programs in Collaborative Piano. If you know of a degree program that isn't on the main list, please email me info and web documentation and I would be glad to add it to the listings.

2008 Charles A. Lynam Vocal Competition Deadline is Sept. 12

The University of North Carolina-Greensboro will be hosting the 4th annual Charles A. Lynam Vocal Competition on October 25 and 26, 2008. The UNCG website has information on how to apply for either the Young Artist or Artist division, with applications due on Sept. 12.

Prizes are $6k/3k/2k for the Artist Division and $3k/2k/1k for the Young Artist Division, in addition to an appearance with the Greensboro Symphony and a spot on the 2009 Seagle Music Colony roster. Four singers will also be chosen for a tour of China.

Schedule
Past winners, including Meredith Hansen, Mari Moriya, and Margaurite Mathis-Clark
Judges

9 Places to Connect Online With Other Pianists

Do you enjoy arguing with other pianists about the merits of New York vs. Hamburg Steinways? Are gray market Yamahas worth the money? Need a place to share your worship of Sviatoslav Richter? Or would you prefer discussing mid-70's New York City Horowitz sightings? What about discussing the finer points of where to put a Nachschlag?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might wish to consider joining a piano forum or discussion group. Far from being a relic of the Wild West internet of the mid-90's, piano forums are still a vital place to connect with other pianists from around the globe and discuss a myriad number of issues with other like-minded people. Not sure where to go? Here are 9 choices:

1.) Piano Forums at Piano World

With several hundred thousand unique visitors a month, the Piano Forums at Piano World is probably the largest piano forum in the world. Forums on pianos and pianists, for technicians and composers are just a sampling of a site that offers a remarkable depth of conversation and experience.

2.) Piano Street Piano Forum

Originally launched as pianoforum.net, Piano Street offers downloadable sheet music and recordings as well as both a forum and chat room. The forum offers a well-organized list of subjects for discussion, including performance, repertoire, teaching, instruments, a student's corner for beginners, and an audition room for members to post their own recordings to the forum.

3.) Piano Society: The Classical Piano Forum

The Piano Society is a site on which pianists can post their bios and upload recordings for free. In return, visitors to the site can listen to all 2800 recordings by the 150+ pianists who have signed up so far. The Piano Society claims to be "the largest resource of free classical piano recordings on the Internet" and I think they're probably right on that account. The forum is smaller than most, with 418 registered users at time of writing, but they look quite active and write about quite a variety of subjects.

4.) UK Piano Page Discussion Forums

This is part of the huge Association of Blind Piano Tuners UK Piano Page, which offers a huge amount of resources on piano history, as well as catalogues of piano tuners, movers, teachers, and accompanists. The forum, like the site, is geared towards the UK piano community, but still contains a large amount of practical information indispensable to those in the UK and elsewhere.

5.) Speed Demon Community Forums

Yet another forum, but with a way hipper vibe than the others and Web 2.0 features such as usergroups, profiles, private messages, and a search function. Topics have up-to-date titles, such as SDC Legendz - da Dizciplez of FURY (roughly translated as: "The Great Pianists" for those of you not not yet familiar with teh lingo of teh internetz.)

6.) We Bang Steinways Facebook Group (Facebook ID required)

For those on Facebook, this is one of the groups that is considered de rigeur to join in the piano community, with over 4000 members at present. Like other Facebook groups, it contains a news section, as well as videos, posted items, a discussion board, and a wall. The vast majority of group members are students, so this is an ideal place for those shopping for college programs to get information on teachers and schools.

7.) People for the Ethical Treatment of Accompanists Facebook Group (Facebook ID required)

From the group's description:

An organization designed to protect accompanists from the abuses commonly heaped upon them including, but not limited to, the following: insufficient payment and inappropriate demands for rehearsals and lessons.

Please also note that the title of this group does NOT include the words "collaborative pianist" for two reasons: it does NOT make us equal partners with those we accompany and in some cases it is used in a pejorative fashion. For us to be truly equal it requires the instrumentalists and vocalists to be collaborative as well--and the dropping of any reference to a term that calls one instrument "the collaborative one."

With 2000 members, this is probably the largest gathering of accompanists/collaborative pianists on the internet. Although often criticized for not containing the upper echelons of the field and too many "rank-and-file" pianists, this is a group that asks a lot of questions regarding the relationship of soloist to pianist, financial considerations, and the invisibility that many of us face in the profession.

8.) Piano Chat Group on Y!Music Groups

Started in 1999, this group peaked in the years following, dropped off in 2003-4, and is now staging a comeback in posting frequency. With many of the same features as the other groups, this one might be a possibility for those that already utilize several Yahoo services.

9.) rec.music.makers.piano

Part of the original Usenet universe, this group goes back to the early years of the World Wide Web in 1994. Although not as popular as many of the other groups on this list, this group is now hosted by Google Groups, with features familiar to those that use other Google services, such as starring posts and subscribing to feeds. The messages aren't as well-crafted as those on forums, but for raw message board power and the occasional flame war, you can't beat the atmosphere of the old Usenet.


What forums do you read and participate in?

Quote of the Day

Classical music and the arts are an essential part of every community. Although civic leaders tout their cultural scene to attract new businesses, media coverage of the arts is not equal to how important the arts are to the community.

-from an interview with Kathy Gronau of Creative PR in Scanning the Dial

Countertenor Phillipe Jaroussky Sings A Chloris on YouTube

One of the most difficult but important aspects of a countertenor's life is finding appropriate repertoire for such a unique voice. Reynaldo Hahn's A Chloris is one of the songs from the French mélodie repertoire that seems to fit this voice type like a glove, sung here with much elegance by Phillipe Jaroussky. Anyone know who the pianist is?

Update: A big thanks for the comment by pianoman - the pianist is in fact Jérôme Ducros.

Update: Another big thanks to Darrell for finding a longer clip of the video below with full documentation and credits: Part 1 of Une Invitation À La Mélodie Française: En compagnie de Philippe Jaroussky, directed by Louise Narboni. Look for more installments of this documentary in the next few weeks.

Vibrato-less String Playing: Pro and Con

An article in today's Observer looks at the current fracas over Roger Norrington's decision to forego vibrato in the performances of Elgar he conducts. On the pro side, Roger Norrington, one of the pioneers of the early movement and a staunch advocate of a historically informed lack of vibrato in most orchestral music:

'Here come the ouches and squirms, the fuss and hubbub,' he said. 'I was expecting it, I'm throwing a hand grenade at musicians who simply have to accept they must transform their way of playing if they are to play as composers intended.' He added: 'Vibrato can be amazingly destructive to an orchestral expression. It is acoustic central heating.'

On the con side, Keith Harvey of the Gabrieli Quartet:

'Roger is alienating a large part of the musical profession,' he said. 'He has been incredibly insulting about the professionalism of those who use vibrato, while at the same time reducing the sound of his orchestra to that of a bad amateur performance, producing a sound often referred to as "grade three failed".'

Ouch. For those who can't get out to the Royal Albert Hall, the BBC is offering comprehensive online and radio broadcasts of all the proms concerts.

(Via Jessica Duchen)

Yo-Yo Ma + BSO Live on WGBH Tomorrow Afternoon

Those of you that have time tomorrow at 2pm EDT might want to check out the live WGBH broadcast of a concert from Tanglewood featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The concert, which on the Tanglewood site is listed as officially starting at 2:30pm (I guess there's a pre-game show) will be broadcast on both WGBH 89.7 and All-Classical WGBH. The program will feature Carlos Miguel Prieto conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Albeniz's Suite from Iberia, the Lalo Cello Concerto, and the Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances.

However, if you're in Lenox, Mass. tomorrow afternoon, you'll probably want to forego the radio thing and see the concert live at the Koussevitzky Shed.

(Thanks, Edgar!)

Toronto's Newest Classical Music (and Coffee) Blog

With the pending reorganization of CBC Radio 2 programs and a possible lack of exposure for classical musicians in Canada this September, the importance of utilizing new media to market the arts is becoming more important than ever.

Nick Coulter is one of Toronto's best-known percussionists, who this week launched What? - A blog about coffee, culture, and other random detritus using the relatively new Posterous platform. What? is only in its first few days but promises to deliver a lively account of the percussion life in Toronto, as well as some great pics and observations of some awesome high-end coffee prep. Best of luck to Nick and welcome to the blogosphere!

Huge Piano Method Sale at Sheet Music Plus

Do you need to stock up on piano music for the fall but have been waiting for that elusive time of year when scores go on sale?

I've just received word from Sheet Music Plus that they are holding a major sale on all piano methods from now until September 4th. Here are some of the major piano methods whose prices have been slashed by 20% for the next month:

• Alfred's Basic Piano Library
• Bastien Piano Basics
• Celebrate Piano
• Celebration Series Perspectives, including the new RCM Piano Syllabus which takes effect Sept. 1)
• Christopher Norton Connections for Piano
• A Dozen A Day
• Hal Leonard Student Library
• The Music Tree - Frances Clark Library
• Piano Adventures by Nancy & Randall Faber
• Suzuki Piano School
  

The above publications are some of the most popular ones from a complete list of 87 piano methods. Piano teaching and instructional aids also have the 20% discount applied, including flash cards, assignment books, practice guides, stickers, and more.

Sheet Music Plus ships to most countries, has very reasonable and quick shipping, and all their prices are in US dollars, so those ordering outside the United States may want to take a look at SMP's prices with the current exchange rate situation. The 20% discount is in effect until September 4, 2008.