Raymond Jackson at Bethesda's Strathmore on February 10

If you're in the Washington, D.C. area in early February, you might want to take the drive out to Bethesda, Maryland on the evening of February 10 to hear an innovative program given by pianist and Howard University faculty member Raymond Jackson at Strathmore. Entitled From Beethoven to Eubie Blake: Discoveries and Connections, this lecture recital juxtaposes the music of European composers with composers of African descent.

The recital will take place at 7:30pm on February 10 in The Mansion at Strathmore, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda, MD 20852. Tickets are $25.

Here's the program:

"From Beethoven to Eubie Blake: Discoveries and Connections"
A Lecture Recital
Featuring Works for the Keyboard by
Composers of European and African* Descent

PROGRAM

I

(Themes and Variations)

Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Opus 111 (Finale).........................Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Arietta: Adagio molto semplice e cantabile
Ballade No. 2...........................................................................................Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

II

(Descriptive Music)

Scenes from Childhood, Opus 15 (Abridged).................................Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
1. About Strange Lands and People 2. Curious Story 3. Blindman’s Buff
4. Pleading Child 5. Perfectly Contented 6. Important Event 7. Traumerei (Reverie)
Scenes of Youth: Fantasia for Piano, Opus 3 (Abridged)............*Frederick Eliot Lewis (1846- ? )
Introduction: Allegro con brio - Meditation - Allegramente - Tempo di Marcia (Pomposo)

III

(Song Transcriptions)

Widmung (Dedication/Schumann)................................................................. Franz Liszt
Deep River (Negro Spiritual), Opus 59, No. 1....*Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912)

IV

(The Dance)

Polonaise in A-flat, Opus 59 ("Heroic")..........................................Frederic Chopin
Polonaise: Chopin in Harlem (1938)....................................................*Hall Johnson (1888-1970)
The Charleston Rag (1899)..........................................*James Hubert "Eubie" Blake (1883-1983)

I really like the way that Jackson juxtaposes these styles alongside each other, and in my experience audiences have responded highly favorably to this type of programming. Best of luck to Raymond for what looks to be a fascinating recital.

(Thanks, Angela!)

Bush's Final Press Conference Set To Music By Henry Hey

You may remember the famous Sarah Palin/Katie Kouric interview set to music by pianist/composer Henry Hey. Here is Hey's latest offering--Bushsong, a piano setting of George Bush's final press conference:

Geísa Dutra and the Spanish Piano

Spanish piano music is one of the most overlooked and under-appreciated corners of the piano repertoire. It's not just a body of work, but an entire world to explore, spanning several hundred years of high-quality music that begs to be placed on piano recital programs.

Originally from Brazil, Geísa Dutra now lives in Seattle, Washington, where she has just recorded The Spanish Piano, a collection of works by Albeniz, Granados, Turina, and Mompou. You can either sample tracks or buy the entire album on Geísa's CD Baby Page for The Spanish Piano. Also be sure to check out Geísa's previous CD El Ultimo Tango (Six Tangos by Astor Piazzolla).

Call for Participants: Stockhausen's Ylem with Vancouver New Music

Musicians in Vancouver: are you interested in the periodic oscillations of the universe and telepathic communication with others in a chamber music setting? If the answer is yes, you might want to take part in a workshop and performance of Karlheinz Stockhausen's Ylem offered through Vacouver New Music in early February. From the VNMS press release:

"Theory of the oscillating universe: every 80 000 000 000 years the universe explodes, unfolds, and draws together again. The word YLEM is used by some people to designate the periodic explosion, by others to designate the essential material.” – Karlheinz Stockhausen

Vancouver New Music is seeking people interested in taking part in a community ensemble that will workshop and perform Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Ylem. Musicians of all experience levels, as well as non-musicians are welcome.

The workshop and performance will be led by Giorgio Magnanensi, and will be held the February 6th from 5-7pm at Vancouver Community College. The final performance will be held at The Cultch’s Vancity Culture Lab (1895 Venables Street) on Sunday, February 15, 2009 at 4pm.

If you are interested in being part of this event please contact Giorgio Magnanensi at giorgio [at] newmusic dot org.

More about Ylem:

Article by Albrecht Moritz

Article by Ingvar Loco Norins

Examining

Since the beginning of last week, I've been giving piano exams in Mississauga for RCM Examinations. So far, I estimate I've heard around 140 pianists of all ages and ability levels doing their repertoire, studies, technique, ear tests, and sight reading for graded RCM exams. Many colleagues find this type of work a strain. On the contrary, I love examining and find it amazingly refreshing as a performer and teacher to see such a huge volume of pianists show different facets of their musical personalities. As a teacher, it certainly puts things into perspective when you grade not one but hundreds of pianists in a session. In the coming weeks I'll be able to put things more in perspective as I get back to my regular teaching routine. Until then, I have three more days of 20+ pianists to hear per day. Wish me luck--and may my left shoulder survive the strain of writing examination reports for over 6 hours a day!

Bloggers: One Week Left To Submit Your Articles for the Feb. 2009 Music Ed Blog Carnival

One week from now, I will be hosting the February 2009 Music Education Blog Carnival. If you would like an article, essay, or blog post featured in the carnival, you have until January 31st to get it online and submit it. I've already received a fair number of submissions from a wide variety of bloggers with room for plenty more. If you want to submit your article, here is the link:

February 2009 Music Education Blog Carnival Submission Form

Partially Submerged Piano

This piano seems to be a little waterlogged, although its view is superior to that found in most practice studios. Warning: immersion in water should only be tried on pianos whose condition renders them suitable for sacrificial activities. Don't ever try this with a practice-worthy instrument.

(Via teawithamouse's photostream on Flickr and the Perishing Pianos Pool)

The LSO's John Alley on the Tan Dun Symphony Piano Reduction

Here is a recently uploaded video of the London Symphony Orchestra's principal keyboardist John Alley giving a short lecture on playing the piano reduction of Tan Dun's Internet Symphony "Eroica", tips on reduction playing in general, and the unique art of playing auditions.



The deadline for submissions is September 28. Stay tuned or subscribe for more pianist videos for the competition.

Previously on the Collaborative Piano Blog:

YouTube Symphony Piano Audition Videos Part 1

Piano Audition Rep List for the YouTube Symphony

The YouTube Symphony Orchestra

YouTube Symphony Piano Audition Videos Part 1

The September 28 submission deadline for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra is fast approaching, and below are some of the audition videos for the piano part reduction of Tan Dun's Eroica Symphony.

DragonWarden:



Mio Shinozaki:



Jeffrey Jones:



Stay tuned--more to come!

Mystery Piano Recital on Second Life

From arcticpenguin's photostream on Flickr, here's a shot of a live piano event on Second Life. Have any of you ever attended or played in one of these "recitals"? The only one of these that I can recall is Jeremy Denk's May 27 appearance via WGBH simulcast on Second Life. The way these events work is that the music is streamed onto Second Life and a separate "performer" operates their avatar to mime playing the instrument.

But look at the scale of that instrument. There's no way that you could reach from end to end on that keyboard...

Here's a piece that would be a definite challenge for any aspiring piano-miming Second Lifer: David Rakowski's Schnozzage.

Victor Borge Page Turner Skit

Oh, the perils of page turning...

(I remember once after playing a recital around 10 years ago--at which I had been saddled with the most inept page turner I had ever encountered--the singer I was performing with asked a dear friend of hers what he thought of her singing. His dignified reply: "My dear, I wasn't listening to you. I was too busy watching the drama unfolding at the piano.")



You can find more disastrous page-turner action, as well as how to make them obsolete on a recent post from Hugh Sung.

Quote of the Day

For the next week and a half, I'm examining for RCM Examinations at their Mississauga West center. From the exam room that I'm using this week, here is a quote framed on the wall:

Priorities

A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove; however, the world will be different because I was important in the life of a child.

--Anonymous

Loaded

This afternoon I was invited to join the listings of Loaded Web, a new blog directory based on geographic locations. The Collaborative Piano Blog is now listed in LW's local directory of Toronto blogs. There's also an open call for bloggers to join the LW listings--you can create an account and add your blog here in case you're interested.

(Thanks, Lesley!)

Baldwin High Roller Piano

Via Mark Dalzell's photostream on Flickr, here's a piano that puts the "win" back in Baldwin.

More cool pianos:

Steinway photoset on Flickr

Floral piano

Danish PH grand

Piano with bovine paint job

Steinway ice sculpture

Hello Kitty piano

Piano-related photo pools on Flickr

Anderson & Roe Play Mozart's Sonata For 2 Pianos K. 448

Here's the latest video installment from Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Roe--Mozart's Sonata for 2 Pianos in D Major K. 448, filmed in Morse Recital Hall at Yale University. Breathtaking and offbeat camera work, as always...

More from Anderson & Roe:

Piazzolla Libertango

Star Wars Fantasy Part 1

Star Wars Fantasy Part 2

Moonlight Sonata Comments Dramatized

Ligeti Devil's Staircase (Greg alone)
Sheep May Safely Graze (Greg alone)

Great Rehearsal Techniques Article in AMT

Hey all you chamber music coaches--an article from a series on Collaborative Piano in the Oct./Nov. 2008 American Music Teacher has some great techniques for working with young chamber groups: Janice Wenger's Focusing the rehearsal: tips and tricks for students and coaches.  Ms. Wenger talks with chamber music luminaries Elinor Freer, Ann Harrell, Erica Ekert, and Judith Glyde on some of the techniques that they use in coachings to develop ensemble awareness. Here's Eastman faculty member Elinor Freer on a fascinating group warmup for chamber groups:

I like to have young ensembles do unison scale warm-ups. Doing just one at the start of a coaching or used as a break in the middle is a fun activity and gets students involved in making decisions about the music. It's also a great time to work on matching intonation and developing a group sound and pulse.

Students can pick the key (it's a good time to review key signatures!) and one or two different musical elements to incorporate. As they become more advanced, more elements can be included. These elements would include things like: articulation, dynamics, melodic shape, balance, character/mood, tempo or any tempo fluctuations such as ritard or accelerando.

Other exercises for innovative coaching covered in the article include breathing, setting tempi, ensemble dynamics, awareness, focused listening, rhythm games, and singing.

Focusing the rehearsal: tips and tricks for students and coaches

Table of Contents for the Oct-Nov 2008 American Music Teacher

Previously on the Collaborative Piano Blog:

African Chamber Music Program from Vancouver New Music in March 2000

Degree Programs in Collaborative Piano

Educating the Collaborative Piano Major

Warning: Piano Lessons Scam Emails Are Circulating

Yet Another Way to Rock Your Studio Website

My latest article for Music Teacher's Helper is up, with a quick tuturial on how to embed a mini-video in your studio news sidebar utilizing a YouTube resizing hack I recently figured out. The first video I chose to embed featured none other than countertenor David DQ Lee, whom I coached back at the Vancouver Academy of Music in the late 90's and who now enjoys a very successful performing career based in Berlin.

Yngwie Malmsteen Performs His Trilogy Concerto With Orchestra

The raw power of hair metal. The unrelenting discipline of classical music. Watch the two styles side-by-side in a performance of the first movement of Yngwie Malmsteen's Trilogy Suite Op. 5 for electric guitar and orchestra.

Wouldn't it be fun to play an orchestral reduction of this work...

Staying Organized With a Lesson Notes Template

My latest article for the Music Teacher's Helper Blog is now up, which is a walk-through of how to use a printable lesson notes page to record information at lessons which can then be entered using your Music Teacher's Helper account. The latest step in my neverending quest to stay organized...

Carla Huhtanen and Dave Carley Among NOW's 2008 Top 10 Theatre Artists

NOW Magazine has just named its Top 10 Theatre Artists of 2008, and it was great to see two people I've worked together with in the last year make the list: Dave Carley at #9 (Dave was the librettist for David Ogborn's Piece of my Heart in Opera To Go 2008), and my wonderful Tapestry New Works Studio colleague Carla Huhtanen at #10. Read more about them at Inside the New Works Studio.

Canada's National Ballet School Offers Dance Accompanist Mentoring Program Jan. 26-30 and Feb. 2-6

This looks like a fascinating program--in the next few weeks, Canada's National Ballet School in Toronto will be putting on two five-day mentoring programs for dance accompanists where they can learn the art from CNBS principal pianist Marina Surgan and her colleagues on the musical staff. The programs run from January 26-30 and February 2-6 for $400CDN per session.  About the program:

The Musicians' Mentoring Program is a five-day intensive program designed to hone the musician's skills as a dance accompanist. It is offered each year in late January and early February, though in special circumstances, alternative dates can be arranged. Participants may choose a Monday to Friday or Tuesday to Saturday block.

Musicians will experience a variety of dance classes, including professional, recreational and adult ballet, modern/contemporary and creative dance. The flexible program is designed to meet the needs of every pianist, from the emerging musician to those with considerable experience. Areas of specific interest to individual participants can be highlighted. Each day will include a mix of observation and hands-on participation, plus a one-hour discussion with our musicians. All participants will have a final review session with Marina Surgan, Principal Pianist. For eligible participants there is also the opportunity to play for a class alongside the NBS mentoring musician.

For more information, call 1-800-387-0785 or send an email to registrar [at] nbs-enb dot ca.

Best of luck to all the pianists about to embark upon this specialized and fascinating corner of the piano world!

(Thanks, Becky!)

Related posts:

A Celebration of NYC Ballet Accompanists

Required and Preferred Skills for the Collaborative Pianist

How To Get Work as a Freelance Collaborative Pianist

Menuhin and Baller Play Sarasate's Habanera

Here's a magnificent film of violinist Yehudi Menuhin and pianist Adolph Baller performing Sarasate's Habanera sometime around the mid-30's:



(Via Neatorama, who earn extra points for mentioning Mr. Baller)

Those Darned Orchestral Reductions

Cyndee recently left the following comment:

Dear Chris,
FABULOUS Blog. I'm an ex-opera singer, currently a Musik-Bibliothekarin in a big opera house in Germany. This season is the one from hell -- 51 different operas and ballets are being performed. We have 4 or 5 new young pianists on the staff, and they are completely overwhelmed. We've had several embarrassingly poorly played staging rehearsals of Walküre, Cunning Vixen, etc. Our head conductor tells the pianists it would help if they knew the piece and thought of the harmonies instead of trying to read the music and play all the notes. Do you have any suggestions for a better approach to having to play masses of new music?? Thanks!

Thanks for the great comment, Cyndee. First of all, I would like to register my jealousy at the fact that the company you work for has 51 productions going on this season, which would never happen in a North American house!  

That being said, I can imagine that the repetiteur staff must have one hell of a job staying on top of all those scores. Playing orchestra reductions can be extremely challenging, especially since many of them are either under-written or over-written in terms of what the pianist needs to play. If the pianists are buried under a mass of notes in the reductions, the best advice I can give would be to listen to recordings of performances. Many of them. Over and over again. 

What many pianists don't realize is that seemingly complex reductions are often much simpler in terms of which instruments in the orchestra can actually be heard.  For example, with Wagner operas, the huge mess in many reductions is actually not as bad once you listen to the orchestra and realize that there are only a handful of moving parts that are clearly audible.  Finding the structural thread in orchestral textures is one of the hallmarks of great repetiteurs, and what singers really need to hear in the rehearsal process. And pianists should definitely know that they don't need to play every single note in the reduction.  Conversely, they may need to add notes (as in many Schirmer and Henle Mozart reductions).

However, a pianist, especially if they're new on the job, can't achieve mastery of these scores without preparation before staging begins. Listening to loads of recordings can drastically ease the complexity of learning several hundred pages of score. If one already has heard recordings and performances and has a clear idea of the orchestration (and vocal lines), embarking upon the process of learning the notes can be much more rewarding.

So far, I haven't written much here about the art of playing orchestral reductions. Often pianists poo-poo reduction playing in favor of art song and chamber music, not realizing the rewards of playing the concerto and opera repertoire. I know of many pianists who specialize in reductions, and are often very, very secretive about how they achieve their orchestral palette at the piano. So far I've acted in a similar way in forgoing any posts about this subject. Perhaps that may change this year...

Readers: any other comments on how the rep staff at this big German house can become more effective orchestral reduction ninjas?

Steinway Photoset on Flickr

This Flickr set of various Steinway models is from luxorium, who also has uploaded a number of other tricked-out piano photos:

Floral Piano

(Via lovedaylemon's photostream on Flickr, from a 1923 postcard of a floral display in Bowling Park, Bradford)

More cool photos:

Jazz Garden w/Piano Fountain

Piano With Bovine Paint Job

Steinway Ice Sculpture

Hello Kitty Piano

Piano-related Photo Pools on Flickr

First Round Guide to the 2009 Honens Competition

The Honens International Piano Competition is gearing up its 2009 running that will culminate in the winners being announced in Calgary on November 6, 2009. The Honens Competition bills itself as "one of the highest-ranking musical competitions in the world. Its uniqueness lies in its mission to find the complete artist – one who possess technical mastery as well as expressiveness in a wide range of musical forms and styles – one whose music-making possesses imagination, innovation and relevance in today’s world."

For the competition's first round, over 90 pianists have been chosen for performances in Calgary, New York, and Munich. From the Honens press release of yesterday afternoon, here are the pianists who were invited to compete in the first round:

Calgary, March 21, Rosza Centre

Moye Chen, 26 (China)
Ryan McCullough, 21 (USA)
Sergei Saratovsky, 27 (Canada)
Vasileios Varvareso, 26 (Greece)
Todd Yaniw, 23 (Canada)
Chun-Chieh Yen, 26 (Taiwan)
Zhenya Yesmanovich, 26 (Canada)
Avan Yu, 22 (Canada)
Feng Zhang, 23 (China)
Xixi Zhou, 24 (China)
Adam Zukiewicz, 25 (Poland)

New York, March 26-31, Peter Norton Symphony Space

Audrey Abela, 21 (France)
Yelena Beriyeva, 27 (Georgia)
Michael Berkovsky, 27 (Canada)
Maxim Bernard, 30 (Canada)
Michael Brown, 22 (USA)
Michael Bukhman, 25 (Israel)
Sheng Cai, 22 (Canada)
Sonia Chan, 29 (Canada)
Yunjie Chen, 28 (China)
Sarah Choi, 30 (South Korea)
Vivian Choi, 29 (Australia)
Tina Chong, 24 (Canada)
Yue Chu, 25 (China)
Ran Dank, 27 (Israel)
Gregory DeTurck, 27 (USA)
Christopher Falzone, 24 (USA)
Illya Filshtinskiy, 22 (USA)
Jonathan Floril, 20 (Spain)
Tanya Gabrielian, 26 (USA)
Qing Jiang, 26 (China)
Tanya Karyagina, 30 (Kazakhstan)
Esther Keel, 24 (USA)
Stanislav Khristenko, 25 (Russia)
Sangyoung Khristenko, 25 (South Korea)
Sheng-Yuan Kuan, 27 (Taiwan)
Soyeon Lee, 30 (South Korea)
Dmitri Levkovich, 30 (Canada)
Yoni Levyatov, 29 (Israel)
Ang Li, 24 (Canada)
Scott Meek, 27 (Canada)
Christopher Mi (USA)
Eldon Ng, 29 (Canada)
Adam Nielson, 28 (USA)
Ilya Poletaev, 29 (Canada)
Elizabeth Schumann, 27 (Canada)
Isaac Seo, 24 (Canada)
Benjamin Smith, 28 (Canada)
Konstantun Soukhovetski, 28 (Russia)
David Tong, 26 (Australia)
Gilles Vonsattel, 28 (USA)
Zun Wang, 30 (China)
Wayne Weng, 26 (Canada)
James Willshire, 25 (United Kingdom)
Irene Wong, 27 (Canada)
Di Wu, 25 (China)
Zenan Yu, 22 (China)
Wei-Jen Yuan, 26 (USA)
Darrett Zusko, 24 (Canada)

Munich, April 25-27, Gasteig

SooJin Anjou, 30 (South Korea)
Angelo Arciglione, 27 (Italy)
Tiffany Butt, 30 (Canada)
Jae-Won Cheung, 28 (South Korea)
Emmanuel Despax, 25 (France)
Martina Filjak, 30 (Croatia)
Mei Yi Foo, 29 (Malaysia)
Lilit Grigoryan, 24 (Armenia)
Sofya Gulyak, 29 (Russia)
Andreas Hering, 26 (Germany)
Alexander Karpeyev, 26 (Russia)
Elena Kolesnitschenko, 27 (Ukraine)
Kiril Kozlovsky, 28 (Finland)
Nataliya Kudrytska, 26 (Ukraine)
István Lajkó, 27 (Hungary)
Tatiana Larionova, 29 (Russia)
Alexey Lebedev, 29 (Russia)
Jinsang Lee, 28 (South Korea)
Ka-ling Colleen Lee, 29 (Hong Kong)
Michael Namirovsky, 28 (Israel)
Vikingur Olafsson, 25 (Iceland)
Esther Park, 25 (USA)
Tom Poster, 28 (United Kingdom)
Mikhail Shilyaev, 30 (Russia)
Evgeny Starodubstev, 27 (Russia)
Julian Steinbach, 30 (Brazil)
Jean-Philippe Sylvestre, 27 (Canada)
Alessandro Taverna, 26 (Italy)
Georgy Tchaidze, 21 (Russia)
Tatiana Titova, 29 (Russia)
Daniel Wnukowski, 28 (Canada)
Kirill Zwegintsov, 25 (Ukraine)

From the first round, 21 pianists will advance to the quarter-finals on October 22-28, consisting of a solo program (featuring a commissioned work by Brian Current) and a short program with violinist and RCM faculty member Erika Raum. The 12 pianists advancing to the semi-finals on October 30-November 1 will perform a solo recital and short program with contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux.

The final round will feature 5 pianists on November 5 and 6 performing concertos with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, after which the winners will be announced. The Honens website has a complete list of the 2009 awards, as well as a list of previous winners.

Best of luck to all the pianists performing over the coming months!

Co-performer/Accompanist Survey

Pianist and teacher Yuriko Kubota is in the midst of gathering data for a course at the University of Sheffield. The survey she has created deals with "the nature of expert accompanists / co-performers while exploring their rehearsal". If you're interested in spending 5-10 minutes answering questions about the nature of your rehearsal process and the preparation for it, head on over to QuestionPro and fill out Yuriko's Co-performer/Accompanist survey.

My First Commercial - For The 2008 Royal Conservatory Piano Syllabus

The new video series for RCM Examinations is now online and I'm glad to say that I am one of the featured teachers on the commercial for the 2008 edition of the Piano Syllabus for RCM Exams, which you can view at one of the following pages:

Low resolution Windows Media

High resolution Windows Media

RealPlayer

The videos are best viewed on IE7. My segment (starting at around 1:50) is an overview of the benefits of the new syllabus, as well as an explanation on how to use the tables for the various requirements. This was an entirely new experience for me, as I had never worked with a teleprompter before. All my words were scripted, although I had a small hand in tweaking the final wording of what I had to say.

I also had a the luxury of a hand model for the shots where specific tables in the syllabus needed to be filmed.  Since I was only contracted for one afternoon, my stunt double hand model was filmed separately for these shots. The model (actually an assistant producer) borrowed my shirt for the filming. Those of you who know me will notice that the replacement hand pictured at left is significantly smaller than mine, with a shorter fingers, reduced span, and distinct lack of "pianist's muscle" just below the fifth finger. Nevertheless, I hope you agree with me that the hand captures my gracefulness of motion, attention to detail, and power of persuation while at the piano.

Official Syllabi of The Royal Conservatory of Music: Piano Syllabus, 2008 Edition 2008 Edition. By RCM Examinations. This edition: 8th. Piano. Official Syllabi of The Royal Conservatory of Music. Level: Preparatory - ARCT. Book. 144 pages. Published by The Frederick Harris Music Company. (S29) See more info...

The Quest for the Perfect Chair

What is important to realize about finding a comfortable sitting position at the piano is that the quality of the chair you sit on (as well as the distance from the piano) can drastically affect your experience either positively or negatively. MPR of not necessary, but relevant recently documented his quest to create the perfect adjustable piano chair, taking as his model the unique chair of Glenn Gould. MPR's description of his process is laid out step-by-step, so if you're interested in doing some chair mods yourself, you should be able to duplicate his results after a trip or two to the hardware store.

In their daily rounds, collaborative pianists often have a tough time of playing on many different pianos, each with a different quality chair. Variable keyboard heights (floor types and casters can affect this greatly) can make the winning seating equation even trickier to find. I know of many pianists who ask for a stacked second chair or phone book in order to sit higher. My problem is the opposite--since I'm so tall, I need to sit low, and can often be seen scouring the RCM for the lowest possible chair.

Staying Organized On The Go - At No Cost

This is the time of year when pianists are playing hours a day and often living out of binders with the photocopies that they play from in rehearsals and lessons. Staying organized is often a huge chore. Why not put your schedule right in your binder?

The D*I*Y Planner is an ingenious system of planner kits (free under Creative Commons License) that you can print out in the page format of your choice in order to build your own time and project management system. Its latest offering, the D*I*Y Planner 3.0, consists of pdf files containing dozens of page templates in both letter and legal sizes, including core package, calendar, creativity, notes, and GTD overview files to choose from. Just print the pages you need, three-hole-punch them, stick them in your binder (either in front of the music or at the back), and you've just created a free and powerful productivity suite that you can keep with you as you spend those long hours at the piano.

Fallis and Tiefenbach More or Less Live at the Gould

Toronto pianist and broadcaster Peter Tiefenbach sends along the following information:

On Saturday, January 17, 2009, Mary Lou Fallis and I will be presenting two shows at the Glenn Gould Studio at the CBC, at 5 and 8:30. We're recording a CD, and CBC is also picking up the show for later broadcast on Sunday Afternoon in Concert with Bill Richardson.

We're planning to do a mix of old favourites as well as some more recent material that hasn't yet been seen in Toronto. The show will be approximately 75 minutes without intermission, and we've timed the performances to fit in around other evening activities (dinner, drinks, dancing, dusting etc.).

Tickets [$25] are available through the Roy Thomson Hall/Massey Hall box office.

More or Less Live at the Gould

Facebook event listing

(Thanks, Peter!)

(NB: The fearsome weapon Peter is holding in the photo is a halberd--no word yet on whether or not he will be wielding it at the concert.)

20% Off Schott and Mel Bay Titles Until January 29

If you need to stock up on scores this month, you might want to check out publications from Schott and Mel Bay, all of which are discounted 20% at Sheet Music Plus.  The sale runs until January 29, 2009.  Below are some popular titles from both publishers that might be of interest to CPB readers:

Etudes for Piano - Volume 1 (Etudes pour piano, premier livre) By Gyorgy Ligeti (1923-). Collection for solo piano. Composed 1985. 56 pages. Published by Schott. (HL.49007687) See more info...

John Kember - Piano Sight-Reading - Volume 1 A Fresh Approach. By John Kember. This edition: ED12736. Schott. 52 pages. Published by Schott Music. (49012936) See more info...

Violin Concerto, Op. 35 Violin and Piano. By Erich Wolfgang Korngold. (Violin). This edition: ED6713. Schott. Piano Reduction with Solo Part. 51 pages. Published by Schott Music. (49006575) See more info...

Theory and Harmony Wall Chart For All Instruments. Reference. Wall Chart. All Styles. Level: Multiple Levels. Wall Chart. 1 pages. Published by Mel Bay Publications, Inc. (20215) See more info...

Complete Book of Modulations for the Pianist By Gail Smith. By Gail Smith. For Piano. Theory & harmony. Complete. All styles. Level: Intermediate. Book. 64 pages. Published by Mel Bay Publications, Inc. (95317) See more info...

Complete Church Pianist Hymn Arrangements for Every Occasion. Arranged by Gail Smith. Arranged by Gail Smith. For Piano. Hymnals. Sacred. Level: Intermediate-Advanced. Book. 208 pages. Published by Mel Bay Publications, Inc. (98232) See more info...

From time to time, also be sure to check out the Bargain Bin, where titles are discounted by 40%. Happy shopping!

Call for Submissions: February 2009 Blog Carnival

Next month, I will be hosting the Febuary 2009 Music Education Blog Carnival! This carnival is part of Joseph Pisano's Music Education 100 Bloggers project, and is an ongoing initiative to bring the wonder and diversity of music education to the blogosphere and connect with as many people as possible. I would like to showcase a wide variety of musical people, places, activities, experiences, and blogs, so if you've written any music education-related articles recently, please don't hesitate to submit them to the carnival. Deadline for submissions is the end of the month, with a projected carnival date of February 1st, 2009. 

Official submission form

1927 Recording of Eva Turner Singing Puccini's In Questa Reggia

I've had the pleasure of playing and coaching "In questa reggia" from Puccini's Turandot many times in the last few years. Among the recordings I've heard and seen, this one stands out - the legendary Eva Turner, not just for her vocal power and beauty of tone, but for the surprisingly high quality of audio for the time:



Click here for another remastering of the same recording, with a slightly different sound.

More videos:

James Brown and Luciano Pavarotti
Two Videos of Pavarotti singing Nessun Dorma
Keith Klassen Sings Di miei bollenti spiriti

Barbara Fast on Sight Reading

Sight reading can be one of the most difficult, frustrating, and ultimately rewarding skills in all of music. The reward: being able to sit down and play nearly anything put in front of you, as well as drastically reducing the amount of time needed to learn music. The best way to get there is simply by doing it day after day, month after month, going through as many pieces as possible in order to become a true sight reading ninja.

Whether you're learning or teaching this integral skill, you should definitely check out Building Blocks to Effective Sight Reading by Barbara Fast in the July 2008 Piano Pedagogy Forum. She talks about research into several facets of this skill, including some interesting eye movement facts:

It is helpful to understand how the eye functions when working to improve sight reading. There are several surprising facts to note. While musicians often feel as if they are staring in a fixed manner at a piece of music, in reality the eye is constantly moving very rapidly, performing large and small movements, about 4-6 per second. The eye takes snapshots, similar to a camera, and the brain hooks these snapshots together, so that it seems that our eyes function like a movie. (Lehmann, Andreas, McArthur 2002).

Secondly, with these frequent small and large movements, the eye moves ahead in a score, but also returns to current or even previous material. This fact runs counter to the practice of improving sight reading by covering current notes students are playing in order to force the eye to read ahead. This can be helpful in some circumstances, but should not always be utilized. The eye movements of better sight readers not only travel further ahead in the score, the eye constantly moves around, including returning to the current point of performance (Young, 1971).

She also looks at the influence of rhythmic fluency, harmonic understanding, ear training, solid technique, scanning music beforehand, and the importance of ensemble playing in a successful curriculum. Pianists here can take a cue from wind and string players, whose participation in ensembles from an early age probably results in a higher level of sight reading proficiency than their pianistic counterparts.

More Reading:

10 ways of Improving Your Sight Reading Skills
Build Sight Reading Into Your Practice Session
The Extreme Piano Guide, or 30+1 Ideas to Improve Your Practice Time
15 Ways To Add 10-Minute Practice Blocks To Your Routine

When Was That Reference Due?

It's the busy season for reference-letter writing now, so make sure you're doing your best to advance your students--head on over to the Music Teacher's Helper Blog where I've just published 8 Ways To Write More Effective Reference Letters For Your Students.