Readers' Poll: Who is Your Favorite French Composer?

This is one of my all-time favorite quotes from Pierre Bernac's The Interpretation of French Song:

The mixture of harmonic sensuousness and clarity of thought explains why French music so well conveys precise and colourful description, or the suggestion of a poetic climate. The composer Henry Barraud writes: "A French musician knows that one does not reach poetical achievement, the one aim of all aesthetic creation, merely through verbalism and self-exhibition. Other quicker, surer roads are to be found, and there is nothing like the unexpressed, to make the inexpressible understood."

Who is your favorite French composer?

Answer the question on the latest CPB poll, which can be found on the right-hand sidebar of any blog page for the next few days. Those of you reading on email or via RSS reader can vote here.

Voting closes at 9pm on Sunday night, after which the winning composer will be crowned.

Update 8/2:

The poll is finished and here are the results:

Claude Debussy (23 votes)
Maurice Ravel (18 votes)
Francis Poulenc (14 votes)
Other (6 votes)
Eric Satie (5 votes)
Henrie Duparc (4 votes)
Hector Berlioz (4 votes)
Gabriel Fauré (3 votes)
Camille Saint-Saëns (3 votes)
Georges Bizet (1 vote)
Reynaldo Hahn (1 vote)

Too bad about Fauré. Maybe next time.

Beware of Moving Pianos

For those of you who enjoyed Ellen Johansen's hilarious recital-preparation story a few days ago, here's another one, this time from Jan Grimes, coordinator of the venerable collaborative piano program at Louisiana State University.

I have a funny story to share with you; one of many working with students that have contributed to my salt and “silver” hair!!!

This soprano (who sold Mary Kay products by night) was in the green room before her recital when she suddenly wanted to “go over” that spot that she had such difficulty counting in “the Monk and his Cat.” As we did so, she made the same mistakes as usual, but when I informed her of that her response was, “Oh, I just wanted to see how well you would ‘follow’ me.” !!!!#@ .......my internal reaction. I smiled and encouraged her to sing whatever she was doing with confidence and that I would be with her. Well, in the recital all went as I expected: dropped rests here, prolonged breaths there, and wrong words everywhere. However, she did surprise me with one thing. You must picture this young lady as a fully grown diva, and as Gerald Moore says, “the curve of the piano was made to fit.” As she was singing one of her last selections, and as the finish line was now in sight for her, she really began to THROW herself into her music, so much so that she threw herself back on the piano and it moved over an octave to my left!!!! I quickly directed my page turner, with a stern look to avoid debate, to put his foot behind the wheel. ( I think he was afraid for his appendage.) Well, we all survived and I was as happy as anyone when this event was over. The only thing I have neglected to tell you so far was a non-musical thing that happened during the intermission. As we all know, we collaborative pianists do much more than play the piano. We are cheerleaders, team players, coaches, and sometimes “locker room” assistants. With that in mind, I must tell you that this young, but large, diva was wearing a body suit under her gown and after a visit to the powder room during intermission found that she couldn’t reconnect the snaps. Well, the rest of the story is obvious. I was gracious and kind the entire time, but inside.........you can imagine. :)

If you have a hilarious story that you would like to share, send me at note any time. I can either credit you or list it from an anonymous source.

(Thanks, Jan!)

Beyond the Mozart Effect?

Whether the Mozart Effect actually exists and can improve spatial-temporal reasoning is a matter that has been often debated. But what if there were documented effects for the music of other composers and musical styles? Messybeast looks at what some of these might be:

BABBITT EFFECT: Child gibbers nonsense all the time. Eventually, people stop listening to him. Child doesn't care because all his playmates think he's cool.

BRUCKNER EFFECT: Child speaks very slowly and repeats himself frequently. Gains reputation for profundity.

SCHOENBERG EFFECT: Child never repeats a word until he's used all the other words in his vocabulary. Sometimes talks backwards. Eventually, people stop listening to him. Child blames them for their inability to understand him.

STOCKHAUSEN EFFECT: All you get out of the child is an atonal cacophony, but those around him are conned into believing it has some sort of artistic merit.

For the whole list, check out The Mozart Effect...and Beyond.

Follow...no...Join....er.....Like the Collaborative Piano Blog Facebook Page

Not all the action on the Collaborative Piano Blog is actually on the blog these days. Join Like the CPB's Facebook Page (with 1100 fans and counting) and you'll see a lot of stuff that won't end up here. Many of you will have by now heard about the hilarious Parker's Practice Tips series by University of Toronto faculty member and Gryphon Trio pianist James Parker. Since he uploads his videos to Facebook, they're only viewable within its walled garden. As of tonight, I've added Out of Tune Piano and Lieder Translations Parts 1 and 2, with many more to come in the next few days.

I've also recently discovered that there are several key figures in the collaborative piano field who secretly read CPB articles in their free time, but who won't join Facebook because it would "send the wrong signal" or "damage their standing in the profession". Never fear, all is not lost. Here's what you can do: simply ask one of your students to log into Facebook between lessons so that they can visit the CPB Facebook page and watch the videos. Then ask them to go to People for the Ethical Treatment of Accompanists for the really lurid horror stories of the pianist's life...

You're Cutting How Many Bars?

Earlier today, East Hampton-based pianist and teacher Ellen Johansen sent along a hilarious story about playing a concert for cantors and choir. I too play in a reform synagogue (although only for High Holy Days), and can attest to the high level of sight reading, score reading, chart reading, and transposition that is required. What remains so fascinating for me as a non-Jewish pianist working in this setting is not just learning the music, figuring out the order and style of the service, nor for that matter remembering to read the machzorim (prayer books) from back to front, but the experience of learning a living tradition that goes back thousands of years.

Here is Ellen's letter in its entirety, reprinted with her kind permission:

Dear Chris,

I have been reading your blog for a few months now and I remember you were sharing stories about accompanying experiences that no one would want. I just finished one in this category and it has many elements of horror! I was hired to accompany a landmark event. This concert would be a cantorial concert including an orthodox male choir, an orthodox male cantor and, never ever had this happened before, a female reformed cantor, who is my regular cantor. It is taboo for the orthodox to hear her sing, let alone share a piece with her. So I was the unwitting accompanist for this event.

A month before the concert, my Cantor was emailing the conductor asking for their music, but the emails were not being acknowledged Day after day we received no music until one week before the concert. Then it came in drips and drabs, some faxed (I call this dirty music) and some pdfs (they were not much better - most cantorial music is barely written out and the piano is more of a concept, but that's another story.) I was planning to use my airturn and Music Reader so as the music came in I would add them to my Music Reader playlist. I often had to rewrite the piano parts (and figure out the music in the haze of fax world) using my PrintMusic program. Adding the Hebrew lyrics was taking too much time and I was told it not to spend the time because often the words for the prayer do not quite fit the rhythm of the part so the music is altered to make the words fit better.

This Friday I suddenly got 7 more pieces, arias, a chorus with a complicated piano part and I had lots of practicing along with the other 20 pieces. There was no set order yet. The rehearsal was booked on the day of the concert.

Day of the concert, the choir was 40 minutes late and the other cantor didn't arrive. When we started the first piece, the conductor said, "you do have the piano part for this?" Of course I didn't. I had re-written the dirty score (with no words) that was emailed with only vocal parts and my cantor and I figured I would just play the vocal parts. He gave me the piano part. It was in a totally different key from the score he sent me. My Cantor was singing the high part and I was concerned the higher key would be difficult. Not to worry, he would give the high notes to a member of the choir. So I sight read it. My Cantor seemed comfortable so we moved on. Of course the music was now not on my computer so I would have to turn the pages manually and because it was a two sided copy I was turning and slapping them onto a pile. Suddenly I was lost...oh, there was a repeat from page 11 back to page 5! Sure I can do this without a page turner! Uh, oh, a coda somewhere, but don't worry I can find this. I do often wonder if we pianists should come to rehearsals dressed as a super hero.

We began another piece that was with the other choir and the not yet arrived cantor. I was asked to create a two measure opening. As the choir began to sing I realized my score wasn't matching what the choir and missing cantor would be singing. I stopped and asked and the choir answered that each member had a different score! The conductor said that was not a problem. As we resumed the conductor would sort of sing the cantor part. The conductor kept stopping to correct what I was doing including removing measures because the canter tended to ignore those measures. "OK," I said and made what ever annotations I could. When he would begin the conductor would say go to... and then say something in Hebrew. I didn't have the words in my score so I kept asking for measure numbers. This really annoyed him. I asked when the Cantor would arrive so we could rehearse with him. The choir laughed and asked when does the concert start. "4:00", I answered, "5:30" was their responses. Ha, ha. We continued this way through the rehearsal (or non-rehearsal I am not sure what it was) adding notes on tempo changes and dynamic changes that may or may not happen depending on the mood of the absent cantor. It was 30 minutes before the concert and then I insisted that I needed to change. The conductor ran to the piano and asked me if I could play just two more pieces I had not yet seen. They had no piano part. I was to improvise with the choir. I said I could but I wouldn't!

I was finally given order of the program and most of the pieces were cut including all of the last minute arias!

Five minutes before the concert the male cantor came striding in. I was introduced and he said he "couldn't make it to the rehearsal because he was taking a walk in the woods, ha, ha." I said, "I hope you don't continue to walk in the woods when I am accompanying you." He actually didn't hear me, he was too far into his arrogance but the choir heard and were snidely laughing behind him.

During the concert he decided to pay attention to some of measures that were "cut" by the conductor. He would glare at me as if I had missed something. It became quite a game. I decided to just follow him and let him sing. He did not vocalize before the concert so you could imagine the first piece was quite skreechy and flat. ( I wonder if the walk in the woods was with wine). Of course the concert was a huge success (I even found all the turn backs in my manual music) and my air turn worked like a charm (the last minute shuffling of the pieces on the playlist was great) although I learned that "new" batteries from a large pack of batteries offered by the Synagogue concert coordinator does not mean new. My airturn did not work too well for the first piece so I manually turned the first piece and then switched back to my re-chargeables.

At the end of the concert the cantors and conductors got flowers. The Male cantor gave me his flowers.

At least my dress looked gorgeous. Oh, I foolishly added a performance of Un Sospiro in the middle as a break for the singers. I had also decided to change my biography and mention that I teach an adult piano class and had many old ladies come to me after the concert and slip me their telephone numbers.

There, my concert that no one would want to accompany. I have a feeling they are going to ask me again next year.....until they get my bill.

(Thanks, Ellen!)

Dani Rosenoer Plays and Smashes Piano in Punching Keys

Longtime CPB readers will recall that I'm a fan of piano destruction videos (evidence here, here and here), so it's no surprise that I enjoyed Dani Rosenoer's Punching Keys, in which he plays, smashes, and kicks an abandoned piano in the wilderness. Stick around for the action sequence at the 1-minute mark:



If you enjoyed Dani's music, check out the pay-what-you-want downloads of his music at Everyone's Talking.

Thomas Glenn Sings Jack Perla's We Would Fall

The art song is alive and well in San Francisco. From the Noe Valley Chamber Music Fundraiser on May 23 (previously mentioned here) Thomas Glenn sings Jack Perla's We Would Fall - Jack is also the pianist:



Also be sure to check out Jack's new website and blog to keep up with his latest projects.

RIP Anthony Rolfe Johnson

Anthony Rolfe Johnson, one of England's greatest tenors, has just passed away. He will be fondly remembered not only for his artistry, but for his great commitment to the art of the song recital. He was 69.



Wikipedia article on Anythony Rolfe Johnson
Short remembrance by Jessica Duchen

Le Rossignol and Other Short Fables in Aix-en-Provence

One of the hits of the 09-10 Toronto season was the Canadian Opera Company's 5-way co-production* of Le Rossignol and Other Short Fables, directed by Robert LePage. Here is the entire production (yes, all 103+ minutes of it!), consisting of Renard, various shorter works, and Le Rossignol in the second half. Be sure to check out the water-filled orchestra pit and Vietnamese water-puppet action.



Next stops for the production include the Brooklyn Academy of Music in spring 2010, followed by Lyon, and Amsterdam.

*Partners in the production were Lepage's Ex Machina production company, the Canadian Opera Company, De Nederlanse Opera, Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, and Opera National de Lyon.

(Thanks, Wendy!)

Central State University Seeks Tenure Track Faculty Accompanist

William Henry Caldwell, director of vocal and choral activities at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, sent along the following listing for a tenure track faculty accompanist this afternoon. It seems like CSU is looking to fill the position pretty quickly (August), so those interested should send their materials ASAP. Here's the complete listing:

Central State University
Department of Fine and Performing Arts
Faculty Vacancy

Position: Faculty Accompanist (tenure track)
Starting Date: August 2010
Rank: Negotiable
Salary: Commensurate with Experience

RESPONSIBILITIES: Provide accompaniment for all chorus performances and rehearsals; coaching for all vocal majors and minors (10 hours per week); provide accompaniment for faculty rehearsals, recitals, and studio class; provide accompaniment and music for major academic functions (e.g. convocations, commencement, charter day, honors convocations, etc.); provide accompaniment for chorus during annual spring tour, guest appearances at churches, schools, and special performances on weekends; teach one section of freshman piano class; provide instruction and coaching in diction (French, German, Italian).

QUALIFICATIONS: While the earned doctorate or artist diploma in accompanying (or ABD status) is recommended, the candidate must possess a master of music degree and have vast experience in accompanying and rehearsing college choirs. The candidate must possess knowledge of vocal literature.

GENERAL INFORMATION: Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio is one of the nation’s most renowned historically African American Universities, with a one hundred twenty-two year legacy of academic and athletic achievements. The music department, which is a part of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts, is housed in the Paul Robeson Cultural and
Performing Arts Center and is fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. With an enrollment of approximately 60 music majors, degrees are offered in music education, performance, and jazz studies.

APPLICATION: Applicants should send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, current recordings, three letters of recommendation, and transcripts to:

The Director of Human Resources
Central State University
1004 P. O. Box 1004
1400 Brush Row Road
Wilberforce, Ohio 45384

The search process will continue until the position is filled, but priority screening will begin immediately.

Central State University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer

(Thanks, William!)

CPB Readers Get 15% Off Armaid Products Until September 15

One of the most vital aspects of being a professional pianist is the need to have a free and comfortable range of motion in the hands, wrist, and arms, with a minimum of tension. Once a busy playing schedule kicks in, many pianists are at risk for developing repetitive stress injuries that can stick around for months or years.

Those suffering from repetitive stress injuries might be interested in Armaid, a self-administered massage device offered by a small company in Blue Hill, Maine. Here's how it works:

The adjustable strap attaches Armaid to the thigh on the same side as the arm you are massaging. If you are massaging your left arm, attach Armaid on your left thigh.

You can adjust the Armaid to fit different sizes of arms and hands by moving the cam.

The handles are designed for the free hand to regulate the appropriate amount of pressure on the arm being massaged. The amount of pressure is always determined by you.

The cushioned permanent roller gives the arm comfort and support while the therapy attachments do their job.

Armaid has three flexible interchangeable therapy attachments. The center portion of each attachment is the highest point of the arc and will always remain in contact with your muscle. When using Armaid, put your attention on that center ball as you massage your arm.

The Armaid device comes with several different roller ball attachments: a firm one for general-purpose deep massage, a soft one for more tender muscles, and a foam roller for particularly sensitive muscle areas. To get a better idea of the device and its uses, take a look at Armaid's Google Video Page.

What impressed me with the trial device I received was the solidity of the plastic parts (clearly designed to last a long time), the ease of understanding its function through excellent documentation, and the simplicity of changing the roller ball attachments. Be sure to watch the video instructions before using the Armaid in order to understand exactly how the therapy works. How Armaid works to treat tendonitis:



It's no secret that Collaborative Piano Blog readers are some of the busiest pianists in the business, and sometimes our muscles get grossly overworked. If you're interested in investing in an Armaid device, Collaborative Piano Blog readers in the United States and Canada have been offered a 15% discount off the regular price of US$99.95 and CDN$110 until September 15. Shipping charges still apply.

Ordering info for the United States:

The Armaid Company
Phone: 1-800-488-5505 or 207-374-9952
Order online at www.armaid.com
Email: contact [at] armaid dot com

The Armaid Company
658 Pleasant Street
Blue Hill, Maine 04614
USA

When ordering in the US, just mention the Collaborative Piano Blog promotion to get your 15% discount.

Ordering info for Canada:

ErgoCanada (Canadian distributor)

Phone: 1-866-335-3746 or 306-382-5995 (ask for Sam or Ruth)
Order online at ErgoCanada's Armaid Page
Email: sales [at] ergocanada dot com

ErgoCanada
P.O. Box 9022
Saskatoon, SK
S7K 7E7 Canada

When ordering in Canada, please include the coupon code PlayOnHealthy for your CPB discount.

A huge thanks goes to Armaid for making this promotion available for the next two months. Hope you're all having a great summer and playing with a healthy technical setup.

As always, your thoughts and comments on injuries, treatment, and the Armaid device are welcome in the comments. 

Live Chat about Music and Social Media on Wednesday at 1pm EDT

At 1pm EDT on Wednesday, July 14, Amanda Ameer will be hosting a live chat for Chamber Music America on the subject of music and social media. The chat is a follow-up to Dave Allen's Social Skills article in the July/August issue of Chamber Music. If you're interested in participating, you can find the live chat widget embedded below. I'll be participating as well, and look forward to hearing your thoughts on Facebook, Twitter, and the wild world of social networking in music.

The Search for Babe Ruth's Piano

Apparently, Baseball legend Babe Ruth not only owned a piano, but he pushed it into Willis Pond in Sudbury, Massachusetts in 1918:

Kevin Kennedy has been on the case for about 10 years, since he moved close to Willis Pond, where the famous Red Sox pitcher owned a cabin. According to legend, Ruth pushed the piano onto the frozen pond in 1918 during a party.

To make matters worse, it appears that Ruth was not the only person to have pushed a piano into the lake - according to the Boston Globe article, two other dudes claimed to have done the same thing in 1973.

Might that be a local tradition?

6-hand Piano Arrangement of ABBA's Mamma Mia

Kudos to Nhat-Viet Phi (aka Toto) for writing an awesome 6-hand arrangement of ABBA's Mamma Mia, performed at Théâtre Escaouette for the 2010 University of Moncton Summer Camp. At the piano are Juliane Gallant, Nicolas Richard, and Toto (also handling the page turns most adroitly), with Étienne Levesque on drums.



(Update 2016-10-10) You can now download Toto's arrangement! Here's the link.

Play Me I'm Yours in NYC

New York's Play me I'm yours installation (courtesy of Sing for Hope) closed a few days ago, with 60 public pianos available for anyone to play:



Hive call for NYC CPB readers: tell us about your experiences!

(Thanks, Alice!)

Collaborative Piano Studies at Chapman University

The College of Performing Arts' Conservatory of Music at Chapman University in Orange, California offers a Bachelor of Music in Piano/Keyboard Collaborative Arts. About the program:

Students majoring in KCA are required to take an additional semester of foreign language as well as courses in Diction for Singers and Song Literature. A senior collaborative piano recital and a half solo piano recital will be given. In addition, our outstanding accompanying faculty offer training in both vocal and instrumental accompaniment and a recital is presented at the end of each semester.

The bountiful performance opportunities for pianists at Chapman include solo recitals, chamber recitals, the Modern Music Concert, the New Music Ensemble, annual concerto competition, accompanying recitals and solo concerto performances with the Chapman Chamber Orchestra.

For more information, check out Chapman University's contact, departmental applications, and audition pages.

Complete list of Degree and Diploma Programs in Collaborative Piano

Horowitz Plays The Stars and Stripes Forever

Vladimir Horowitz plays his legendary arrangement of Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever - I also like the transcription (anyone know where to buy or download it?), which looks mostly playable until the piccolo solo in bar 93. [Update: Here's the score - thanks Beethoven!]



Happy July 4th!

Oscar Peterson Piano Lesson

Oscar Peterson talks about his piano style on the Dick Cavett Show:



(Thanks, Patti!)

With New Opera, Small Is In

An article by Anne Midgette in the July 4th Washington Post looks at the ability of smaller opera companies to deliver on successfully creating, developing, and producing new operas. Anne looks at recent projects by Wolf Trap Opera, Long Beach Opera, Cinnabar Opera, Maryland Opera Studio, and Opera Alterna as paving the way for composers and librettists learning the art form.

What she omits in the article was the fact that there are several companies in North America that are already viewed as leaders in the development of new operatic work, namely Tapestry New Opera Works (which runs its annual Composer/Librettist Laboratory next month), Queen of Puddings (whose Songs and Scenes program finished a few days ago), and American Opera Projects. The production of chamber-size contemporary operas is really nothing new, but has in many ways become a necessity with recent economic belt-tightening.

Recharging Your Creative Batteries

My latest article for the Music Teacher's Helper Blog looks at some worthwhile fiction and non-fiction titles for those afternoons on the deck or at the cottage:

10 Summer Reads to Recharge Your Creative Spirit

Just Being a Little Overpriced?

I've always been a fan of Mildred Portney Chase's Just Being at the Piano, and I'm glad to know many people that have bought this wonderful book on my recommendation. However, I was somewhat taken aback to see the current prices for it on Amazon this evening: $138.96 and up for a new copy and $27.34 and up for a used one. Looks like there's a run on this book as the original printing by the Creative Arts Book Company is down to its last few copies. Time for a new edition...