Mozart's Fantasia in d minor, K. 397

I have always really enjoyed playing Mozart's Fantasia in d minor and when I was asked to play for the new piano dedication service at my church I knew what I would "dust off" to perform.

The Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians defines the genre of musical fantasia as “a piece of instrumental music owning no restriction of formal construction, but the direct product of the composer’s impulse.”

The Fantasia in d minor has somewhat unusual rhythm, constantly changing tempo (seven different tempi occur throughout the piece), three cadenzas and its apparent lack of any recognizable musical form (as indicated by the "Fantasy" title). Although it begins in d minor, the final section is in D Major.

Mozart composed this, his third and final, Fantasia in 1782 and it was unfinished at the time of his death in 1791.  Even Mozart's sister, "Nannerl", who came across the work in 1807, was astounded to have discovered a previously unknown composition of such quality.

In its original form this Fantasia was probability only a fragment of what was to be a larger work. The closing bars which are most frequently performed today originated from an unauthorized prin  believed to have been composed in 1806 by August Eberhard Müller, one of Mozart's admirers.

Because it was unfinished, many of the dynamic and pedal markings are nonexistant and left for the performer to choose.

As you can see from these videos, there is a wide range of tempi and interpretation from Frederich Gulda's 4 minute, 36 second rendition

to Glenn Gould's version which lasts for 8 minutes, 22 seconds

Both these performers have added their own ornamentation to Mozart's original work.

I will be playing from a G. Henley Verlag urtext edition instead of one of the many edited versions available.  I prefer to make my own musical decisions wherever possible.

The version below is originally from http://imslp.org/wiki/Fantasia_in_D_minor,_K.397/385g_(Mozart,_Wolfgang_Amadeus)  I had printed it out as another source to compare with mine, since this one has different dynamic and other interpretive markings.  This version also has 3 notes which differ from the urtext edition.

Mozart-fantasia-d-minor.pdf Download this file

I also used 3 other sources before I finally decided how I would shape my performance and choose my fingerings.
Some sites that I consulted as part of the learning process:

• http://pianolessonsindianapolis.com/music-criticism/mozart-fantasia-d-minor-piano.htm
• http://muswrite.blogspot.com/2012/01/mozart-fantasia-in-d-minor-for-piano.html
• http://www.teoria.com/articulos/analysis/pdf/k397.pdf

I've played this for just about everyone I know and on 4 different pianos and I think it's ready for Sunday night!

Piano lessons not just for kids

Note: The O'Connor Music Studio specializes in adult piano lessons.

~~~

By Diana Greenburg 

 

When Paula Fay started taking piano lessons for the first time in her late fifties, it fulfilled a lifelong dream.

“I always wanted to learn how to play as a child, but my parents couldn’t afford it,” she said.

 

Today, four years later, Paula can play some of her favorite tunes. And she’s loving every minute of it.

Some adults may groan at childhood memories of lesson after lesson, practice after practice and a lot of teacher nagging, but many wish those days were back.

 

And more and more, these adults are turning wishful thinking into reality. According to the National Piano Foundation, adults ages 25-55 are the fastest-growing segment of people learning piano.

 

When Ruth Ann Laye started teaching an adult piano class at Mandarin’s Keyboard Connection, there was only one weekday class. Now, she’s up to seven classes. And of her own private practice of 28, 11 are adults.

 

One of her students is Belinda May from St. Augustine, who is in her 60s and in her second year of piano lessons.

 

Though her brothers played piano, she was more athletically inclined than musical. Then after years of “picking” at the pianos in her house, she recently resolved to start taking lessons. A beginner when she started, “now I’m playing Christmas carols,” she said.

 

“It tells me that you’re never too old to learn something new.”

 

Maureen Rhodes, a piano teacher on the Southside, would likely agree. She has more adults in her practice than she did 20 years ago.

 

“I think baby boomers are looking for ways to stay active,” she said. “Sometimes, kids come to me for lessons and then when they grow up and leave, their mother starts to take lessons,” says Rhodes. “Other adults have a specific goal in mind, like they want to play in church or accompany their grandson.”

 

Sandra Stewart, outgoing president of the Jacksonville Music Teachers Association and adjunct professor teaching a non-degree adult piano course at Florida State College, believes technology is a big part of the reason for the greater interest in piano among adults.

 

“Keyboards are more affordable, and that’s made all the difference,” she says.

 

But the piano is not always a succession of high notes for the adult student. Says Stewart: “Adults can have problems with finger dexterity. If they never played before, this can be frustrating. People who use computer a lot have an advantage. But if they don’t have this experience, they have to get over that hurdle.”

 

And some adults expect to transform into Mozart overnight.

 

“They may be symphony patrons or just love classical music and want to play instantly and do it like the pros,” Rhodes says. “But they have to develop the skills first, and it takes a lot of patience.”

 

But for adults committed to learning, it can be very satisfying for student and teacher alike.

 

“Adults are there for their own pleasure,” said Marc Hebda, president of the Florida State Music Teachers Association. “They have wonderful enthusiasm; it’s fun to see them get excited. It’s also interesting that with the economic downturn, they are not cutting back on lessons or buying instruments. Piano is a constant source of entertainment and personal development.”

 

The key to any student learning well, whether that student is an adult or child, is finding the right teacher. Hebda stresses the importance of taking lessons from a teacher with a music degree.

 

“Some people who took piano figure it’s easy to teach. But credentials are very important. You wouldn’t go to a doctor without certification or a lawyer who didn’t pass the bar. All our teachers have a music degree or demonstrate teaching ability.”

 

Hebda also notes that rapport between teacher and student is important.

 

“The student should interview the teacher, because not all students and teachers are a good match.”

 

For those who want to fast-track the learning process, there are alternatives. “The Piano Guy,” Scott Houston, has been teaching piano using a non-traditional method through his shows on public station WJCT.

 

“It seemed like there was a single path to the world of piano: this long process of taking lessons,” he said. “But people want to play the tunes they know.”

 

So Houston came up with a simple way for adults to learn quickly, based on the concept behind “lead sheets,” which are used by professional musicians. Houston’s technique is to teach adults a single line of notes on the treble clef with their right hand and chords with their left.

 

“My goal is not to teach adults to be the greatest players but to be able to play the tunes they want to play,” Houston says.

 

His approach has clearly struck a chord, as his book has sold 300,000 copies and he has taught many adults through his workshops in Indiana and master class “piano camp” from his beach home in Fort Myers.

There’s also a new trend gaining traction called “recreational music making” — RMM — which like Houston’s approach focuses on a simplified method to teaching music. The goal is not for a student to become accomplished at the piano and perform, but rather to just have fun making music. It is often taught to adults in group settings, such as music stores, churches and senior centers.

 

“Research has found that RMM is very helpful for seniors, promotes hand/eye coordination and keeps the brain working,” said Erin Bennett, assistant professor of piano and pedagogy at the University of North Florida. “Its asset is the ability to reach more people; it’s more inclusive and easier for the non-experienced.”

Whether learning piano through traditional or nontraditional means, its many benefits include boosting self-confidence.

 

“When I first started, I didn’t think I could do it,” Fay said. “And my friends and family were in disbelief that I was taking lessons. Then they wanted to hear a concert. In another year, I might just do it.”

 

She gets some measure of satisfaction in surprising those around her.

 

“Society puts restrictions on us as we get older that we stop learning,” she says. “But we are wiser, more patience and accept our limitations.”

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/entertainment/music/2011-10-27/story/piano-lessons-not-just-kids#ixzz1l14hSFaV

Today in Music History ~ 10/24

1788 ~ Sarah Hale, Poet, magazine editor, wrote Mary Had a Little Lamb

• 1904 ~ Moss Hart, Tony Award-winning director of My Fair Lady (1957), playwright, married to actress Kitty Carlisle

• 1911 ~ "Sonny" Terry (Saunders Terrell), American blues singer and harmonica player

1925 ~ Luciano Berio, Italian composer More information about Berio

• 1929 ~ George Crumb, American composer and teacher

• 1929 ~ The Rudy Vallee Show was broadcast for the first time over NBC radio. Actually, the Rudy Vallee show had several different titles over the years, all of which were referred to by the public as The Rudy Vallee Show. Megaphone-toting Rudy and his Connecticut Yankees band were mainstays on radio into the late 1940s.

• 1930 ~ J.P. (Jiles Perry) Richardson (The Big Bopper), singer, songwriter More about The Big Bopper
• 1936 ~ David Nelson, Actor, son of entertainers Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, brother of singer Ricky Nelson

• 1936 ~ Bill Wyman, Musician with The Rolling Stones, songwriter, London restaurant owner of Sticky Fingers

• 1937 ~ Santo Farina, Steel guitar with Santo & Johnny

• 1939 ~ F. Murray Abraham, Academy Award-winning actor for his portrayal of Salieri in "Amadeus" (about Mozart), 1984.

• 1939 ~ Let’s Dance was recorded on Columbia Records. It became the theme song for the band that recorded it, the Benny Goodman Band.

• 1946 ~ Jerry Edmonton, Drummer with Steppenwolf

• 1960 ~ Brenda Lee hit #1 for the second time in the year with I Want to Be Wanted. 1960 was a very good year for the young (age 15) songstress. In addition to her first #1 smash, I’m Sorry (July 18), Lee had two other songs on the charts: Sweet Nothin’s (#4, April 18) and That’s All You Gotta Do (#6, July 4).

• 1975 ~ Looking to name your own greatest hits album something other than Greatest Hits? Do what former Beatle John Lennon did, with his package of the best. Lennon called it, "Shaved Fish".

• 1977 ~ Gary Busey began filming The Buddy Holly Story. The star was a ringer for the rock idol.

• 1999 ~ Phillip Glass' "Dracula" score makes news.

• 2001 ~ Kim Gardner, a bassist who played with several bands, including the British rock group Ashton, Gardner & Dyke, died. He was 53. Gardner, born in London, joined fellow teen-age musicians Ron Wood, Ali McKenzie, Tony Munroe and Pete McDaniels to form the Thunderbirds. Shortening their name to the Birds, the band released four singles, including Leaving Here and No Good Without You Baby, both in 1965. Gardner's next group was Ashton, Gardner & Dyke with Tony Ashton and Roy Dyke in 1968. The trio, whose albums featured a light, jazz-rock style, scored a top-three hit in Britain with Resurrection Shuffle in 1971. The group broke up a year later. Gardner also toured with Pacific Gas and Electric and other bands in the 1970s. He played bass with everyone from Eric Clapton to Bo Didley, and worked on 27 albums. Gardner also was a successful pub master and restaurateur. Gardner toured the United States regularly before settling in Los Angeles in 1973. In 1982, he started the original, 50-seat Cat & Fiddle Restaurant and Pub. Over the years, Cat & Fiddle has been a favorite destination for British rockers such as Keith Moon, Robert Plant and Rod Stewart, as well as Hollywood celebrities.

Today in Music History ~ 10/16

 

• 1821 ~ Albert Franz Doppler, flute virtuoso and a composer was born.  He was best known for his music for flute. He also wrote one German and several Hungarian operas for Budapest, all produced with great success. His ballet music was popular during his lifetime.

• 1855 ~ William Barclay Squire, British musicologist

• 1893 ~ On this day a song called "Goodmorning to All" was copyrighted by two teachers who wrote it for their kindergarten pupils. The title was later changed to "Happy Birthday to You".

• 1923 ~ Bert Kaempfert, Musician

• 1941 ~ Fry Me Cookie, with a Can of Lard was recorded by the Will Bradley Orchestra on Columbia. Ray McKinley was featured.

• 1942 ~ Dave Lovelady, Drummer with The Fourmost

• 1943 ~ C.F. (Fred) Turner, Musician with Bachman~Turner Overdrive

• 1947 ~ Bob Weir (Hall), American rock guitarist and singer with The Grateful Dead

• 1953 ~ Tony Carey, Keyboards with Rainbow

• 1959 ~ Gary Kemp, Guitarist with Spandau Ballet, brother of musician Martin Kemp

• 1969 ~ Wendy Wilson, Singer with Wilson Phillips, daughter of Beach Boys singer, Brian Wilson

• 1972 ~ John C. Fogerty and Creedence Clearwater Revival called it a career ... and the group disbanded. Fogerty continued in a solo career with big hits including, Centerfield and The Old Man Down the Road.
• 1976 ~ Memphis, TN disc jockey Rick Dees and his ‘Cast of Idiots’ made it all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with the immortal Disco Duck (Part 1). Dees is still around, but not as a recording artist. He’s a DJ in Los Angeles and is hosting several varieties of the Weekly Top 40 show, syndicated around the world.

• 1983 ~ George Liberace passed away

• 1990 ~ Art Blakey passed away

• 2000 ~ David Golub, American pianist and chamber music conductor, passed away at the age of 50. Born in Chicago, Golub grew up in Dallas, where he began learning the piano. In 1969 he moved to New York and spent his student years honing his technique at New York's Juilliard School of Music. He also began conducting during summer breaks at Vermont's Marlboro festival. In 1979, he accompanied violinist Isaac Stern on a tour of China. A film about the tour, "From Mao to Mozart," won the 1980 Academy Award for Best Documentary. As a performer, Golub was perhaps best known for his work with violinist Mark Kaplan and cellist Colin Carr in the trio they formed in 1982. In the late 1990s, Golub began cultivating his interest in opera. Under his leadership, the Padua Chamber Orchestra recorded some of Haydn's least-known work for opera. An acclaimed chamber ensemble performer - most notably with the Golub-Kaplan-Carr Trio - Golub led the Padua Chamber Orchestra during the 1994-95 season and took it on tour in the United States in 1999. He is survived by his wife, Maria Majno.

• 2001 ~ Oscar-winning composer and lyricist Jay Livingston, whose collaboration with Ray Evans led to such hits as Silver Bells, Que Sera, Sera and Mona Lisa, died of pneumonia. He was 86. Livingston's songwriting partnership with Evans spanned 64 years. Often called the last of the great songwriters, Livingston and Evans had seven Academy Award nominations and won three - in 1948 for Buttons and Bows in the film The Paleface, in 1950 for Mona Lisa in Captain Carey, USA, and in 1956 for Que Sera, Sera in The Man Who Knew Too Much. They wrote the television theme songs for Bonanza and Mr. Ed, and were honored by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers for the most performed music for film and TV for 1996. Livingston was born on March 28, 1915, in the Pittsburgh suburb of McDonald. He met Evans in 1937 at the University of Pennsylvania, where they were both students. The team's final project was the recording, Michael Feinstein Sings the Livingston and Evans Song Book, due for 2002 release.

Piano Pieces to Try

Prelude 1 in C Major by Bach

By Espie Estrella, About.com

Learning a new music piece to play is very exciting and challenging at the same time. Many styles of music exist, each coming from a specific period or influence. Thus, if you're a beginner who is looking to add more music pieces to your repertoire, whether it be for personal enjoyment or to further your education, the choices are limitless.

Let's look at several piano pieces that, aside from being beautiful compositions, are easy to learn and also helps improve dexterity. We'll start off with Prelude 1 in C Major by Bach.

About the Composer

The Bach family is one of the most notable German musicians in history. Out of this lineage comes the celebrated composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Read this article which traces the Bach genealogy from their great, great grandfather, Veit Bach, to the famous composer Johann Sebastian Bach and his 20 children.

About the Composition

The Prelude 1 in C Major comes from Bach's most famous work called "The Well-Tempered Clavier". "The Well-Tempered Clavier" is divided into two parts, each part conists of 24 preludes and fugues in each of the major and minor key with Prelude 1 in C Major being the first prelude in Part 1. The pattern is simple to play and uses arpeggiated chords. The left hand plays only two notes while the right hand plays three notes that are repeated.

Music Sample and Sheet Music

It would be helpful to listen to the piece before studying it so that you'll know how it is played. Garden of Praise has a music sample and music score of Prelude 1 in C Major. Make sure to master each part before moving on to the next and start slowly, you will build speed as you become comfortable with the piece. Lastly, play the music sample and see if you can play along with it as this will help you maintain a steady beat.

About the Composer

Johann Pachelbel was a German composer and well-respected organ teacher. He was a friend of the Bach family and was even asked by Johann Ambrosius Bach to be Johanna Juditha's godfather. He also taught other members of the Bach family, including Johann Christoph. Get to know more about him through this profile.

About the Composition

Pachelbel's most famous work is undoubtedly the Canon in D Major. It is one of the most recognizable pieces of classical music and is a favorite choice of those who are getting married. It was originally written for three violins and basso continuo but has since been adapted for other instruments. The chord progression is quite simple and yet has been used countless of times especially in popular music.

Music Sample and Sheet Music

There are many different versions of this piece; from the simplest to the most elaborate arrangements. You can do a search online and listen to music samples to see which arrangement you'd want to learn. 8notes has a simple yet beautiful arrangement of this piece, also listen to the midi sample so you can hear what it sounds like on the piano/keyboard.

About the Composer

Ludwig van Beethoven is considered a musical genius. He received early instruction on the piano and violin from his father (Johann) and was later taught by van den Eeden (keyboard), Franz Rovantini (viola and violin), Tobias Friedrich Pfeiffer (piano) and Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (counterpoint). It is also believed that he received brief instruction from Mozart and Haydn. Beethoven became deaf when he was in his 20's but managed to rise above it creating some of the most beautfiul and lasting music pieces in history.

About the Composition

Sonata in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 was composed by Beethoven in 1801. He dedicated it to his pupil, Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, with whom he fell in love. This piece earned the famous title Moonlight Sonata after a music critic named Ludwig Rellstab wrote that it reminded him of the moonlight reflected off Lake Lucerne.

The Moonlight Sonata has three movements:

The first movement is played "adagio soustenuto" (slow sustain), and based on Beethoven's instruction, should be played senza sordini or "without dampers". It is the most well known among the three movements of the Moonlight Sonata

The second movement is a dance and is played "allegretto" (moderately fast).

The third movement is played "presto agitato" (very fast and exciting) and is probably the most challenging to play among the three movements.

Music Sample and Sheet Music

For this article we will concentrate on learning Moonlight Sonata, 1st movement as it is not that challenging for beginners to learn. musopen has a music clip of this piece. Listen to this hauntingly beautiful music and note the tempo by which it is played, then look at the sheet music available at the same web site. Since this piece is in C# minor, remember that there are 4 notes that are sharped, namely C#, D#, F# and G#.

About the Composer

Mozart was a child prodigy who, at the age of 5, already wrote a miniature allegro (K. 1b) and andante (K. 1a). His father, Leopold, was instrumental in the young composers' musical development. By 1762, Leopold took Wolfgang Amadeus and his equally gifted sister, Maria Anna, on a performance tour to various countries. At 14, the young Mozart wrote an opera which became a huge success. Among his famous works are Symphony No. 35 Haffner, K. 385 - D Major, Così fan tutte, K. 588 and Requiem Mass, K. 626 - d minor

About the Composition

Piano Sonata no. 11 in A Major, K331 has three movements:

The first movement is played andante grazioso (moderately slow and graceful) and has 6 variations.

The second movement is a menuetto or a minuet.

The third movement is played allegretto (moderately fast) and is the most well-known among the three movements. It is more popularly known as "Alla Turca," "Turkish March" or "Turkish Rondo"

Music Sample and Sheet Music

For this article we will concentrate on the third movement as it is really fun to play. Listen to the music sample of Alla Turca, don't be intimidated by how fast it is supposed to be played. There is also sheet music available at Free Scores.Com, you can download it for free. Don't be too concerned about the tempo, start off slow. Eventually as you learn the piece you will become comfortable to play it faster.

From http://musiced.about.com/od/tablatures/a/bachprelude1.htm