Van Cliburn, American classical pianist, dies

cdcovers/tchaikovsky/concerto no 1 van cliburn.jpg (Photo credit: exquisitur)

Van Cliburn was just a pianist much the way Neil Armstrong was merely an astronaut. Simply put, the tall Texan's musical talent and successes were out of this world.

Cliburn, who died Wednesday February 27, 2013 at age 78 at his Fort Worth home due to complications from bone cancer, was 23 when he strode into Moscow for the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition, created to showcase Soviet cultural superiority.

Playing with unerring precision and sublime emotion, he took the top prize and was given a ticker-tape parade in Manhattan, the first and last time a pianist won such an honor.

"Imagine galvanizing the attention of the entire world in the pre-Internet, pre-global TV year of 1958," says Howard Reich, who got to know the Texas-based pianist while researching his 1993 biography, Van Cliburn. "As a Texan, he was so emblematic of the United States. But the Russians fell in love with his romanticism."

In many ways, however, that seminal performance both made his name and sealed his fate.

The pieces that won him the competition — Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 — sold countless records (his Tchaikovsky No. 1 was the first classical record to sell more than a million copies) and became required concert staples.

"Playing on that treadmill for the next 20 years led him to burn out, and by 1978 he looked terrible and bowed out of public life," says Reich. "He was a gentle soul, and that harsh public spotlight had a negative effect on him."

It would be nine years before Cliburn performed again, at the White House for Ronald Reagan and Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev. Although he made occasional appearances in the following decades, he spent most of his time overseeing his foundation and a quadrennial competition that bears his name.

"I can't think of anyone who has done more to help promote the instrument and young performers than Van," says Cliburn's friend Yoheved Kaplinsky, chairman of the piano department at New York's Juilliard School of Music, which Cliburn attended. "He was an icon in Fort Worth, and a person of great humility."

Born Harvey Lavan Cliburn Jr. in Shreveport, La., Cliburn started piano lessons at age 3 and immediately showed prowess under the watchful eye of his mother, who had trained on the instrument under a teacher who had studied with Franz Liszt.

After moving to Texas, Cliburn played with Houston's symphony at age 12, and at 17 entered Juilliard. At 20, he performed with the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall, setting the stage for his triumphant coup in Russia.

No one can imagine a ticker-tape parade for a pianist in this era, but in Cliburn's heyday he was as much an inevitable cultural icon as he was a reluctant political figure. In the late '50s, the Cold War was raging, the Beatles were still practicing and classical music still held sway.

But what truly made Cliburn unique was the humble ease with which he went about seducing the alleged enemy.

"Van marched in full of the musical values of the Old World, full of tremendous sincerity and with a remarkable ability to connect with audiences," says Kaplinsky. "He may have transcended the boundaries of the art world and breached into the political world, but foremost Van was a consummate artist."

That artistry is on display in various YouTube clips of Cliburn reprising his competition-winning form in Moscow in 1962. The pianist's eyes are often closed as massive hands fly across the length of the keyboard. Utterly lost in the music, Cliburn seems almost oblivious to his audience.

"He had more of everything," says Reich. "More height, more smiles, more sweep on the piano."

In his later years, Cliburn collected the usual array of awards accorded cultural heroes. A Kennedy Center Honors tribute in 2001, a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003, and in 2004 Russia's equivalent, the Russian Order of Friendship. In 2004, there was a predictable Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 1994 a less-expected guest appearance as himself in the TV cartoon Iron Man.

On the personal front, Cliburn was a devout Baptist but also quietly gay; in the late '90s, his longtime partner, Thomas Zaremba, unsuccessfully sued the pianist over compensation claims.

Ultimately, Cliburn will be remembered not just as a performer of startling skill, but also as a global cultural sensation in the age of shortwave radio.

"He did something that no one could have ever imagined back then," says Reich. "He was ubiquitous."

Adapted from USA Today

You're Never Too Old

My 88 year young Mom and my 80 year young duet partner play piano duets today.

So true...

This picture was shared on Facebook but I'm not sure where the original site is to give appropriate credit.

It's too good not to share, though! Many thanks to the artist and the author.

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

Reminder!

Piano Lessons at the O'Connor Music Studio resume tomorrow, September 19, 2011.

If you haven't reserved your time for the fall, please call or send an email.

See you then!

 

Zez Confrey (1895-1971)

I just love Zez Confrey's music.  It's not overplayed like some of Scott Joplin's works but it's just as much fun.

This is a piece I have often played in recitals and just "because".



If any of my students are interested in tackling this piece, just let me know and we'll start learning!

More about Zez Confrey

Info for OCMS Students

After you've logged into your student account at http://oconnor.musicteachershelper.com/login there is a whole other world of interaction you can have with the O'Connor Music Studio.

You can check your own lesson schedules and payment history, request lesson cancellations or reschedules, log your practice times, check on books and items you have borrowed, send an email to Mrs O'Connor, and even make a payment to OCMS with your credit card or PayPal.

You can get email reminders about upcoming lessons and events.

If you don't have your log-in info yet, please ask at your next lesson or fill out the form at http://oconnor.musicteachershelper.com/contact

It's a New Year and a New Website!

Starting this new year (2011), I'm trying out a new online "music teacher's helper" website. I am always so focused on students and lessons that I don't always get around to keeping good bookkeeping-type records and I think (HOPE!) that this site will help me.

I still have my original website (http://www.oconnormusic.org/) for basic information and this blog for news items but Music Teacher's Helper is also giving me a website as part of their free package. I can use this site for my students to log in, get assignments, find their payment records, see what books they have out on loan, contact me more easily, view the calendar of events and more.

To find this new more interactive website, please see: http://oconnor.musicteachershelper.com/ If you are a current student and haven't gotten your log-in info yet, please let me know at your next lesson or contact me.

A Happy and More Organized New Year!

A Fantastic Upcoming Recital

My dear friend, Chris Hagan and her brother David will be performing another two piano recital on Tuesday, October 19 at 7:30 at the Schlesinger Center.

Chris writes: I love the music we’re doing:  Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring (any one seen Fantasia?) and Debussy’s Rite of Spring – each of these was arranged by the composer.

We’re also doing another piece by Debussy, Lindaraja, and Danses Andalouses by Manuel Infante.  As the attached flyer says, a suggested donation of $10 is requested, and proceeds will benefit the Music Program’s Vocal Scholarship.  If you can come, I hope you will!  If you know of anyone who might be interested feel free to send a flyer to them.

A piano spectacular for 80 fingers

Louise Schwartzkoff
October 5, 2010

There will be $1.6 million worth of piano on stage at the City Recital Hall on Friday night. With their legs and lids removed for transport, eight Steinway grand pianos will be trucked to the venue.

There they will be reassembled on stage and tuned, ready for eight of Australia's finest classical pianists.

In The Steinway Spectacular 16 hands and 80 fingers will play some of classical music's greatest hits.

Conducted by Guy Noble, the pianists will work as an ensemble to perform works by composers such as Ravel, Saint-Saens and George Gershwin. ''It's a very large affair,'' says Noble. ''Logistically, it's a nightmare.'' The piano technician Ara Vartoukian will spend hours tuning the instruments.

For past concerts in Melbourne the process sometimes took all night. ''The pianos all, in essence, sound the same, so they have to be absolutely in tune with each other.''

Even after the most careful tuning, things can go awry.

The pianists - Anthony Halliday, Roger Heagney, Clemens Leske, Tamara Smolyar, Mikhail Solovei, Evgeny Ukhanov, Gerard Willems and Alexey Yemtsov - usually perform as soloists. Every now and again, Noble says, one of them ''goes rogue''.

''One will suddenly break out and play their own thing,'' he says. ''I have to herd them back into the pride, glaring at them with eyes of death. It's one of the hardest things I've ever had to conduct. It's like herding cats.''

There is no repertoire for an ensemble of pianists, so Noble has created new arrangements.

His favourite is a rendition of the children's staple Chopsticks. ''That just goes wild,'' he says.

The segment titled So You Think You Can Play Scales is also a crowd pleaser. ''It's like Piano Idol. People get voted off if they go off the rails.''

Other pieces will feature the organist Calvin Bowman and the soprano Shu-Cheen Yu. Bowman, who usually plays above the stage in a loft, will join the other performers on stage on an electronic organ.

''It's a relief for him to be down on stage because he suffers terribly from vertigo,'' Noble says. ''He's been terrified in organ lofts all over Australia.''

More boisterous extravaganza than a recital for purists, the performance will appeal to an eclectic crowd.

''We get classical music lovers, as well as people who are just curious. It's pure fun and enjoyment.''

The Steinway Spectacular is at the City Recital Hall on Friday.

From http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/a-piano-spectacular-for-80-fingers-20101004-164ac.html

I am so loving my iPad

At first, I wasn’t quite sure how I’d use it other than checking the web and the usual iTunes-y kind of things.  I didn’t think I’d be able to edit any of my websites and the apps for those aren’t too great yet. Maybe someday they will.  But I can post on message boards, other blogs and such and that’s good.  Maybe when I can edit Joomla/HTML sites it will be perfect.

But I wasn’t expecting the iPad to be such a wonderful music tool.  I’ve always had a metronome on my iPhone and that’s been very handy.  I also have a pitch pipe that’s worked well.  Recently, I got an app called Cleartune to tune my violin but I haven’t played enough to really make that useful for me.  Maybe soon, I can spare the time to whip out the violin and get it in tune :)

Anyway, the iPad – wow!  I have apps that will let me play full-sized piano keys with very accurate sounds – and other instruments, apps that include hundreds of compositions, games that will teach music to others, videos demonstrating piano techniques, apps to compose music.  So much good stuff, so son.  What will come later?

I can just set the iPad on the piano and I have nearly a thousand pieces to play anytime I want.  The only drawback I see right now (and I’m sure someone will fix this sometime) is that I can’t add fingering, highlighting and so on to a piece.

One app, forScore, allows for general notes about a piece but nothing ON the piece.  It would be nice if there was an index of notes I’ve made to easily find them rather than looking at individual compositions but that’s a something for another post.

As I get more and more familiar with these apps, I’ll write individual posts about them.

Right now I have:

• The metronome (of course!)
• eScore
• Etude
• forScore
• FunPiano
• Pianist Pro
• PianoMan
• Pro Keys
• Sheets
• iPiano Lessons

Stay tuned for more on these – and maybe more! – apps.

Today in Music History ~ 9/18

• 1763 ~ An instrument named the spinet was mentioned in The Boston Gazette newspaper on this day. John Harris made the spinet, a small upright piano with a three to four octave range. There is no verifiable evidence to support the rumor that a man named Spinetti made the first spinet.

• 1809 ~ The Theatre Royal at Covent Garden re-opened after being destroyed by fire the year before. The Theatre Royal at Covent Garden began in Bow Street in 1732. It was designed by E.M. Barry in classical style. He also built for the theatre's management the Floral Hall next door in glass and iron, meant to be a straightforward rival to the Bedford's flower market. Both of Barry's buildings are now part of the rebuilt Royal Opera House at Covent Garden complex.

• 1838 ~ Emil Scaria, Austrian bass-baritone

• 1910 ~ Joseph Tal, Polish-born Israeli composer and pianist

• 1917 ~ The Honolulu Ad Club registered a patent for the ukulele.

• 1927 ~ The Columbia Broadcasting System was born on this day, although its rival, NBC, had been on the air for some time. The Tiffany Network, as CBS was called, broadcast an opera, The King’s Henchman, as its first program. William S. Paley put the network together, purchasing a chain of 16 failing radio stations. The controlling interest cost between $250,000 and $450,000. The following year, the 27-year-old Paley became President of CBS. It only took one more year for him to profit 2.35 million dollars as the network grew to over 70 stations. In 1978 Paley received the First Annual ATAS (Academy of Television Arts and Sciences) Governor’s Award as Chairman of the Board of CBS.

• 1929 ~ Teddi King, Singer

• 1933 ~ Jimmie Rodgers, Singer

• 1939 ~ Frankie (Frances) Avalon (Avellone), American rock-and-roll singer

• 1947 ~ Country singers Ernest Tubb and Roy Acuff performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City. It was the first country show for the NYC venue.

• 1948 ~ The Original Amateur Hour returned to radio on ABC, two years after the passing of the program’s originator and host, Major Bowes. Bowes brought new star talent into living rooms for 13 years. Ted Mack, the new host, had also started a TV run with The Original Amateur Hour on the DuMont network in January of 1948.

• 1949 ~ Kerry Livgren, Guitar, keyboards with Kansas

• 1952 ~ Dee Dee Ramone (Douglas Colvin), Drummer with The Ramones

• 1955 ~ What had been The Toast of the Town on CBS Television (since 1948) became The Ed Sullivan Show. This "rilly big shew" remained a mainstay of Sunday night television until June 6, 1971. Sullivan was a newspaper columnist/critic before and during the early years of this pioneering TV show.

• 1957 ~ The Big Record, hosted by ‘the singing rage’, Miss Patti Page, debuted on CBS-TV. The Big Record was a live musical showcase featuring established artists singing their big songs. The Big Record lasted one big season.

• 1962 ~ Joanne Catherall, Singer with Human League

• 1967 ~ Ricky Bell, Singer with New Edition

• 1969 ~ Tiptoeing through late night TV, Tiny Tim announced his engagement to Miss Vicki Budinger. Johnny Carson, host of The Tonight Show, was so enthralled with the falsetto voiced singer that he invited the couple to get married on the show. They did on December 17, 1969 and TV history was made.

• 1970 ~ Rock radio mourned the loss of rock music legend, Jimi Hendrix. He died at age 27 of an overdose of sleeping pills. His Purple Haze and Foxy Lady became anthems for a generation at war in Vietnam.

• 1997 ~ Jimmy Witherspoon passed away

Brian Ganz Playing Sunday

In the Northern Virginia Area?

A friend just sent me this:

Greetings all,
A friend of mine just sent me this about one of the most wonderful pianists
in the area; if you have time, do consider going.

Brian Ganz is playing Sunday at 4PM in the Ernst Community Center on the Annandale Campus. 

The Virginia Chamber Orchestra will accompany him. 

The concert is free.

Today in Music History ~ 9/13

September 13

1819 ~ Clara Wieck Schumann, German pianist and composer
More information about Schumann

1874 ~ Arnold Schoenberg, Austrian-born American composer
Read quotes by and about Schoenberg
More information on Schoenberg

• 1894 ~ Alexis-Emmanuel Chabrier, Composer, died
More information on Chabrier

• 1911 ~ Bill Monroe, ‘Father of Bluegrass Music’, Country Music Hall of Fame, singer with The Bluegrass Band, songwriter

• 1916 ~ Dick (Richard Benjamin) Haymes, Singer

• 1917 ~ Robert Ward, American composer

• 1925 ~ Mel Torme,‘The Velvet Fog’, Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter of The Christmas Song

• 1931 ~ Vaudeville star Eddie Cantor was heard for the first time - on NBC radio.
The Chase and Sanborn Hour became one of the most popular radio shows of the 1930s.

• 1941 ~ David Clayton-Thomas, Singer with Blood Sweat and Tears

• 1944 ~ Peter Cetera, Bass guitar, singer with Chicago

• 1952 ~ Randy Jones, Singer with The Village People

• 1954 ~ The cover of LIFE magazine was adorned with Judy Garland’s picture, with the caption, "Judy Garland takes off after an Oscar." Garland had been nominated for her role in A Star is Born.

• 1956 ~ Joni Sledge, Singer with Sister Sledge

• 1968 ~ Clarence Carter received a gold record for his million-selling hit Slip Away. Carter earned two other gold records for Too Weak to Fight and Patches. The singer from Montgomery, Alabama had been blind since age one and taught himself to play guitar by age 11.

• 1969 ~ John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, presented the Plastic Ono Band in concert for the first time. The appearance at the Toronto Peace Festival was Lennon’s first in four years. The first hit by the new group, Give Peace a Chance, made it to number 14 on the charts.

• 1977 ~ Leopold Stokowski conductor: Philadelphia Orchestra, passed away
More information about Stokowski

• 1986 ~ Captain EO, a 17-minute, three-dimensional, musical, science-fiction flick starring Michael Jackson, made its gala premiere at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA and at Disney’s Epcot Center in Orlando, FL this day. The innovative movie cost approximately $1,000,000 a minute to produce.

• 2001 ~ Barbara Matera, who made costumes for Broadway shows, the New York City ballet and the Metropolitan Opera, died of a cerebral hemorrhage. She was 72. With her husband, Matera founded Barbara Matera Ltd. in 1968, which produced costumes seen in the current Broadway productions of The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aida, Kiss Me, Kate and 42nd Street. As the costumer for the American Ballet Theater, Matera outfitted performers in productions including Swan Lake and Othello. Her film credits include The Great Gatsby, The Addams Family, Moonstruck, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Age of Innocence and Death on the Nile. Matera also created the purple crystal-encrusted gown that Hillary Rodham Clinton wore at her husband's first presidential inauguration.

New Students 2009-2010 School Year

The O'Connor Music Studio is now accepting students for the upcoming school year in its Fairfax location.

Available times are on Mondays during the day and after school for all ages and levels.

To set up an interview time, please call (260) 627-9866.  if you are a transfer student, please bring your most recent method book(s) and notebook.

Prospective students must have a piano, organ or electric keyboard to use for daily practice.

I look forward to having another great year!

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

Boogie Woogie pianist Mark Braun to pedal his piano through Flint, give free concert at Mott Community College

 

by Beata Mostafavi

Tuesday July 07, 2009, 8:30 AM

Courtesy Photo Mark Braun rides his "Joybox Express," a bicycle that carries his 352-pound piano

FLINT, MICHIGAN -- When it comes to the piano, Mark Braun knows how to boogie.

But for the next six days, the youngest inductee to the National Boogie Woogie Hall of Fame will begin a different kind of music adventure -touring lower Michigan with his 352-pound piano fastened on the back of his bicycle.

Locals may spot Braun riding his 11-foot-long, 4-foot wide Pedi cab today while pulling his Baldwin Acrosonic piano through town.

The musician kicks of a unique six-day tour in Flint, starting at the home of his father Phil Braun and making a stop at Mott Community College's Bear Bistro for a noon concert that will raise money for MCC athletes.

"When I was 22 years old, I imagined building some type of bicycle that could haul a piano all across America, from coast to coast, playing for people I'd meet along the way," Braun, 52, said in a prepared statement.

Thirty years later, Braun said he's achieved a "scaled down version" of the original plan.

The MCC concert is free but the MCC Foundation is taking donations to help raise money for student athletes who need financial support. The Bear Bistro is also donating a portion of luncheon proceeds to the benefit.

Braun will continue on from his hometown Flint to wheel his piano to Lansing for several shows and then to Chelsea for a benefit concert. He plans to end his journey with a large group of cyclists who will ride with him to downtown Ann Arbor for the "Townie Party" hosted by the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair.

For details: (810) 762-0425

 

From http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2009/07/boogie_woogie_pianist_mark_bra.html

Finding the keys to the heart of Jordan Hall

From http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2009/05/24/finding_the_keys_to_the_heart_of_jordan_hall/?page=full

Trek to piano factory nets team a grand prize

Victor Rosenbaum (second from left) and Gabriel Chodos (at piano), members of the piano faculty at the New England Conservatory, tried out instruments in Long Island City, N.Y. (Jennifer Taylor for The Boston Globe)

By Joan Anderman

Globe Staff / May 24, 2009

ASTORIA, N.Y. - The brides-to-be wore black, were very well-tempered, and weighed in at a sleek 990 pounds. The question was which to fall for.

Searching for the perfect concert piano can be a lot like searching for the perfect mate, or so a delegation of piano faculty from the New England Conservatory found when they traveled to the Steinway factory on Long Island to choose a new grand piano for Jordan Hall.

Everybody likes a looker, but character is what really matters. Does the instrument exude warmth and balance, and thrill with its brilliance? And what about depth? Does it seem made for a long-term relationship or better-suited for a fling?

Bottom line: You can't have it all. But when that piano is going to cost upwards of $100,000 and its keys will be tinkled by some of the finest pianists in the world, you have to try.

And so the conservatory team set to work, their afternoon unfolding like a weirdly provocative reality show set to Chopin and Philip Glass: six wildly different suitors trying to settle on The One.

Even the banter in the instrument-filled Selection Room seemed steeped in the language of romance.

"Piano Two has a sustaining quality that makes you want to linger, even though the sound is not physically as beautiful as some of the others," said department chairman Bruce Brubaker, a contemporary music champion.

"This one laughs. It smiles!" gushed Veronica Jochum, a convivial grande dame who could have been describing herself.

Victor Rosenbaum, who specializes in 19th century Viennese composers, noted that "Four has power, but also warmth. It has a soul."

"Piano One is for a fling," pronounced Gabriel Chodos, an imposing figure with a ferocious keyboard attack. "Four is for marriage."

Nobody much cared for Three and Five. Still, between lunch and dinner, everyone spent time with each of these 9-foot beauties.

The pianists circulated from instrument to instrument, playing passages both tender and forceful, taking breaks to pow-wow with their colleagues, query the technicians, and consider context, priorities, and potential. Most were seduced early on by one or another distinctive quality: a burnished tone, a responsive touch. And then they changed their minds.

For added drama, Russell Sherman, the conservatory's distinguished artist-in-residence , and his wife, Wha Kyung Byun - who is also on the faculty - missed their plane and had to drive down. The pair arrived at the factory - tired and testy - after closing time.

"This is very different from choosing a piano for yourself or for a particular concert," said Brubaker.

"I started to believe at the end of the day that one's own response to playing the instruments may have been less important than what you get hearing everyone else playing."

Each of the faculty members - esteemed concert pianists all - went into the process with personal agendas: Chodos is drawn to a brilliant sound, Byun insists on evenly balanced keys, and Rosenbaum went in looking for roundness and warmth. The other three had their own clear preferences.

But the collective task was to find a piano that would best serve the hundreds of artists who perform in Jordan Hall each year, and whose repertoires span the aesthetic spectrum. Versatility had to be the instrument's defining characteristic.

By midafternoon, the group had zeroed in on two instruments. Everyone seemed pleased, with the exception of Jochum, who had bonded with a different piano.

"My poor Number two," she moaned.

A pair of Steinway technicians rolled both pianos (the casters alone cost $3,000) away from the wall and into the center of the room, where the sound would more closely approximate that of a concert hall.

In fact, whichever piano they choose will sound dramatically different in the 1,000-seat venue where it's headed, which is why the New England Conservatory sent along its own piano technician, John Von Rohr, to assess the instruments.

In his estimation, one piano was too bright and raucous for Jordan Hall and the other was too dark and muted. But with voicing and regulation - adjustments to the piano's hammers and keys to heighten or dampen particular qualities - Von Rohr could, he said, make either one work.

Amazingly, everything changed with the pianos' new placement. A minute earlier, Rosenbaum had felt he could push for consensus ("perhaps we can all agree on Number Four?"), and then it shifted.

Sherman and Byun, meanwhile, were stuck on the Triborough Bridge.

An hour passed. Steinway's sales director agreed to stay open past the 4:30 closing time, and the pair finally arrived. Sherman played. Byun commented.

"This one has a little acidity," she said.

"Like tomato sauce?" he replied.

And so it went, until Sherman stood up and announced the end of a strange day. Jochum and Rosenbaum were long gone, Chodos had left the room, and if you weren't paying close attention you might easily have missed the decisive moment, when Brubaker, standing next to the first in a line of five exquisite pianos with five remarkably distinct personalities, quietly said: "I think this is the one."

Jordan Hall's new grand piano will make its debut this fall. With hard use and the stresses of New England weather, it has an expected life span of 10 to 15 years. And it will have some good company: a $180,000 German Steinway, to be selected when Brubaker leads a small delegation to the Hamburg factory this summer. (It's nice, he says, to offer touring artists a choice, and European pianists often prefer a more familiar instrument.)

Yet for all the care and thought that goes into the selection of these instruments, there is also an element of faith. Like people, they develop and change over time.

"You go with your best gut about what you can live with over the long haul," said Rosenbaum, "but it's ironic to think about how quickly a piano can turn from the beloved new thing in your life to, 'How soon can we get rid of this?' "

Joan Anderman can be reached at anderman@globe.com.

Duelling piano playing growing in popularity

from http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story.asp?file=/2009/3/11/music/3441268&sec=music

Duelling piano playing, lest you don’t know, is growing in popularity in the United States, according to Dueling Pianos Kansas City (http://duelingpianoskc.com/). Just what is a duelling piano player?

Apparently, one has to have some serious credentials including natural abilility (you can play by ear), humour (you must be funny), a wide and varied knowledge of music (you know every song ever written, well most of them), the ability to read an audience (you can look out at your audience and decide what genre and era of songs to play, as well as what comedy rating to use) and you must be able to generate tips.

Duelling pianos is based upon random requests from the audience and one has no script to get through the performance. A duelling pianist like Matt Giraud, does however, usually possess a large songbook – with lots of lyrics. Even though he may have the talent to pick out the melody to a strange song, he may not know the correct lyrics – thus, the lyric book comes in handy.

In Sioux City, ID?

Free piano lessons for kids who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford them will begin soon at the Piano Laboratory at First Lutheran Church.

The next session is scheduled for 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Wednesdays from March 25 through May 20. Students in grades three and four will be given priority and will be selected through a drawing.

Deadline to register is March 18. Registration can be done online at www.flcsf.org or by calling the church office at 336-3734.