BUSTED

Note to pianists playing in urban venues: don't leave your watch inside the piano, as Vijay Iyer recently found out in NYC. Observe the random concertgoer below stealing Mr. Iyer's watch on camera:



(Via Mind the Gap)

Sharing the Accompanist Love on Twitter

This is the time of year when collaborative pianists across the planet go out of their way to bring that extra level of commitment to concerts, operas, recitals, auditions, rehearsals, recording sessions and juries. Following are some tweeted acknowledgements of pianists, anonymous or otherwise, who have gone beyond the call of duty in the last while....

• frlady is thrilled with rehearsals for La Boheme chorus. Excellent singers.. great choir director and superb accompanist. (@NYinCALI)
  
• @kikimikkelsen wouldn't it be great to just sit and drink straight whisky and chain smoke with that accompanist debra and watch it? (@heardintheatrium)
  
• I'm so excited. today is my first day playing my violin concerto with an accompanist. It took a long time to get to this point! (@SoNotPatty)
  
• I need to go to bed! Late rehearsal but always great convo with my buddy/musician accompanist @garyarthuryoung (@KhadijahOnline)
  
• Just got done with the accompanist. Went fairly well, she said she adores my playing and loves the vast improvements each year. (@Bretticus2424)
  
• i feel so relieved! i have an accompanist for the trumpet recital! yay! (@chrkuhl28)
  
• Fingers crossed for a good last rehearsal w/ our accompanist today. (@EBHChorus)
  
• I just had my first "Defying Gravity" rehearsal with my accompanist. I feel like I've been doing sit ups. @ChrisColfer makes it look easy. (@shannancy)
  
• Note to self: 'quite spiffy' is not a very helpful description of tempo for an accompanist. (@jodiekearns)
  
• You must love a staff accompanist who is so willing to stretch her own playing to help me stretch a student's playing. Yay courage! (@lhbflute)
  
• Thank god. My accompanist is fantastic. (@spamelson)
  
• Thomas our accompanist JUST MADE MY LIFE. (@CaitlinMalmedal)
  

(Via the dreaded accompanist search on Twitter)

BTW you can follow me on Twitter here.

Ralph van Raat Plays Rzewski's Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues

Ralph van Raat's performance of Frederic Rzewski's Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues is remarkable not just for the high level of playing, nor for the awesome camera angles, but for the fact that this was a live television performance (on the Dutch television show Vrije Geluiden). Oh, the joys of European TV programming...

I'll Never Tear You Apart with Sarah Slean and the Art of Time Ensemble

If you haven't already heard of the Toronto-based Art of Time Ensemble (led by pianist Andrew Burashko), take note. This is an ensemble that, project after project, seeks to bring classical and non-classical genres closer together in new and untried ways. About AOT:

Now in its eleventh season, Art of Time Ensemble is one of Canada’s most innovative and artistically accomplished music ensembles. Their mandate is to give classical music the contemporary relevance and context it needs to maintain a broader audience to survive. Since its inception, Art of Time has steadily grown in reputation as an ensemble that undertakes and delivers programs that are at once thought provoking and compelling. Committed to finding new ways of blending classical music with other genres as well as other art forms, each Art of Time program is uniquely different in theme and content.

Here is Art of Time's music video of I'll Never Tear You Apart with Sarah Slean:



The Art of Time Ensemble's most recent project, A Singer Music Die, features former Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page in a program that starts touring in just a few weeks...

Glenn Gould Moments: NYC and Lake Simcoe

Glenn Gould hanging out with the guys at the Steinway Store on 57th Street in NYC and practicing the Bach C minor Partita at his parents' cottage on Lake Simcoe:

Win a Free Year's Subscription to Music Teacher's Helper

Brandon Pearce over at the Music Teacher's Helper Blog has announced a special promotion to coincide with the upcoming redesign of MTH (leaked screenshot at left). For those of you that aren't in the know yet, Music Teacher's Helper is an all-in-one studio management system that integrates a website, calendar, studio list, and invoicing system under one roof. From Brandon's blog entry, here are the contest rules for winning your free one-year subscription (hint: submit a video):

To quality for the contest, your testimonial must be accompanied by a photo of yourself. You can still submit your testimonial without a photo, but you won’t be entered into the contest for a free year unless you have a photo.

If you choose to submit a video testimonial (which would be awesome), please upload it to YouTube first (or a video hosting site of your choice), and then send us a link to your video. You can make your video however you want – video camera, slide show, screen capture, or a combination of methods if you have the skills.

We will be selecting the winner on Wednesday, March 3, 2010, so get your entries in soon!

Music Teacher's Helper Testimonial Contest

Stay tuned for more updates and details on the upcoming MTH relaunch...

Jason Robert Brown's The Next Ten Minutes from The Last Five Years

Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years is a show that I've always wanted to see (and play - there's some great piano writing in that score) but haven't yet had the chance. The central hub of the show is the duet "The Next Ten Minutes" which needs some background to set the context. From the Wikipedia article on the show:

The story explores a five-year relationship between Jamie Wellerstein, a rising novelist, and Cathy Hyatt, a struggling actress. The show uses a form of storytelling in which Cathy's story is told in reverse chronological order (beginning the show at the end of the marriage), and Jamie's is told in chronological order (starting just after the couple have first met). The characters do not directly interact except for a wedding song in the middle as their timelines intersect.

Here are Sherie Rene Scott and Norbert Butz from the original Off-Broadway cast (audio only):



This is one of the better staged versions available on YouTube, with Erik Snodgrass and Colleen Ballinger (aka Miranda!) tracing the pathways into the outset of Cathy and Jamie's doomed marriage:

Mischa Maisky and Martha Argerich Play the Debussy Sonata for Cello and Piano

Wonderful, wonderful playing, with some unconventional camera angles, great shots of Argerich's hands, and a few sudden cuts to landscape scenes that set the mood for this enigmatic late work of Debussy. In three parts.







(Via Laura Schwendinger)

See Tapestry's Opera Briefs in the Pre-Concert Show for the TSO's Azul Next Week

This afternoon I was in rehearsal for next week's revival of Opera Briefs, which will be the pre-concert event for the TSO's Thursday Masterworks program (featuring Osvaldo Golijov's Azul!) on February 25th. Here are the three briefs we will be performing:

Betty Box Office (libretto by Ken Gass/music by Jack Perla)
What Is She? (libretto by Anna Chatterton/music by John Harris)
The Sermon (libretto by Bernard McLaverty/music by John Harris)

I'll be at the piano and synth performing with soprano Carla Huhtanen, tenor Keith Klassen, and baritone Peter McGillivray. The main program starts at 8pm but the briefs will be getting underway in the RTH lobby at 7:20. Hope to see you there!

Isabel Bayrakdarian Sings the Gorecki Third Symphony, Filmed at Auschwitz

From James Kent's Holocaust - A Music Memorial Film from Auschwitz, Isabel Bayrakdarian sings the second movement of Gorecki's 3rd Symphony. The filming of Kent's documentary was the first time since the liberation of the camp that music had been performed inside its walls.

Earl Wild Remembered

The classical music world lost one of its greatest pianists a few weeks ago - Earl Wild, who, in addition to being probably the first pianist to play on television, was of a pianistic lineage mere steps from the heart of the Romantic pianistic tradition.

I can think of no other American pianist who was connected to so many great pianists and teachers of the nineteenth century. As a student of Selmar Jansen, he was directly linked to the teaching of Franz Liszt through Jansen's teachers Eugen D'Albert and Xavier Scharwenka. He came into contact with the style of Busoni through his studies with Egon Petri, and to the tradition of Jan Ignace Paderewski through his work with Paul Doguereau. He could also trace lineage back to Camille Saint-Saëns through Volya Cossack, who was a pupil of Saint-Saëns's student Isidore Philippe.

Some remembrances of his legacy from the last few weeks:

Allan Koznin in the NY Times
Stephen Hough in the Telegraph
More from the Telegraph
CBC News
BBC News
Tim Smith in the Baltimore Sun
Martin Steinberg for Canadian Press
Martin Steinberg for Associated Press
Randy Ludlow in the Columbus Dispatch
Wikipedia article
The official Earl Wild website

Earl Wild playing Liszt's Le Leggierezza:

More Music Education Resources

Karen Koch of Music Educators Marketplace has assembled a huge list of free and almost-free resources for music teachers, students, and parents that's definitely worth a look:

Free Online Resources for Teachers, Students, Parents

(Via Music Matters)

Collaborative Piano Studies at the University of Manitoba

Today's guest post is by Laura Loewen, who along with Judy Kehler Siebert, runs the collaborative piano program at the University of Manitoba.  In addition, Laura teaches at the Vancouver International Song Festival, Opera Nuova, and Winnipeg's Contemporary Opera Lab. At the University of Minnesota she received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree, studying with Margo Garret and Karl Paulnack.


Collaborative Piano at the University of Manitoba is an exciting and intensive program of study with equal emphasis on instrumental and vocal accompanying. The U of M's Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music provides an intimate and supportive environment where collaboration is encouraged. Performing opportunities for students of collaborative piano are numerous, both within the University and in the larger community.

We offer our students multi-faceted approaches to learning. Collaborative students regularly participate in many of the University's performance ensembles, including Opera Theatre, U of M Symphony Orchestra, U of M Wind Ensemble, and chamber groups. In addition to playing in vocal and instrumental studios and masterclasses, they receive two weekly lessons with collaborative piano professors who are active performers in their fields and passionate about sharing their love for ensemble music and collaboration. Dr. Judy Kehler-Siebert runs the Instrumental/Piano area and is a member of the piano faculty, and Dr Laura Loewen, vocal coach and diction specialist, heads up the Vocal/Piano area. We encourage students to continue their solo piano studies if they wish.

Collaborative programs are available at the Post-Baccalaureate and Masters' levels. Funding opportunities are available through the Faculty of Music and the Faculty of Graduate Studies. For full information on the collaborative piano program, faculty, and audition requirements, please visit our website at:

music.umanitoba.ca/collab-piano

Adrian Sandi and Helen Hou Play the Gabaye Sonatine

From a recent recital at DePaul University, here are clarinetist Adrian Sandi and pianist Helen Hou playing the 3rd movement of the Pierre Gabaye Sonatine for Clarinet and Piano. Longtime CPB readers will of course know Helen from her redesign of this blog back in 2008. Definitely take a look at some of Helen's recent web design work at hsquaredweb.

Wendy Hatala Foley's New Publicity Photos

I'm always going on about just how important it is to have great-looking publicity materials in addition to sounding great. Here are the new publicity shots of my wife, mezzo soprano Wendy Hatala Foley, taken by Lindsay Lozon, with hair/makeup by Paul Langill, and staged by Liz Parker. Let me know which of these photos you like the best in the comments...
.

Win Two Free Tickets to See Sarah Chang and Andrew von Oeyen at Markham Theatre on February 24

On February 24 at 8pm, violinist Sarah Chang and pianist Andrew von Oeyen (pictured at left) will be making their sole Canadian recital appearance at the Markham Theatre just north of Toronto. Their recital will be offered as part of the Markham Theatre's 25th anniversary International Series. On the program are Brahms' 3rd Sonata for violin and piano as well as his Sonatensatz, Christopher Theofanidis' Fantasy, and César Franck's Sonata for Violin and Piano.

Tickets are $69/59/49 with full series subscriptions available for $109.

But here's the best part...

I am also pleased to announce that thanks to the generosity of LIZPR, the Collaborative Piano Blog will be offering a pair of tickets to one lucky CPB reader! Here's how to enter the contest:

Contest Rules and Regulations

1. In order to win two free tickets to see Sarah Chang and Andrew von Oeyen on February 24th at the Markham Centre, leave a comment below announcing that you're entering the contest.

2. Email me at collaborative piano [at] gmail dot com. This is to ensure that I have a way to contact the eventual winner, especially for those who leave anonymous comments.

3. Once I have your confirmed entry I'll print your name and email on the back of a business card and set them aside for the draw.

4. Closing date for the contest is Friday, February 19 at noon EST. Sometime on Friday afternoon, I (or one of my students) will randomly pick an entry out of a bag. I'll then announce the winner on the evening of Friday, February 19.

5. After the winner of the pair of tickets has been determined, Liz Parker will contact you regarding how you can pick up your free tickets to see Sarah and Andrew perform on the 24th.

Once again, I would like to thank Liz Parker at LIZPR for making this promotion available for CPB readers. Best of luck!


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Follow Me on Google Buzz

Google was pretty quick in rolling out Google Buzz this afternoon - I've already got it, and several people on my Gmail contact list also have it too. In case you're interested in reading both Collaborative Piano Blog updates and other interesting stuff I uncover on the web via Buzz, you can follow me via my Google Profile.

Douglas Finch Improvises on Happy Birthday

One of my favorite profs at the University of British Columbia in the late 80's was Douglas Finch, who has since moved on to a busy teaching, performing, and composing career in the UK. Finch's legendary encores often started with a request to the audience for well-known tunes, which he would then improvise upon. Here he is improvising on Happy Birthday with much Scriabinesque/Ivesian awesomeness:



(Thanks, Suzy!)

Schweitzer Fernsehen's La Bohème im Hochhaus

Schweitzer Fernsehen's recent television production of Puccini's La Bohème in Bern, Switzerland has been turning heads for both its high ratings and effortless setting of the original story in the present time. Here are the opera's final minutes, with Maija Boog as Mimi and Saimir Pirgu as Rodolfo (it's worth watching right to the end):



Take a look at Matthew Gurewitsch's NY Times article for more info about the production.

(Via Sound Mind)

Maron Khoury and Hugh Sung Play Jolivet's Chant de Linos

One of the ultimate challenges in the flute and piano repertoire is André Jolivet's Chant de Linos. Here are flutist Maron Khoury and pianist Hugh Sung (with AirTurn-equipped laptop) performing it last year at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia:



(Via People for the Ethical Treatment of Accompanists)

[Ask the Readers] Best Practices for Collaborative Piano Program Auditions

A reader sent the following story about a recent audition for a graduate degree in collaborative piano:

I recently auditioned for a MM. in Collaborative Piano at a well-known American conservatory and had a somewhat surprising experience. For the audition, I was to prepare a solo work, a set of 4 songs or arias, and an instrumental sonata of my choosing. I brought my own violinist since I knew a grad student studying at the school, but requested that the school provide a singer for my audition (which they offer to do). When the singer showed up to my warm-up room 20 minutes before my audition, it became clear that she had just been asked by the collaborative piano professor to sing for my audition 15 minutes prior. This meant that she would only perform one song with me Not only had she never been coached on the music, but she didn't use the score in the audition and ended up forgetting half her words, missing pick-ups, etc.

I realize that this is a real-life situation and I deal with it everyday as a voice studio accompanist, but I assumed that the point of a collaborative piano audition was not to see if we can play "catch-up" when our partners do something unexpected. In my opinion, this is one of the simpler skills of the trade. My real surprise came when I was asked to play another song while the collaborative piano professor plunked out the vocal line next to me on the piano (our hands crossing and all). I was quite frustrated after having very conscientiously prepared for my auditions to find that it seemed like the professor did not take collaboration very seriously. I learned from other students that this was not unique to my audition, and that this professor always finds soloists at the last minute and sometimes doesn't find them at all. So, my question to you is...Is this really considered acceptable? Am I crazy to think that if the point of the audition is just to see if we can play the notes, then i shouldn't be a collaborative piano audition? Should I be prepared for this at the rest of my auditions? 

If you're a faculty member or administrator at a school of music, setting up a day of collaborative piano auditions can be an extremely complex affair, with singers and instrumentalists that need to be coordinated (and paid!) to meet a pianist and perform in the audition with little or no rehearsal time.

I certainly hope that this pianist's experience is the exception rather than the norm. It's also important to remember that the student is auditioning the school as much as the school is auditioning the applicant.

Teachers and students: what are some best practices that need to be put in place in order that a graduate-level collaborative piano audition go smoothly?

Greetings to Trinity Western Students

Welcome to all the students in Suzanne Klukas' new collaborative piano class at Trinity Western University! I'm looking forward to talking to you via Skype this afternoon (still morning in BC). In case you haven't yet found your way around, you might want to check out the Monster List of 100+ Resources on the Collaborative Piano Blog for an introduction. And be sure to either become a fan on Facebook or subscribe via RSS reader or email.

Comping with Mulgrew Miller

Mulgrew Miller shares some of his experience in the art of accompanying, from the jazz perspective:



(Thanks, Patti!)

Charles Spencer on the Inspired Minds Podcast

Charles Spencer, Professor of Lied Interpretation at the Hochschule für Musik in Frankfurt University of the Performing Arts in Vienna, was recently interviewed by Brendan O'Shea for Inspired Minds. Both Part 1 and Part 2 of the podcast are definitely worth a listen for anyone interested in the work of singers and pianists.

(Thanks Suzy!)

Previously on the Collaborative Piano Blog:

Sparks and Wiry Cries Launches - Long Live Art Song on the Internet
Degree Programs in Piano Pedagogy
Some Thoughts on the Battlestar Galactica Version of All Along the Watchtower (aka the Cylon Activation Song)
The Boston Trio Plays the Ravel Trio 1st Movement

Collaborative Piano Studies at the Catholic University of America

The Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at the Catholic University of America offers both a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degree in vocal accompanying. The Master of Music degree is a two-year program with the option of a minor field in Latin American Music. The Doctor of Musical Arts degree also comes with options for minor fields in Latin American Music or Musicology. Admission into the DMA program requires a 15-20 minute solo program and 50-55 minute vocal program, a sight-reading/transposition audition, and 2-hour entrance examinations in each of the fields of theory, history, vocal music, and piano chamber music. For more information, consult the 2009-10 Graduate Announcements.

Complete List of Degree and Diploma Programs in Collaborative Piano

Conducting from the Piano

For anyone who's making the transition to music director and needs to lead an ensemble from the piano, David Hahn on MusicianWages.com has just written a useful guide on Tips for the Pianist-Conductor. On the all-important head nod:

A good head nod is harder than it sounds, though. Major complaints from sidemen in pits usually involve some variation of “the head nod doesn’t match the hands” – that is, the head nod brings the band in before or after the piano-conductor plays the beat with their own hands.......A good head nod, as with any ictus, is usually more about the preparation, or “prep”, than the actual nod. The “prep” is the beat(s) leading up to the first beat that is played by the ensemble. A head nod, then, is not just a sudden drop of your head. A full head nod with prep has both a clear upward swing and a downward nod.