Clavier Companion 20110910

September/October 2011

Companion Volume 3, Number 5 Single Issue $9.95

September/October 2011 Published by the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy

SPECIAL LISZT ISSUE Columns 4 Editor’s Page A complete musician Pete Jutras

6 Variations Liszt at High Altitude Barbara Kreader

8 Musings What matters more: talent or effort? Jane Magrath

64 Questions & Answers Louise L. Goss

10 A Liszt Odyssey: An interview with Alan Walker by Helen Smith Tarchalski

16 Did the piano kill Liszt? An interview with Liszt’s great-granddaughter, Blandine Ollivier de Prévaux as told to Elyse Mach

22 The completion of De Profundis: Instrumental Psalm for Piano & Orchestra by Franz Liszt by Michael Maxwell

30 Franz Liszt, the Teacher by Sandra Soderlund

Departments 34 Jazz & Pop It’s about time (we discuss rhythm) Geoff Haydon

36 Music Reading How do you help a college piano major with poor reading skills? Craig Sale with Timothy Shafer and Sylvia Coats

42 Perspectives in Pedagogy A review of The Robert Pace Keyboard Approach Rebecca Grooms Johnson with Kathy Van Arsdale and Julie Lovison

9 Poetry Corner 15 Humoresque 27 Poetry Corner 50 First Looks 50 Back-to-school reading 52 New music reviews 56 CD & DVD reviews

58 News & Notes 59 Pupil Saver 60 Keyboard Kids’ Companion 62 Advertiser Index

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

CLAVIER COMPANION

1

Companion Publisher

Associate Editors

Contributing Editors

The Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy

Nancy Bachus Bruce Berr Michelle Conda Rebecca Johnson George Litterst Craig Sale Scott McBride Smith Helen Smith Tarchalski

Tony Caramia Louise Goss Steven Hall Geoffrey Haydon Phillip Keveren Barbara Kreader Jane Magrath Christopher Norton Robert Weirich Richard Zimdars

Editor-in-Chief Pete Jutras

Executive Director Sam Holland

Design & Production Bob Payne

Advertising

Managing Editors

Tiffany Smith

Steve Betts Susan Geffen

Copy Editors

Circulation

Carla Dean Day Kristin Jutras Kristen Holland Shear

Publication Fulfillment Services

Website Designer & Editor Tim Smith

The Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy is a not-for-profit educational institution (501c3) located in Kingston, New Jersey. The mission of the Frances Clark Center is to extend the influence of her inclusive and revolutionary philosophy of music education at the keyboard. In so doing, the Center conducts research, develops and codifies successful methodologies and applications, and disseminates its work in the form of publications, seminars, and

conferences that focus on improving the quality of teaching. Our goals are to: • Enhance the quality of music-making throughout life; • Educate teachers who are dedicated to nurturing lifelong involvement in musicmaking from the earliest to the most advanced levels; and • Develop methods and materials that support an artistic and meaningful learning experience for all students regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, or socio-economic status.

In the November/December 2011 issue: A Tribute to Robert Pace Marga Richter’s Character Sketches for Piano Columns by Robert Weirich and Randall Hartsell Questions & Answers with Louise Goss Keyboard Kids’ Companion, News, Reviews, Pupil Savers, and more!

2

CLAVIER COMPANION

In the Departments: Jazz & Pop: How do you help students with fingering in improvisations? Counterpoint: A Liszt Odyssey: An interview with Alan Walker, part II. Rhythm: Can young students learn rhythmic flexibility? Repertoire & Performance: The lost art of program notes. Adult Piano Study: Thoughts from the “other side of the bench.”

Clavier Companion (ISSN 1086-0819), (USPS 013-579) is published bi-monthly by the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy, 90 Main Street, P.O. Box 651, Kingston, NJ 08528. Periodicals Postage Paid at Kingston, NJ, and at additional mailing offices. Printed in USA. Contents © 2011 by Clavier Companion. All rights reserved. None of the contents of this magazine may be duplicated or reprinted without advance written permission from the publisher. The statements of writers and advertisers are not necessarily those of Clavier Companion, which reserves the right to refuse to print any submitted advertisement. Subscriptions and Circulation Subscription rates are $29.95 for one year, $55.95 for two years, $9.95 for single copies (includes shipping and handling), $26.95 for individuals in groups of five or more in the US. Canadian subscription rates are $35.95 US funds for one year, $67.95 US funds for two years. Foreign subscription rates are $41.95 US funds for one year, $79.95 US funds for two years. All non-US subscriptions payable by Visa or MasterCard only. Claims for missing copies cannot be honored after 60 days. Please allow a minimum of four weeks for a change of address to be processed. Address subscription and change of address correspondence to: Clavier Companion, P.O. Box 90425 Long Beach, CA 90809-9863 Toll-free: 888-881-5861 [email protected] Advertising Address advertising correspondence to: Clavier Companion, c/o Tiffany Smith 6106 Turnberry Dr. Garland, TX 75044 Telephone: 214-662-9793 [email protected] Editorial Address content and editorial correspondence to: Pete Jutras Editor-in-Chief Clavier Companion Hugh Hodgson School of Music The University of Georgia 250 River Road, Athens, GA 30602 [email protected] The publisher does not assume responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, photos, or artwork. Unsolicited letters to the editor, articles, and other editorial matter will be edited at the discretion of the editorial staff. Clavier Companion reserves the right not to publish any material deemed inappropriate by the publisher.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Clavier Companion, P.O. Box 90425, Long Beach, CA 90809-9863 CPM 40065056

ISSN 1086-0819

Canadian Post Publications Mail Agreement #40065056 Canadian Return Address: DP Global Mail, 4960-2 Walker Road,Windsor,ON N9A 6J3


Columns

Editor’s Page Pete Jutras, Editor-in-Chief

A complete musician he pages of this magazine are frequently filled with profiles of exceptional teachers, performers, and composers. In this issue we celebrate the bicentennial of a unique figure in our history—one who spent his life not just advancing but obliterating (and thus redefining) conventional wisdom in each of these musical arenas. Our rich history has a great tradition of performercomposers: Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Clara Schumann, and Rachmaninoff to name a few. While many of these figures did some teaching, none of them can match Liszt’s legacy of students. We’ve also seen many performer-teachers: Anton Rubinstein and Artur Schnabel come to mind. To be fair, both did dabble a bit in composition as well, but their works have hardly had the impact or esteemed place in the repertoire as those of Liszt. Liszt stands alone as a multifaceted, all-around figure—a “triple crown” winner in a field where such a feat is exceedingly rare.

T

The performer We know of Liszt’s legendary achievements at the keyboard. With a technique unlike anyone before him, he established the role of the virtuosic hero, with skills most would not have believed possible had they not borne personal witness. He raised the bar and challenged other pianists to match it, forever changing the standards of our craft. Liszt redefined the performance experience for the audience as well, playing complete programs by memory, turning the piano to face the audience, and introducing the word “recital” into the lexicon.

The pedagogue Liszt taught the world exceptional lessons about the efficiency of technique, but his contribution to the efficiency of teaching has also had a profound and indelible impact on music instruction the world over. Liszt took the intimate and private one-to-one setting of music teaching and opened its doors to all, creating the masterclass. Through this development students were able to collectively benefit from his “good days” and bask in all of his musical wisdom, not just what happened to apply to one person and one piece at one hour of the week. In these classes, his students benefited from public training that steeled them for performance and developed their abilities to play for an audience. What Liszt had to offer his students would be considered absolutely priceless in any setting, yet Liszt welcomed all with open arms and never charged for his teaching.

The creator Liszt’s compositions were equally groundbreaking, not only in their technical requirements, but also in their 4

CLAVIER COMPANION

approach to music. He developed the tradition of transcription, bringing the worlds of opera, symphonies, and lieder to the piano. A man always concerned with the big picture, Liszt was devoted to the future of music. In his composing and in his musical activities he strove to move the profession forward—to challenge, arouse, and inspire musical citizens in promoting (in true Romantic spirit) the avant-garde.

Completeness Liszt was a complete musician, and everything he did was in service to the higher art. Liszt was the world’s greatest technician at the keyboard, yet he didn’t wish to speak of it in his teaching, and he often admonished his students not to play so fast. The countless hours Liszt spent practicing technique in his youth were a means towards the end of allowing that technique to become transparent and let the true music shine forth. It was likely unthinkable to Liszt to separate performing, composing, improvising, and understanding. As the first president of the Royal Academy of Music in Hungary, Liszt required all pianists to study composition, and all composers to study piano: he advocated for a complete set of musical skills. Liszt once said, “For the formation of the artist, the first prerequisite is the improvement of the human being.”1 This completeness of being was evidenced in his relationship with his students, for classes were often conducted far away from the piano, in journeys, picnics, and gatherings at the local inn that would last well into the evening. In these outings Liszt continued to serve as sage, mentor, and advisor to his students as they developed into well-rounded artists and citizens. There is much we can learn from Liszt, and 200 years after his death he still stands as a primary model of performer, teacher, composer, and complete musician. We owe much to his work, and we have much to do to live up to his model. One can only hope that this bicentennial year will help inspire more teachers, performers, and composers to break out of the isolation of specialization and pursue a path of complete musicianship, of complete human being. In an imagination exercise inspired by Liszt biographer Alan Walker, let’s envision a modern-day interviewer who magically has the opportunity to speak with Liszt. This fortunate writer would likely be tempted to ask, “Of performing, composing, and teaching, which one do you prefer the most?” I can only imagine Liszt staring at the interviewer in puzzlement saying, “How can you separate them—they are all music!” p 1 Walker, A. (2010). Reflections on Liszt. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, p. 55.


Variations Barbara Kreader

Liszt at High Altitude ou have probably seen the cartoon: Bugs Bunny cracks the knuckles of his three fingers and proceeds to play Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. As a child I longed to perform this music the way Bugs did—with joy, élan, and, yes, like a showoff. Many descriptions of Liszt’s piano playing depict him as a wildhaired showman, a precursor of the likes of Mick Jagger. Some pianists, such as Lang Lang, repaint that picture, bringing out the mania and pyrotechnics of Liszt’s music. Others, such as Earl Wild, play with a studied nonchalance that suggests it is possible to toss off Liszt’s passages of leaping octaves, slippery sixths, and hair-

Y

turn runs while playing a round of golf at the same time. Other musicians—Alfred Brendel and Sviatoslav Richter come to mind— probe Liszt’s music in ways that reveal Bach’s influence and call forth Liszt’s spiritual side. In my view, no Liszt composition combines his demonic and angelic sides better than his Sonata in B Minor. During one of seven childhood summers in which I attended Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park, Colorado, our teacher, Beth Miller Harrod, practiced and performed this treacherous work, providing the inspiration for the poem below. p

Liszt at High Altitude I awake, aware of the sound of our teacher practicing Liszt at 9,400 feet. Obsession, possession speak. A rush of octaves repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat.

Suddenly, calm— a hymn-like tune— silence shimmers in the brilliance of a rising sun. The mountain’s face grows bright.

I dress while my campmates sleep. Yellow aspen beckon like Hermes, their blur of winged leaves marks the way to our teacher’s cabin. Rivulets of last night’s rain water

We are not to disturb our teacher, who stops, warms her arthritic fingers in hot paraffin, taps out an elusive rhythm, begins the coda again.

wash a trail around rocks. Jagged melody—rumbling bass—wild race of notes. Chords—forte, fortissimo— trace a harmonic path toward the religion of the fugue.

Wrong notes, right notes, slow, slower, double tempo, one chord at a time, notes grouped in rhythms. Distant thunder interrupts.

Swirls of sun-warmed dust eddy around the disturbance of my steps toward the music. Trills, runs— broken, fixed, tamed, released.

My young ears burn with desire. My finger muscles twitch in sympathy with every note. I will sit outside her door —hour after hour— until afternoon’s thunderstorm begins. —Barbara Kreader

Barbara Kreader has taught in her independent studio in Evanston, IL, since 1974. One of the coauthors of The Hal Leonard Student Piano Library, she has given workshops in more than 200 cities in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Asia. Formerly the editor of Clavier magazine, she received her M.M. degree from Northwestern University. 6

CLAVIER COMPANION


Musings Jane Magrath

What matters more: talent or effort? ecently I saw a cartoon that showed two smiling parents watching their child as he brushed his teeth. A banner was posted over the top of the bathroom mirror that said, “Congratulations on brushing your teeth!” One parent was looking adoringly at the child, hands clasped, while the other stated, “I just feel like we’re setting him up to be disappointed in the real world.” We know exactly what that parent is saying—it seems that many children these days expect to be praised for common accomplishments in life, and yet at some point the praise will not be so readily forthcoming. How will children react then? Literature on childhood education today is addressing this very circumstance: that praising (and overpraising) children for their talents or their abilities may be counterproductive. Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman’s book NurtureShock begins with a similar story, this one about Thomas, who, ever since he could walk, has heard continually that he’s “so smart.” He even scored at the very top in an IQ test taken to enter kindergarten. And yet, as Thomas progressed through school, his father noticed that Thomas avoided trying new things unless he was positive that he would be successful at them. Thus, when something new did not come so quickly to him, he would quickly give up. In fact, Thomas grew to believe that there were things he was good at and things that he was not so good at, and he avoided anything that he felt he was not good at. It was black or white for him. When a challenge came about for Thomas, he preferred not to work hard at it, afraid that he would appear to be unintelligent.1 He had started on a path in life where he underestimated his abilities, and with this “lack of perceived competence adopt[ed] lower standards for success and expect[ed] less” of himself.2 Recent research by Dr. Carol Dweck at Stanford reveals that individuals generally possess one of two mindsets: a “fixed mindset” where people see talent and intelligence as static, generally unlikely to change throughout life, or a “growth mindset” where individuals believe that talent or intelligence can be developed.3 People with a fixed mindset often spend their lives proving their perceived strengths and weaknesses to the world. They may avoid difficult challenges because failing could cause them to lose their appearance of intelligence. Thus, they are hindered in developing their talents and abilities in life. Individuals with a growth mindset,

R

Jane Magrath is Regents’ Professor and holds the Grant Endowed Chair in Piano Pedagogy at the University of Oklahoma, where she was named Rothbaum Presidential Professor of Excellence in the Arts. She has more than thirty-five volumes published with Alfred Publishing, and her book The Pianist's Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature has become a classic reference work for pianists throughout the country. Jane Magrath was named the first recipient of the MTNA/Frances Clark Keyboard Pedagogy Award for the Outstanding Contribution to Piano Pedagogy. She has published numerous articles in keyboard journals and currently serves as an editor for the Piano Pedagogy Forum. The

revival of interest in the United States in the standard classical piano teaching literature has been attributed in part to her work. 8

CLAVIER COMPANION

believing that they can get better at whatever they try, spend their lives putting their efforts into learning, working hard, and developing learning and practicing strategies that help them grow. Clearly, it pays to help children and parents involved with music lessons invest in a view of piano playing as something that can be developed and not something just for the very talented. Errors and failure are a part of growth and learning for everyone, and they should be accepted as that, rather than excused. Carol Dweck cites one of her own research studies with hundreds of students, mostly early adolescents. Everyone in the study was given a nonverbal IQ test, and everyone received praise upon completion of the test. Half of the students were told something like, “You must be smart at this.” (Have you ever told a piano student, “You’re so talented”?) The other students were praised for their effort, and told something like, “You must have worked really hard.”4 Rather than being praised for their abilities, they were recognized for doing what it took for them individually to succeed. While both groups were the same at the outset, once the praise was given, they began to differ. Those given praise on their ability, when given the choice of taking one of two additional tests, usually chose the safer and easier test. Those recognized for their efforts, not praised for their talent or intelligence, generally chose the harder of the next two tests.5 The implications are of great interest to music teachers. We need to be careful to praise or recognize our students’ genuine efforts in their music study, rather than tell them they are talented or smart or gifted. It is important to recognize the process—what is happening now—and in so doing, to set students up to learn even more fully how to work at achieving even greater skills. We want to appreciate the hard work and efforts they are putting into learning a piece, not their talents or abilities. What are some ways to turn what we say to a student into recognition rather than praise? Let’s say that a student just finished playing a Clementi sonatina movement. It was the second lesson on the piece, and the student was well prepared for that point in time. Rather than automatically saying “good” at the end of the playing, a response could be, “That worked well for this stage. What is it about your practice this week that helped you?” Suppose a student struggled with the double notes in a Chopin waltz in a lesson. You could recognize a prior effort that worked by saying, “Remember when you practiced such and such piece doing so and so, and it suddenly helped? How can we do that with this passage?” What if the student accomplished something you asked of her the first week? It would be better to say, “You seem to really enjoy learning,” rather than, “I am so proud of you.” Some additional statements to encourage a growth mindset in piano students, rendered only when appropriate, could be: “Your tenacity in doing such and such paid off by....” “I noticed your resourcefulness in practicing [this way...] to accomplish this passage.” “In preparing for this, your practice routine of doing so and so seemed to work for you.” “I’m proud of you for figuring that out.” “I like the way you keep working whether it is easy or hard.” SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

What about errors or failures in music study? Clearly they are part of growth, learning, and development for everyone. It can be dangerous for a parent or teacher to excuse or protect a child from a failure when it occurs, even if it seems to be helpful in the short run. Dweck cites a story about nine-year-old Elizabeth, who attended her first gymnastic meet, prepared and confident. Gymnastics was something that she loved, and she was good at it. In fact, she did well in all of the events she entered, but not well enough to win ribbons in any of them. She was devastated. Dweck asks, “What would you do if you were Elizabeth’s parents? 1. Tell Elizabeth you thought she was the best. 2. Tell her she was robbed of a ribbon that was rightfully hers. 3. Reassure her that gymnastics is not that important. 4. Tell her she has the ability and will surely win next time. 5. Tell her she didn’t deserve to win.”6 Dweck explains the implications of making these statements, emphasizing that the first four protect her from her failure. The first statement is not sincere, and tells her nothing of how to improve. The second statement places the blame on others, and does not focus on her. Especially significant, the third teaches her to devalue the activity if she does not do well—not a message that should be sent. The fourth tells her that her inborn talent and ability will help her to win next time. The fifth option is actually the most truthful, and can be stated in a subtle way with the child—by talking about feelings (disappointment), her true level of accomplishment compared with the time (and years) she has put into gymnastics, and telling her that she’ll need to continue to work if she really wants to do this.7 In terms of recognizing effort in music students, be careful not to over-recognize common achievements. The relationship between effort and achievement is direct, and children (and their parents) can quickly learn this through music study at the hands of an aware teacher who values the process of student growth. Recognizing an achievement that is too small or easy leads to the student’s believing that the praise is undeserved. If this continues the student will ultimately stop believing the teacher. Students need to understand that talent is not fixed; that the more highquality effort they put into any activity, the more they will achieve. And ultimately, nothing motivates children more than competence.8 p

Notes: 1 Bronson, P. & Merryman, A. (2009). NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children. New York: Twelve, Hachette Book Group, pp. 11-12. 2 Ibid., p. 12. 3 Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Ballantine Books, Random House, pp. 6-7. 4 Ibid., pp. 71-72. 5 Ibid., p. 72. 6 Ibid., pp. 180-181. 7 Ibid., 181. 8 The idea of competence as a motivator of children is discussed convincingly in the book Motivated Minds: Raising Children to Love Learning, by Deborah Stipek and Kathy Seal (Henry Holt & Co., 2001).


Poetry Corner Richard Zimdars, Editor The Twilight of Liszt The twilight of Liszt, draped in grey clouds, Contains a ciborium of transcendence. Souls depressed, Bereft of peace, Motionless cypress wrapped in minor modes, Mourning, Pleading for miracles Will only sink deeper into the grey absence of love — An imploding abyss — A setting sun in a flat, unrevolving world Devoid of sunrise. Morning is not a miracle, but a transcendence Which alters depression’s dark inward pulsations and turns outward The imploding notes of mourning: These self-same notes in a new trajectory, A new key, Inverted, Augmented, Reconceived, Exploding with love, Engender a new day — A ciborium of gleaming grace — A morning of selfless dedication to higher purpose — A gleaming sunrise. The twilight of Liszt contains The splendorous color of a transcendent rising sun — A future. Thomas Mastroianni Thomas Mastroianni, (B.S.; M.S., Julliard; and Mus.D., Indiana) has performed and taught on four continents. Cofounder of the Amalfi Coast Music Festival and President of the American Liszt Society, he is a recipient of the Medal of the Hungarian Liszt Society. He taught piano at Texas Tech University and The Catholic University of America. His CD releases include Liszt’s Années de pèlerinage (Italie), Volumes 2 and 3. A DVD of Debussy Preludes (Book 2) and Suite bergamasque will be released later this year.

CLAVIER COMPANION

9

SPECIAL LISZT ISSUE

A Liszt Odyssey An interview with Alan Walker by Helen Smith Tarchalski

10

CLAVIER COMPANION


ore than 20,000 published works exist featuring charismatic trailblazer Franz Liszt. But biographer Alan Walker sets a new standard for Liszt scholarship, as well as musicological research and biographical writing. “The Volumes” (Dr. Walker’s reference to his mammoth three-volume Liszt biography) have been honored by the Royal Philharmonic Society Book Award, the Yorkshire Post Music Book Award, and the Medal “Pro Cultura Hungarica,” bestowed by the President of Hungary. Dr. Walker has been recognized through many awards for his distinctive contributions to Liszt scholarship, including the Commemorative Plaque of the Budapest Liszt Society and the American Liszt Society. Dr. Walker actively discourages references to himself as “the world ’s leading authority on Franz Liszt,” claiming that such a description is absurd. But readers can draw their own conclusions by examining Dr. Walker’s works and observing their critical acclaim. TIME magazine remarked that his work is “...a textured portrait of Liszt and his times without rival.” The New York Times called his extensive research “incredible...Dr. Walker seems to know everything about Liszt, and anything connected with Liszt, during every single day of the long life of that genius.” The Washington Post said that the third volume is an “unquestionable landmark” and “meticulously detailed, passionately argued, and sometimes wrenchingly moving.” Harold Schonberg wrote in The Wall Street Journal: “A conscientious scholar passionate about his subject, Mr. Walker makes the man and his age come to life. These three volumes will be the definitive work to which all subsequent Liszt biographies will aspire.” Rarely does a scholarly writer elicit such consistent praise from mainstream media. But these enthusiastic endorsements are no surprise to any reader familiar with Dr. Walker’s work. His research and writing style result in books that serve as the most authoritative musicological documents, yet read like novels. In our interview, Alan Walker shares some of his surprising discoveries and reflections that developed while in pursuit of the Liszt story. Walker’s own story provides insight into the life of a successful researcher and internationally renowned biographer as he describes his travels to Weimar, Budapest, Rome, Paris, and Washington, D.C.

M

What set you on the path to chronicle Liszt’s life and work in such depth? I had been interested in the piano, and even in Liszt, since my childhood. But it was not until I became a music producer at the BBC in London that I realized there was no reliable biography of Liszt in the English language. I had just produced a long series of Liszt piano recitals for BBC radio containing a lot of his unfamiliar pieces. The pianists I engaged included Louis Kentner, John Ogdon, Béla Siki, David Wilde, Shura Cherkassky, and Valerie Tryon. The programmes were occasionally esoteric and featured such rarities as the second Mephisto Waltz, the Apparitions, Nuages gris, and Unstern!. Some of the pieces had never been broadcast before, and there were some that had not yet been commercially recorded. That was in the 1960s, of course. It was only when all the programmes were ready and scripts had to be provided for the radio announcers to read at the microphone that I realized there was almost no information available about some of this music. So I had to roll up my sleeves, do the research, and write the scripts myself. Suddenly I found that I had become a biographer. It all happened by default. I had no idea at the time how far it would lead me. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

Alan Walker producing a Liszt lieder recital in the BBC’s Maida Vale studios, 1968.

Before we discuss your work and thoughts as a leading authority on Franz Liszt, please tell us more about your time at the BBC and how your work there evolved into the process of becoming a biographer. It was during my time at the BBC that I became a writer. My job there was twofold: to write “presentation notes” for the radio announcers to read for the famous (and now defunct) Third Programme music broadcasts, and to engage artists for national broadcasting and help them plan their programmes. The first part of the job taught me the essential difference between the spoken and the written word, and it helped to sharpen my communication skills. The second part of the job brought me into contact with performers from all over the world. The BBC in those days was enjoying a golden age. It was like being a member of an elite music conservatory. One just sat in the studio and the whole world of music passed through. Among the many pianists with whom I worked, Arthur Rubinstein and Wilhelm Backhaus stand out as the most interesting. And among the violinists I most enjoyed meeting was Yehudi Menhuin. Being placed in charge of the BBC’s Music Presentation Unit was an exacting challenge. I was thirty-one years old, and in retrospect I think I was unfitted for such a responsible position. I had to provide upwards of ten thousand words a week for distribution among the BBC radio announcers—words about piano music, orchestral and choral music, and lieder. These scripts had to be musicologically exact, but they also had to be written in such a way that the man on the street could readily understand them. It was a daunting task, but I rose to the challenge and improved on the job. I had two secretaries and access to a formidable archive of material which was kept in old, open files on dozens of feet of shelving. But then you resigned from the BBC and entered academia. What prompted this decision? After ten years I had started to suffer from burnout. I could not keep up the endless round of writing radio scripts and meeting CLAVIER COMPANION

11

As you know, some scholars have questioned whether Liszt was a genuine Hungarian. He lived most of his life away from Hungary. He was also born in a part of the country that was later ceded to Austria, and he spent many years as a resident of both France and Germany. Your biography highlights many aspects of his Hungarian background, but is this enough? Does the rest of the world really accept his national origin? It does not really matter what the rest of the world accepts. We must speak the truth. Liszt’s great-grandfather, Sebastian, was born on Hungarian soil; his grandfather, Georg, was born on Hungarian soil; his father Adam, was born on Hungarian soil; and Liszt himself was born on Hungarian soil. What more is required to be a Hungarian? Evidently it is the ability to speak the Hungarian language, which Liszt lacked. But so did tens of thousands of other Hungarians who were brought up in the Western part of Hungary, which in the nineteenth century was mainly German-speaking. Let us not forget that even some of the leaders of the Hungarian nation could not speak Hungarian, including István Széchenyi. Liszt always identified himself with Hungarian causes, and on special occasions he wore national costume. He once wrote: “Despite my lamentable ignorance of the Hungarian language, from the cradle to the grave, I remain Magyar in heart and mind.”

Photograph by Franz Hanfstaengel, Munich 1869.

deadlines. So I resigned and accepted an offer from McMaster University in Canada to become Chairman of the Music Department there. My new job gave me an opportunity to do research, without the imposition of deadlines. So you set out on your travels to research and tell the full story of Liszt’s life. Where did you conduct your research? How long was your journey as Liszt’s biographer? I have always believed in the “geography of biography.” You must visit the places you write about. It is the best way to bring your prose to life. Liszt was a non-stop traveler. Moreover, he left a paper-trail across Europe. So I had to pack my suitcases and follow his footsteps as best I could. My first stop was Hungary. I still recall going to the Institute of Musicology in Budapest in order to have a preliminary meeting with some of the country’s leading Liszt experts—including Dezsö Legány, Mária Eckhardt, László Eösze, and Veronika Vavrinecz. We chatted for more than an hour. I was not sure how my plan to write a three-volume biography of Liszt might be received. In those days Hungarian scholars were not allowed to travel to the West, and that was a real hindrance to their work. I need not have worried. They were more than willing to share the results of their research with me. This saved me months of labour, particularly with regards to Hungarian sources. I have always been grateful to them for that. One of the best pieces of advice I ever received came at the end of that meeting. One of them came up to me as I was leaving, and said: “Do not forget that it takes a life to study a life.” I have never forgotten that comment. It haunts me still. Even though I was to spend twenty-five years bringing the three volumes to fruition, it makes me feel that I may have rushed things, because I obviously finished well before my life ran out. I have meanwhile been to Hungary more than thirty times, incidentally, and always feel completely at home there. 12

CLAVIER COMPANION

In your recently published memoirs1 you describe your first visit to Weimar in the 1970s, and the various adventures that you experienced there, including lost luggage, becoming soaked during a downpour when you arrived, and after three days with no change of clothing, ending up being temporarily fitted in the only clothes you could find close to your size: an ill-fitting boy scout’s uniform, complete with epaulettes. Yes, that is true. And that is how I presented myself to Professor Dr. Karl-Heinz Hahn, who was in charge of the Goethe-Schiller Archive at that time. I still recall the look on his face as he greeted me that first morning. He probably thought that this was regulation dress for all “field-workers” from North America. You have to understand that this was during the darkest days of the Cold War, and visitors to East Germany, especially in a small town like Weimar, were not all that common. Do you have any photographs? Alas, no. I am sorry about that because if they existed they would serve as a reality check on your runaway imagination. Nonetheless, the mind boggles. Tell us about being locked in the burial vault of Goethe and Schiller. When you write a biography it is useful to know where the bodies are buried. A tombstone can sometimes convey more information about the dearly departed than a book. A visit to Weimar’s Stadtfriedhof is therefore essential for the Liszt biographer because so many members of his extended circle slumber there. And if you go to the Stadtfriedhof you can hardly avoid going to the Royal Burial Vault, where the coffins of Goethe and Schiller are on permanent display. So I went. At the end of a long afternoon, the woman in charge of the tourist shop above the vault closed the entrance door and left without realizing that I was still below, contemplating the coffins of Germany’s two greatest men of letters. I had no idea how long I might remain incarcerated there, so I took the opportunity to make some notes about the thirty or so lead coffins that had been pushed into the shadows. These coffins contained the remains of the grand dukes of Weimar and their offSEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

spring going back three generations. It was serendipity. Surrounded by dead bodies, I acquired much valuable information while awaiting my release, which occurred a couple of hours later. Some German friends had expected me for dinner, and when I did not turn up, they raised the alarm. After your three-volume biography of Liszt, you published the diary of Liszt’s student Lina Schmalhausen, who was present at the time of his death in Bayreuth. The diary revealed the remnants of a serious rift between the composer and his daughter Cosima. Do you believe the memory of that rift influenced her children’s and her own alleged ill-treatment of Liszt? Why do you describe it as “alleged?” The diary makes clear the atmosphere of neglect and disregard for his welfare that Liszt suffered at the hands of his daughter Cosima and her children. His last ten days in Bayreuth were terrible. He became the victim of medical malpractice at the hands of Dr. Karl Landgraf, the Wagner family physician, whom Cosima had brought in to treat her dying father. Schmalhausen was not wrong to describe Landgraf as “the bungler of Bayreuth.” Liszt died from a coronary thrombosis, although in the year of his death such a condition was unknown to the medical profession. A heart attack was usually described as a “seizure.” A close reading of Schmalhausen’s diary leads to the conclusion that Landgraf and his colleague Dr. Fleischer, brought in from nearby Erlangen, may have hastened Liszt’s death by clumsily injecting morphine (or more likely camphor) directly into the heart instead of just beneath the surface of the skin. For the rest, Cosima’s relationship with her father had been ambivalent since her childhood. He saw very little of her when she and the other children were young because for eight years he was constantly on the road, pursuing his career as a concert pianist, which helped to pay for their support and for their private education. Cosima’s later relationship with Liszt was certainly not helped when she abandoned her first husband Hans von Bülow (her father’s favourite pupil) and ran off with Richard Wagner (her father’s best friend). Liszt broke off all connections with the pair for five years. There may be no way to prove that Cosima’s neglect of Liszt during his last few days was influenced by any of this, but the background is compelling. You have reported that Lina Schmalhausen was infatuated with Liszt, and that members of Liszt’s inner circle were suspicious of her, and disliked her. In light of her obvious prejudices, what makes you suppose that the Schmalhausen diary is true? The main details can be independently confirmed through the diaries and letters of other pupils who were present in Bayreuth at the time of Liszt ’s death. The account left by Bernhard Schnappauf, Wagner’s factotum and the local barber-surgeon, supports Lina’s graphic descriptions and even adds detail to them. Arthur Friedheim and William Dayas, both Liszt pupils who were in Bayreuth at the time, left descriptions as well. You had completed two of the three volumes of your landmark Liszt biography when you were invited to write for the most recent edition of The New Grove Dictionar y of Music and Musicians. What elements did you feel were most important to update and add? Did you discover any new information as you prepared the 2001 updated entry on Liszt? Actually I had finished all three volumes, and when the invitaSEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

A page from Lina Ramann’s biographical questionnaires, with Liszt’s responses.

tion from Grove’s came through, I wrote the 25,000-word entry very quickly—in the summer of 1996, I believe. One omission I wanted to remedy in this new entry on Liszt was to provide some commentary on his songs. You will not find a word about them in the earlier Grove’s article on Liszt. Yet they are very important. I describe Liszt’s songs as a “missing link” between Schumann and Mahler. Also, I expanded on Liszt’s activities during his earlier, formative years. You have indicated that more than 20,000 publications, in many languages, have appeared across the last century or so devoted to Franz Liszt—probably more than any composer in history—and many of them contradict one another. How could one composer exercise such strong allure? That number of 20,000 publications may be an understatement. Because of Liszt’s fame as a touring pianist in his younger years, it was necessary to generate instant information about him in order to pacify the demands of the crowd. And much of it turned out to be false. During his lifetime a Niagara of ink was spilled in this way. The many publicity puffs, pamphlets, and short biographies, brought out in a hurry, went on repeating the same mistakes, and they have poisoned the chalice from which Liszt’s modern biographers continue to drink. Liszt was already in the twilight of his life but no one had published an official biography of him. Yet biographies of his great contemporaries Schumann and Chopin had already appeared. Why was there a delay in the case of Liszt? There is no ready answer to that question. It was Princess CLAVIER COMPANION

13

Liszt after his death had much to do with the rise of musicology, and all the things that musicology brought in its train—especially its insistence on “historically informed” performances and the evangelical fervour with which it pressed the case for Urtexts. The critics came to regard the Urtext as a kind of musical bible, in which the Word was sacrosanct, in which every note was preserved, in which the “sonic surface” of the music was captured exactly as the composer himself had heard it. Imagine the harm that such views could do to a free-spirited musician like Liszt, the unchallenged master of the arrangement, the paraphrase, and the transcription! Music such as this came to be regarded as second-class. The arrangement, after all, is guilty on all counts. It changes notation with impunity; it does not reverence the sonic surface of the original; it flits about, chameleon-like, donning the most far-flung acoustical disguises, defying us to say where History acknowledges the irrefutable conmusic’s true identity is to be found. tributions of Liszt the performer, the composer, and the teacher. Why did his music Of Liszt’s vast catalogue of 1,400 compolose ground with scholars? sitions or so, nearly half are arrangements The Romantic movement itself lost ground either of his own or of other composers’ with scholars. It was only after World War II music. That alone was enough to marginalize that we experienced a vigorous revival of interhim. est, with festivals, music magazines, and Finally (and this has to be said), Liszt sufrecordings devoted to the nineteenth century fered at the hands of the musicologists prespringing up all over the civilized world. We cisely because he remained popular with the The Liszt Denkmal in Weimar’s Goethe must not forget that the twentieth century was man on the street, along with Chopin, Park, sculpted by Hermann Hahn and dominated by composers who had made their Tchaikovsky, and other Romantics. unveiled in 1902. mark precisely by reacting against RomanWidespread popularity generally arouses the ticism. The music of Bartók, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, and Webern suspicion of the experts, whose self-imposed role as the arbiters of was very much the fashion, and their cerebral approach to compotaste deludes them into thinking that they know better than the sition appealed to academics. Until this music had been absorbed public itself what is good for it. by history, had ceased to be ‘contemporary,’ it was difficult to see the Romantic period in proper perspective. Could the sheer technical prowess required to perform much of Liszt’s music have contributed to his work being misunderstood and underappreciated for many years? But there was surely more to it than that. I believe that is so. Because Liszt’s music nearly always contains There was. I think that the mantle of neglect that settled over Carolyne, Liszt’s partner, who perceived the injustice of it, and arranged for Lina Ramann to write her three-volume biography of him. Ramann was a piano teacher who ran a music school in Nuremberg. She had already written articles about Liszt ’s music, so Carolyne thought she was sufficiently qualified. Ramann’s biography created many problems for Liszt and for future scholars. Her text is filled with confusion and error. Having said that, Carolyne was constantly meddling in the project, giving Ramann a difficult time. What makes this all the more astonishing is that Liszt responded to Ramann’s questionnaires with remarkable honesty, even when his replies did not always put him in the best light, but she simply ignored many of his answers. Her handwritten questions, with spaces left beneath for Liszt’s replies, are preserved in the Goethe-Schiller Archive in Weimar.

14

CLAVIER COMPANION


some technical challenge, it tends to attract players of the wrong type, those who feel that their work is accomplished only if they play Liszt fast and loud. Where have all the Swiss watchmakers gone? Where are all the pianists who know how to bring out the nuances of Liszt’s keyboard music? We are today surrounded by fully paid-up members of the Woodchopper School of Piano Playing, whose chief purpose seems to be to drive the piano through the floorboards. And the fact is, Liszt’s music is not performer-proof. There are some composers who can survive the worst playing. No matter how terrible the performance, the value of their music continues to shine through. But not with Liszt. He is very much at the mercy of the player. How often have we left a Chopin recital that has gone badly, and we say: “What a poor player!” And how often have we left a Liszt recital that has gone badly, and we say: “What a poor composer!” The sins of the player are visited on Liszt the composer in a way that makes him almost unique. And I think I know why. Liszt composed with the outlook of a player and he played with the insight of a composer. He was always the best interpreter of his own music. p Editor’s Note: Please join us in the next issue (November-December 2011) for Part II of our interview with Alan Walker. Dr. Walker addresses the following questions: How has Liszt’s reception evolved since his death? If Liszt were living today, what aspects of teaching, performing, or composing might he address? What should modern day musicians learn from studying the life of Liszt? Which aspects of Liszt’s music are especially valued in our time? 1 Alan Walker (2011). A Biographer’s Journey. The Hungarian Quarterly, No. 201, pp. 45-69, and No. 202, pp. 13-34.


CLAVIER COMPANION

15

SPECIAL LISZT ISSUE

Did the piano kill Liszt? An interview with Liszt’s great-granddaughter Blandine Ollivier de Prévaux as told to Elyse Mach

Elyse Mach interviews Madame Blandine de Prévaux at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, October 1970. From left: Dean Randolph Hudson, Mme de Prévaux, Marnie Fournier, Elyse Mach. Seated in foreground is Dr. Richard Wenzlaff, Chair of the Music Department.

16

CLAVIER COMPANION


he following interview took place in 1970 and was originally published in Clavier. The valuable recollections and thoughts from a direct descendant of Liszt along with firsthand accounts from her father and grandfather make this a fascinating story—one worth reading forty years later. Clavier Companion is pleased to reprint this interview with revised and updated notes.

T

D.C.). My journey to Washington involved looking through and studying various Liszt manuscripts in the Library of Congress. And then, of course, I am here regarding the publication of various correspondences.

What was your impression of the American Liszt Festival? I must say I was quite impressed, for the entire “It was the piano that killed Liszt!” atmosphere of the festival was very beautiful. There was remarkable direction and organization of the festival, and This was one of the first remarks made by Madame Blandine Ollivier de Prévaux upon our meeting at the quality of the performances and lectures was The children of Liszt and the American Liszt Festival in 1970. Seventy-six at excellent. Marie d’Agoult. From left: the time, Madame Prévaux was the great-grandThe accent was put on religious works of Liszt and Blandine, Daniel, and daughter of the famous composer Franz Liszt and I had the feeling that Liszt would have been happy in Cosima. the Countess Marie d’Agoult. this atmosphere. He had been a deeply religious man After corresponding with Madame de Prévaux by all his life. He really was a man without any prejutelephone and through exchange of letters for nearly two years, I dices in life and in art. In fact, he might be described as the real was, indeed, delighted to meet her in person. In the days which Weltburger of Goethe. followed our initial meeting, we discussed many aspects of Liszt’s life and works. Although it was of tremendous interest to hear stoYou spoke of publishing some correspondence. Would you ries about Liszt and other great musical figures, such as Richard elaborate on this? There is so much correspondence between Liszt and his friends, Wagner, it was equally fascinating to learn of Madame de Prévaux’s pupils, relatives, loves, and so forth, letters numbering in the thouown experiences and accomplishments. For, with her gesticulating sands; for instance, the touching correspondence with Countess hands and vivacious smile, she seemed to transmit the same perMarie d’Agoult from 1835 to 1848. These love letters are among sonal warmth and effervescent manner attributed to her greatthe most beautiful of the French Romantic period. Another beautigrandfather. ful correspondence is the lifetime exchange between Wagner and Liszt.1 Madame de Prévaux, what is your relationship to Franz Liszt? My great-grandparents were Franz Liszt (1811-1886) and the Countess Marie d’Agoult (1805-1876). From this liason, three children were born: Blandine, Cosima, and Daniel. Blandine Liszt (1835-1862), the first born, was my grandmother. She in turn married Emile Ollivier (1825-1913), who was the prime minister to Napoleon III. They had a son, Daniel Ollivier (1862-1941), who was my father. What about your own family? My father, Daniel Ollivier, was a lawyer, and my mother, the former Cathérine du Bouchage, came from a family of bankers. I was married to a French naval officer who was in the Resistance Movement during World War II and was shot by the Germans in 1944. We had two daughters, Claude and Daniella, and now I have four grandchildren—all girls. I shall look forward to the day when I become a great-grandmother. This is your first visit to the United States, is it not? Yes, it is. You know that Liszt was once asked to visit the United States, but declined, saying that he was too old. He thought Anton Rubinstein should go in his place. Now I’m making my first visit at age seventy-six and am looking forward to returning again. What was your purpose in visiting the United States? There were really several reasons for my visit to the United States. For one thing, I came to attend the American Liszt Festival (October, 1970). I also came to visit my good friends, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Waters (Professor Waters is with the Music Department of the Library of Congress in Washington, CLAVIER COMPANION

17

Of especial interest are the letters written to his daughters, Blandine Ollivier and Cosima Wagner, and his only son, Daniel Liszt, the majority of which are still unpublished. In fact, the letters to Cosima and Daniel and most of those addressed to his own mother, Anna Liszt, in later years, are still unpublished. None of the Cosima letters has ever been published in its entirety.2 Why was there such a tremendous amount of correspondence? Probably since people didn’t see each other as much as they do now. You know people just do not have that type of personal communication today. It seems strange that so very many letters are still in existence, even those Liszt wrote at a young age. Ah, yes. The letters survived because Liszt was famous at a young age and his heirs knew that someday the letters would be of value and so they saved them. Did your father and/or grandfather spend much time with Liszt? Oh, yes. My father visited Liszt at intervals either in Bayreuth, in Rome, or in Paris. And when he was a child, Liszt frequently visited him in St. Tropez. (St. Tropez, France, was the birthplace of Daniel Ollivier, and his mother’s burial place.) My father never lived with him, though. As for my grandfather, Emile Ollivier, Liszt and he were always great friends. Even when my grandfather remarried (Blandine, Liszt’s daughter, died in 1862 at the age of twenty-six), Liszt and he remained ardent friends. You know, people in those days didn’t occupy themselves with their children’s lives as much as they do now. The children were given a brilliant education by the best masters and governesses, and they came into their parents’ lives when they were already brought up. Liszt was an exception in the lives of society in those times in that he personally supervised carefully the upbringing of the children. What recollections did your father and grandfather relate to you about Liszt? My father and grandfather both spoke of the numerous visits with Liszt. On those occasions, the entire day would be spent in amiable conversation. Liszt especially enjoyed discussing art and politics. From what my father related, Liszt was not very fond of taking walks or of the outdoors. He liked society life and was, of course, always surrounded by an army of people of all kinds. He was really quite social. My grandfather recalled that Liszt could not walk down the street without people gathering about him. He was mobbed wherever he went and really had no privacy whatsoever. His impact on people was so great that one might say he was the originator of the star system which in our present times rules over the world. At that time in history such a phenomenon was practically unknown. My grandfather told me a story of a time when Liszt was about to leave on a concert tour. There were so many well wishers at the railroad station that a piano was brought and placed on the station platform, whereupon Liszt sat down and gave an impromptu concert for the gathered crowd. There are a number of stories about how rich everyone always thought Liszt was. When he was young he earned much money with his concert tours, but when he was older he became very poor. My father often talked about how surprised he was when he visited his famous grandfather and they traveled in third-class style and dined in the cheapest hotels. 18

CLAVIER COMPANION

Liszt was a tremendously generous man. He gave away whatever he had. In fact, he taught for years and never accepted any payment whatsoever. And, Liszt didn’t teach only piano—he taught organ, conducting, composition, and even the harp! Did your father have any communication with the Princess Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein?3 Yes, my father told me about a visit he made to Princess Carolyne, who was his godmother, when he was about seventeen or eighteen. He was obliged, The Princess Carolyne zu like all other visitors, to wait in an outer Sayn-Wittgenstein. room until all the fresh air he might have brought into the house was consumed. In her study were fourteen busts of Liszt, and fourteen sanctuary lights, one next to each bust, commemorating the fourteen years of their mutual love. The busts and the lights were strewn all about the room, obscured by the cigars she smoked without end. He thought that the princess was a fine godmother, but considered her rather eccentric! The princess wrote some twenty-four volumes on Catholicism, did she not? Yes, she worked over twenty years on those volumes and during this time she had a private publishing firm working for her exclusively. She died several weeks after completing the final volume. And what has become of them? Absolutely nothing. We had one or two of the volumes in our family. During the war we asked the gardener to hide them along with other articles. He did, but later on couldn’t remember where, so now they are lost.4 How important a role do you think Princess Carolyne played in the life of Liszt? If it were not for the princess, Liszt would not have written down much of his most beautiful music. She was the one who managed to make him sit down and put it all on paper. The princess was very effective in this way, but she was a terribly possessive and prejudiced woman. She attempted to keep Liszt isolated from many of his friends. For instance, she despised Wagner, and Wagner had little use for her. Liszt held Wagner in highest esteem and would never allow Princess Carolyne to interfere in their correspondence. The princess would sometimes handle other correspondences for him, though. For example, she wrote a number of chapters in his book, The Gypsy in Music. An edited version of those books really should be made. She did sacrifice a great deal to be with Liszt. Since the czar would not allow her to leave the country, it was necessary for her to flee from Russia to be with Liszt. The czar frowned upon the relationship of the princess with a mere Hungarian musician. Luckily, the princess was able to cross the border before the czar’s orders to restrain her were received by the guards. With that move she gave up many of her estates in Russia. Did you know that she had over 30,000 serfs working on those estates? Now that we’ve discussed one of the most important women in the life of Liszt, what about the other, namely the Countess Marie d’Agoult? From what my grandfather told me, she was a brilliant woman SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

who had become a celebrated journalist, political writer, and one of the founders of the Republican Party of France. She had one of the great salons in Paris where she received the most brilliant artists, writers, and political men of the times. She wrote a number of books, her masterpiece being The French Revolution of 1848, which even today might be considered one of the best accounts on the subject. Marie’s life was so involved in these activities that she actually did not raise the children born of the Liszt relationship. They were mostly cared for by Liszt’s mother, Anna, and later by Princess Carolyne. It seems natural at this point of the conversation to ask if you have any comment on Liszt’s love life. His love life was intense and continued to the end of his life, practically to the last day of his life. I think he was credited with more adventures than he probably really had, but of course he was a unique phenomenon in all features. What person, if any, did Liszt admire most? He worshipped Wagner, and so gave as much time and strength to him as possible. He lived for him and probably understood him better than anybody else. Of the Liszt family, who would you say has followed most closely in the footsteps of Liszt? His son, Daniel.5 If Daniel had lived, he would have achieved the fame of his father for he possessed all of the same talents. Daniel was exceptionally brilliant. At nineteen he had already won all kinds of honors. Not only was he an excellent pianist, but he excelled in all other areas, particularly mathematics. Although Daniel was Hungarian by birth, he was offered the French nationality because of his numerous achievements. We’ve been speaking primarily of events in Liszt’s life up to now. What about your own life, Madame de Prévaux? One could say that I had the normal life of a child in France. I was an only child who grew up in a society of politicians and artists—in a cultivated, artistic family. You speak such fluent English. That is because of the governess. We had an English governess and so learned the language from her at the age of two. (In addition to French and English, Madame de Prévaux speaks German and Italian fluently.) Our governess stayed with my children, and on with my grandchildren. She remained with us until her death several years ago. To continue, during my childhood I began to study piano—I believe it was at the age of four. At twelve, I studied with Alfred Cortot at the Paris Conservatory. I remember practicing like a professional, four to five hours daily, but my father discouraged me from pursuing a concert career since he said I would have too much of a legend to live up to. It is little known that all three of Liszt’s children were exceptionally fine pianists, but he discouraged them from entering into such a life. And what about the musical studies of your own children and grandchildren? They studied piano as any child studies piano. What music of Liszt’s did you enjoy playing the most? I especially liked the L’enjeune, the Sonata in B Minor, Weineglugenen, and the Études d ’exécution transcendante d ’après SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

CLAVIER COMPANION

19

Paganini. I also enjoyed playing the Années de pèlerinage, the Légendes, and the Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen (a prelude after J.S. Bach).

By having a great curiosity—for this is what keeps people young. The great performers age the best because of the discipline they have.

I understand that you have also engaged in some writing. Yes, I wrote some books on the youth movement in Italy during Mussolini’s reign and on Liszt, along with translating some of Wagner’s letters from German to English. During the thirties, I did some interviews for a newspaper in Paris, and interviewed Chamberlain, Hitler, Mussolini, and others. I met Hitler through the Wagner family. He was reported to have been very fond of Wagner’s music, or perhaps it may have been the power that the music represented which impressed him so much. Hitler looked and spoke like such an ordinary man. It was difficult to believe he wielded so much authority, but then he emitted an entirely different impression to those who saw and heard him speak in formal settings.

And what about age? You must say your age when you are under thirty and over seventy—that way you enjoy it all the more!

What about your life at present? Today I enjoy living in my apartment, which is on the right bank of Paris, overlooking the Seine. Some months are also spent at my country home in St. Tropez, which is located in the south of France. I am hoping to return to Paris and continue efforts at setting Liszt’s correspondence in order. You seem to have a tremendous amount of vitality. With the frantic pace of your busy schedule these past days how do you manage to do it all?

20

CLAVIER COMPANION

What are your hopes for music in the future? I hope that the return to the eternal values of the Romantic Period will confirm itself. And your aspirations for the music of Liszt? That with the return of the spirit of the Romantic Period, many of his works, among the deepest and finest of those which have been ignored by the public, will become known. His religious music, principally, has been neglected. The work most performed in Europe is the Messe de Gran (1855), but those works so beautiful and so rarely performed include the Via Crucis (1878), the Cristus Oratorio (1866), and the numerous Psalms.6 As for the organ works, many have been totally neglected. I hope that they may become as popular as many of his piano works. Among the piano compositions, the Weinachtsbaum, or “Christmas Tree Suite” (1874), dedicated to Daniella von Bülow, Liszt’s granddaughter and Cosima von Bülow’s daughter, should have the same attention as the Schumann Kinderscenen since it has the same charm. As far as the Lieder are concerned, they contain as much beauty


as the Schubert and Schumann Lieder. My favorite ones are Die Loreley, Du Bist wie eine Blume, Die drei Zigeuner, and Enfant, si j’etais roi. And lastly, more of the twelve symphonic poems for orchestra should be performed. We only hear Les Préludes (1848). The Faust Symphony (1854) is not included in the list of twelve symphonic poems. This is Liszt’s masterpiece, but unfortunately it is too rarely performed. Now tell me, Madame de Prévaux, what did you mean when you remarked that the piano killed Liszt? What I meant was that for so many years no one could admit that the greatest pianist of all time could also be a creator of music. He was killed by the piano because he was so overshadowed by the terrible prestige of being the greatest pianist in the world. No one would accept the fact that the greatest pianist could also rank as a great composer. Of course, Liszt always had foresight. Did not some of his music in the last period foreshadow techniques utilized by Debussy and Stravinsky? It is also in the last years of his life that he was known to remark, “I can wait.” Perhaps with the return of the spirit of the Romantic Period, he need wait no longer! Our correspondence continued until a short time before Mme. de Prévaux’s death in 1981. It was my privilege and certainly a pleasure to have known this elegant and charming lady. Fond memories remain, to be sure. p


Notes: 1 The complete Liszt-d’Agoult correspondence has never been published in English. Only certain individual letters have appeared in that language. The Liszt-Wagner correspondence appeared in an English translation by Francis Hueffer as long ago as 1897. 2 The correspondence of Liszt with his children and the children with one another has never been published in full, though a number of these letters have appeared in various publications. 3 Princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein was Liszt’s mistress from 1848 to 1862. 4 A complete set of Des causes intérieures de la faiblesse extérieure de l’Église is in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. They acquired it in 1965. It had originally belonged to the personal library of Cardinal Gustav von Hohenlohe. 5 Daniel Liszt died of tuberculosis at the age of twenty. 6 Via Crucis has received numerous performances in recent years.

Original interview ©1971 The Instrumentalist Publishing Co. Used with permission.

Elyse Mach (Northwestern University, Ph.D.) is Board of Governors Distinguished Professor, Bernard J. Brommel Distinguished Research Professor and professor of music at Northeastern Illinois University, where she coordinates the piano and piano pedagogy programs. She has written ten books on the piano and pianists, including Great Contemporary Pianists Speak for Themselves (Dover Publishers) and Contemporary Class Piano, Seventh Edition (Oxford University Press). She was most recently honored with receiving the Silver Medal of The American Liszt Society, which is the highest honour that can be bestowed by the Society, in recognition of her scholarly contributions to the life and work of Franz Liszt.

CLAVIER COMPANION

21

SPECIAL LISZT ISSUE

The completion of De Profundis: Instrumental Psalm for Piano & Orchestra by Franz Liszt by Michael Maxwell he instrumental psalm De Profundis for piano & orchestra by Franz Liszt (Raabe: 668, Searle: 691) is an unfinished, though virtually complete manuscript held by the Goethe and Schiller Archive in Weimar, Germany. It was composed during the late summer of 1834 while Liszt was staying at La Chênaie, in Brittany, having sought out the company of the renegade cleric L’Abbé Felicité de Lamennais. De Profundis came to my attention quite by happenstance. While attending a Christmas party in Eastern Canada in December 1988, I met up with my good friend and colleague, pianist Philip Thomson. After being introduced to his wife, Tricia Hammann (a New York filmmaker), she informed me that she had a copy of an unfinished Liszt piano concerto back in their Manhattan apartment (having managed to procure a copy from the Goethe and Schiller Archive in Weimar). She was hoping to record a completed version as a featured part in her documentary film commemorating the 100th anniversary of Liszt’s death in 1986 (with, of course, Philip performing!). Alas, funds did not avail themselves, the film was left incomplete, and the score remained almost forgotten in New York. I, however, was immediately intrigued! In January 1989, after a preliminary study of the score, I became convinced that its completion was indeed a viable, if admittedly difficult, prospect. I consulted with world-renowned Liszt scholar Alan Walker about my intentions. Armed with his blessing and wholehearted encouragement, my completion quest had begun! I trust the following pages will enlighten the reader by providing a brief background surrounding De Profundis’s curious past; an

T

22

CLAVIER COMPANION

understanding of my completion process, including my newly composed ending; a brief analysis of the piece and its direct association with other Liszt masterpieces; structural and programmatic aspects of the music; and Liszt’s approach to composing and orchestrating at this early stage of his prolific career.

L’Abbé Felicité de Lamennais Lamennais was a philosopher as well as a religious and social thinker who had a considerable influence on Liszt’s own philosophy and life at that time. Lamennais’ polemical writings, with their bold political liberalism, brought him national prominence. He spoke out against his own bishops (Des Progès de la revolution et de la guerre contre l’Eglise—1829) and against the French monarchy. In 1830, he founded L’Avenir, a controversial newspaper championing social reform. Its platform was simple: separation of church and state and their respective principles. This controversial publication caused such an upheaval that Lamennais was suspended from the church and faced a judicial tribunal. He attempted to reason with Pope Gregory XVI, and received nothing but condemnation. Still, Lamennais did not recant. Upon returning to France, he crafted another literary assault on the Vatican in his wonderfully written Paroles d ’un croyant (1834). He now officially broke with the church, but he was not excommunicated as many erroneously believe. He simply never reconciled with Rome. He inherited his grandfather’s country manor (the aforementioned La Chênaie, in Brittany), which soon became a Mecca for many young followers of his philosophies and tenets. Having read and thoroughly SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

embraced Paroles d’un croyant, Liszt sought out the Abbé. Liszt was familiar not only with the great musicians and composers of his day but also with many of the literary, political, and artistic minds of the time. His life and music are therefore interesting on many levels, and De Profundis reflects these interests. De Profundis was inspired by Psalm 130, and it was dedicated to Lamennais. In a letter dated January 14, 1835, Liszt writes to Lamennais: Before [my visit in July] I will have the honour of sending you a small work to which I had the audacity to attach a great name—Yours! It is an instrumental psalm De Profundis for piano & orchestra. The plainchant that you love so much is contained within the Fauxbourdon. Perhaps this will please you a little; at any rate I have done it in memory of several hours passed (I should like to say—lived!) at La Chênaie.1

Unfinished business

didn’t finish until about 1847. Since he gave well over 1000 recitals during those years, and was constantly on the move playing in many different countries in Europe, it’s not at all surprising that certain works, including De Profundis, were left behind or perhaps just forgotten. No one is certain where Liszt actually left the score to De Profundis. It’s speculated that the last reference to the piece is contained in a letter Liszt sent to his mother in July of 1835 asking about some of his manuscripts, in particular a large blue volume of a “concerto symphonique” that he had composed during his past year in Ratzenloch. Whether or not this volume was sent to Liszt at this time is unknown. We do know that it finally caught up with him in Weimar in 1848, after he had assumed his post there. In any case, it was gathered together with several of his other unfinished works and bequeathed to the Liszt Archive, which was established in 1887, a year after his death. De Profundis has been known to scholars and musicians since at least that time (1887), having been catalogued by Peter Raabe [668], who was the second curator of the Liszt Museum and remained so until his death in 1945. He and most others simply

Curiously, however, the score was left unfinished—there is no ending in Liszt’s original. So, we move into the realm of speculation: Why did Liszt not finish the work? There are almost thirty-five minutes of music, and Liszt could likely have completed it with just another hour or two of work. It could have then been labeled “Piano Concerto No. 1” (or whatever else we might eventually title it). Liszt, however, was undergoing a deep emotional crisis at this time. He was heavily involved in a love affair with the Countess Marie D’Agoult—an affair that simply was not going very well. And the reason he sought Lamennais’s advice was to hear the Abbé’s views on the consequences of an intended elopement. Liszt, of course, wished for nothing short of Lamennais’s earnest blessing. This idea, however, was flatly discouraged by Lamennais, who travelled to Paris in an attempt to break up the pair! There is speculation that for Lamennais to have actually travelled to Paris (at that time the 250-mile journey would have required considerable effort), he must have been quite concerned about Liszt’s decision; and because of the Abbé’s vehement opposition to this decision, he and Liszt most likely had some rather heated discusExcerpt 1: Liszt’s dedication page. “De Profundis Psaume Instrumental pour Orchestre et Piano sions over these elopement plans and perPrincipal by F. Liszt.” Dedicated to the Abbé Felicité de Lamennais. haps they parted company on not-sopleasant terms. Liszt was normally not the dismissed it as a sketch. Humphrey Searle says (in his book The type of person to carry a grudge, but at this particularly traumatic Music of Franz Liszt): point in his life he was more affected by Lamennais’s advice and actions than even he himself might have dared admit. He may have ...De Profundis begins with a long, wild and stormy introlet these feelings mar his own judgment over his dedicated title, De duction for piano and orchestra; the piano part is brilliant, but Profundis. In spite of this, the elopement did take place. Liszt and Marie left in a great hurry and settled in Geneva, after which folthe orchestration, which is in Liszt ’s own hand, is only lowed their “years of wandering.” sketched in the most bare and simply manner.... It is certainly a most remarkable and interesting product of Liszt’s youthful History romanticism, wild and chaotic though a good deal of it is.... This wandering took Liszt and the Countess through The work is a sketch in the sense that the orchestral part is far Switzerland, back to France, and then finally to Italy, where they from complete; but there is something in every bar, and with a remained for almost three years. That was followed almost at once little ingenuity it might be possible to complete the score.2 by Liszt’s sensational concert tours, which began around 1839 and SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

CLAVIER COMPANION

23

I soon discovered that Mr. Searle’s observations (as well as Mr. Raabe’s and most others) weren’t entirely accurate, though they did prove intriguing and inspirational enough to encourage me to consider the prospect of working on the reconstruction of De Profundis!

Completion Why the piece was abandoned is still a mystery—we just cannot be absolutely certain why Liszt left it incomplete. It is obvious that Liszt found most of the thematic aspects of De Profundis worthy: he implemented a great deal of the plainchant, as well as several other motifs, in the movement Pensée Des Morts from the suite Harmonies Poétiques et Religeuses for solo piano, an absolutely monumental work in the solo piano repertoire—a piece to which Liszt certainly attached significance (see Excerpt 3 on page 28). The first phase of my endeavour involved a comparative study of some of Liszt’s completed works for piano and orchestra that had been conceived around the same time as De Profundis (the two piano concertos, Malediction, and Totentanz, for example). It soon became evident that it was imperative to travel to Weimar to ensure that all my editing notes were complete and to verify all of the photographic score pages in my possession. I was especially curious to see if there were any missing pages in Liszt’s original manuscript. During this research, I was unable to find a completed ending for the piece, in Liszt’s score or elsewhere. My trip to Weimar in August of 1989 was a tremendous success. The information and original manuscripts made available to me were invaluable during my research, and the staff of the Archive was exceedingly helpful (particularly Dr. Schmidt and Herr Balo). The next phase involved the deciphering and reconstructing of the original and somewhat messy manuscript onto a legible “working-score” format of my own. Between September of 1989 and January of 1990, my time was spent deciphering and transferring Liszt’s original manuscript over to my own working score. Most aspects of the original were fairly clear; other portions were somewhat difficult to decipher and took considerably more time to analyze before being committed to my score. Fortunately there were no insurmountable passages, and by the second week of January I had completed transferring all of the existing manuscript. The concluding phase of my endeavour involved composing an ending (see Excerpt 6 on page 29) and completing the editing

24

CLAVIER COMPANION

of the tempo, dynamic, phrase, and articulation markings, as well as making some minor amendments, note, and orchestration corrections. The aim of this project, from my perspective, was the reconstruction and subsequent completion, recording, and concert performances of Franz Liszt’s unfinished masterpiece. I realized that it would require extensive editorial work to create the right conditions to achieve these objectives. My version does two things. First, it provides a viable ending for Liszt’s score, without which the power of the coda—if not the entire work—is diluted. And second, it provides the necessary tempo, dynamic, phrase, and other expression markings, without which the Lisztian spirit of the work cannot be released. The recording took place in the grand central hall of the Italian Institute in Budapest, Hungary (August, 1991). Of the major labels approached with the concept of recording and subsequent worldwide distribution, Hungaroton provided the most enthusiastic interest. It was the impresario, Jacques Leiser, who secured and finalized the recording contract with Hungaroton. With the Hungarian State Orchestra and pianist Philip Thomson involved, we knew we were in very capable hands. Since its world premiere concert (again with Thomson performing with the HSO) in August 1991 at the Liszt Academy in Budapest, De Profundis has received many national premieres as well—in Canada (Montréal & Toronto), the United States (Washington D.C.), Italy (BresciaBergamo & Palermo) and France (Paris with Aldo Ciccolini). The Hungaroton recording (HCD31525) has also garnered many rave reviews worldwide. Alas, the score of De Profundis remains unpublished. Over the years I have provided my score and parts to many artists and ensembles for performance consideration, thesis study, and simply for personal perusal. It has been twenty years since I produced the recording sessions of De Profundis, and there is still the nagging question regarding its rank (or lack thereof ) in the standard piano concerto repertoire. Some might speculate that it simply hasn’t had the necessary time and exposure to gain its due merit in such an esteemed collective. Pianists have noted that it is technically, fiendishly difficult—even for Liszt! To merely maintain it in mind and “fingers” is indeed a daunting task. Speculation still abounds but perhaps now, in this year of celebrating Liszt’s 200th birthday, De Profundis will be resurrected for renewed appreciation, study, and continued perform-


ances. Its revival will hopefully enlighten a whole new generation to its remarkable, prophetic harmonic innovations and forms. It is a composition truly ahead of its time!

tion, which restates the opening motifs of the exposition. He then leads us through a wonderfully chromatic transition into a further treatment of the plainchant in the brilliant march-style finale. The music De Profundis marks the first time At approximately thirty-five minutes, that Liszt employed the single-moveDe Profundis is longer than anything else ment form. But perhaps the most Liszt composed for piano and orchestra. striking aspect of this particular oneIt begins in the key of D minor, which movement work is the omnipresence was a significant and “special” key to of “Thematic Metamorphosis,” a Liszt, as it was to several other comcompositional trait purportedly first posers, notably Mozart. Liszt associated implemented by Liszt some fifteen D minor with the dead and the dying: in years later, after he’d settled in both the Dante Sonata and in the Dante Weimar! Liszt was not the first comSymphony, the “Purgatorio” sections are poser to utilize this technique of thein D minor. matic transformation, which is essenThe structure is essentially one in tertially one of variation. Earlier comnary form—the first and by far the posers to incorporate this device longest section (about twenty-three included Beethoven (his “Ode to Joy” minutes) utilizes exposition and develfrom the Ninth Symphony), Berlioz, opment aspects of the standard sonata Weber, and a favourite of Liszt’s— Michael Maxwell. Photo by Tricia Hammann. form. The first and shorter of two Schubert in his “Wanderer” Fantasy, cadenzas occurs fairly early into the which Liszt arranged for piano and exposition and focuses immediately on orchestra. It was Liszt, however, who truly remarkable developments of the opening motifs. The second honed and perfected the technique to such a degree as to compose main cadenza takes these motifs, as well as the plainchant theme, complete works applying this metamorphosis technique alone. and expands them even further, taking them to an ethereal-like A transcendental work finale which then leads to an almost God-like reiteration of the The title, De Profundis, is the Latin title for the 130th Psalm, plainchant (this time in Ab major with open-voiced, muted strings which begins: introduced by a lone horn line). This treatment continues to develop right up to the final Ab chords in the piano, which again define the plainchant. Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. The second section (about six-and-a-half minutes), upon first Lord hear my voice: Let thine ears be attentive listening, may seem a bit out of place. It is a salon-style “Bravura,” to the voice of my supplications. polonaise-like in structure. In view of the diverse elements of Liszt’s psyche, it is, in fact, not surprising to find this type of theThis is representative of the voice of one in spiritual and earthly matic treatment enmeshed with the psalm theme; it is as if the despair; however, the psalm continues, and does in fact conclude in “Earthly” and the “Spiritual” become united. a rather upscale tone: From this section Liszt jumps immediately into the recapitula-


CLAVIER COMPANION

25

and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. Like the psalm text, the music, too, begins “out of the depths,” with the cellos and basses delivering the opening motifs. The work then concludes with an uplifting, jubilant march-style coda section. De Profundis conforms musically to the literary sense of the psalm text! De Profundis is truly a great romantic concerto. It is “young Liszt,” but it is this very youthfulness that manifests its charm. Liszt appears not yet entirely comfortable with this rhapsodic form and some transitional aspects come off somewhat raw. But, once again, it is these particular aspects that are so refreshing and appealing! While Liszt’s comparative lack of mastery at orchestration during this time is to be acknowledged, his intentions about the orchestration seem to have been fairly clear. It has been duly noted that the orchestration does not live up to the master y of his achievements during the Weimar period. Upon scrutiny, we discover in De Profundis, with its remarkable variety of styles, that the orchestral temperament and treatment of instrument voices are indeed fitting. Liszt’s orchestration tech-

26

CLAVIER COMPANION

nique, therefore, is not so poor and inappropriate as some might attest. It is, quite fittingly, a wonderful representation of and testament to his youth, and it is better served by adhering to these techniques from this period. When I first inspected the score I considered reinforcing, developing, and complementing many of the voices, groupings, and counterlines (already begun or intended) as I imagined them. As it turned out, I simply continued lines I felt Liszt meant to extend, and I amended only notes, chords, and motivic inconsistencies. Upon further scrutiny, one begins to hear just how well constructed this work actually is: Liszt seemed almost obsessed with its transcendental nature. The piano writing is fiendishly difficult, yet we realize it is not another one of his early “showpiece” compositions. Though more technically demanding than the other concertos, it is not intended merely to demonstrate virtuosic prowess. The work is a testimonial to the incredibly innovative manner in which Liszt conceptualized a particular programme: religious, yet maintaining the “earthly” and virtuosic traits that have become so recognizably Liszt. De Profundis combines the romantic expressionism of the Harmonies Poétiques et


Religeuses, the dazzling virtuosity of the Transcendental Êtudes, and the poetic imagery of Années de Pèlerinage. Longer and more demanding than his other piano concertos, it shares with them a wealth of virtuosic themes and brilliant piano writing. It abounds with the pioneering ideas of form and harmony that musicians and scholars alike have come to associate with Liszt. It is not only a genuine work by the premiere virtuoso of the nineteenth century, but a truly significant addition to the piano repertoire! In closing, I’d like to cite my friend and colleague, Philip Thomson: “I think the title De Profundis is apt. Liszt did not intend it to be solely a bravura composition simply for the sake of accolades—it came from the depths of his heart.” p 1 La Mara, Ed. (1894). Letters of Franz Liszt, Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, pp. 14-15 (letter no. 7). 2 Searle, H (1966). The Music of Liszt, 2nd Rev. Edition. New York: Dover, pp. 12-13.

Michael Maxwell is a prolific composer, arranger, orchestrator and producer. Maxwell has written and produced for expanded orchestra, chamber groups, choir, string quartet & quintet, Baroque trio, Celtic ensemble, concert band, various-sized jazz ensembles, and a wide variety of contemporary ensembles. Besides completing and producing the world premiere recording of De Profundis, he has arranged, orchestrated, produced, and recorded the music of Stravinsky, Debussy, Bartók, and Liszt, and his orchestrations of Chopin were recorded for broadcast by the London Philharmonic. He composed and produced the score for the acclaimed documentary Worlds Apart, an awardwinning film at the Cannes Festival. Maxwell also produced another world premiere recording: Ah, How Sweet It Is To Love (Hungaroton HCD 31602) featuring hitherto unheard theatre music from the 1690s of Purcell, Clarke, and Eccles. Maxwell has been one of the principal composers, arrangers, and producers for Somerset Entertainment for the past sixteen years, having produced over forty CDs for the record company’s various subsidiary labels; four of these have attained gold or platinum status. He continues to provide a wide variety of music to their catalogues. Maxwell also diversifies in commercial composition, arranging, production, and performance. He lives with his wife and daughter in Toronto, Canada. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

Poetry Corner Richard Zimdars, Editor Weimar: Summer of 1886 The abbé shuffles through Weimar, escorted by Göllerich. Other young feet follow. Will they pedal their wares as well as Liszt? Will they be sheepish in their repertoire to please Herr Manager Hermann Wolff?

1

5

Tonality can no longer be kept in the bag — do tell! Will the young ones face this or beat a cadential retreat? “Cigars can be blamed for an indoor Waldesrauchen!” — Thus fumes Baroness von Meyendorff.

10

Cosima converses, desires a beneficence. All aboard for Bayreuth! At the last lesson, an Adieu from Gounod. No more Stahr light on June afternoons. Will there be master classes in the Fall? Da Motta, Siloti, Friedheim, Lamond et al. do not want this to stop—ever.

15

Whistful thinking. —Richard Zimdars Notes: 1. Liszt pupil August Göllerich. 5. Liszt complained about this concert manager’s power to force his artists to program only the tried and true standard repertoire. 10. Waldesrauchen means smoke or haze from the forest, not to be confused with Liszt’s famous concert etude Waldesrauschen, which means forest murmers. 11. Olga von Meyendorff, an amateur pianist to whom Liszt dedicated several pieces, lived near him in Weimar and socialized with him. Her disapproval of cigar smoking by Liszt and his pupils was no secret. 13. Liszt’s daughter, Cosima Wagner, visited Weimar in May 1886 hoping to persuade him to come to the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth later that summer. Liszt, despite failing health, agreed, and died in Bayreuth. 14. According to Göllerich, the Gounod-Liszt Les adieux (Reverie on a Motive from Romeo and Juliette), was the last piece played in Liszt’s last master class that summer in Weimar. 15. Anna and Helene Stahr, pupils of Liszt and piano teachers in Weimar, often hosted musical parties for Liszt and his circle. 17. Students of Liszt that summer. 19. At the conclusion of his master classes, Liszt often asked some of his favorite students to remain for cigars, cognac, and a card game called whist.

Richard Zimdars, Despy Karlas Professor of Piano at the University of Georgia, was first attracted to poetry thanks to the musicality of Sir John Gielgud’s voice in Shakespeare’s sonnets on his father’s copy of Gielgud’s record, The Ages of Man. Later enthusiasm was kindled by contact with students of the renowned University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop and the poetry of Heine and Neruda. CLAVIER COMPANION

27

Score Excerpts and Audio Examples Click on the score pages below to listen to audio excerpts, view fullsize images of the score examples, and view additional pages for Excerpts 4 and 6. he following score examples and audio excerpts will reveal several points of interest about the manuscript (of both Liszt’s original and my transcription). They should provide a clearer understanding of the difficulty of transcribing the work as well as show some of the intriguing approaches Liszt undertook while composing and notating De Profundis. They are not intended to give a step-by-step, detailed analysis of De Profundis.

T

peculiarities occur again during the plainchant passages where Liszt, instead of indicating the conventional signatures 12/4, 9/4, and 6/4 has written, respectively, 4/3, 3/3, and 2/3—consistent with his opening time signature notation. Excerpt 3a: The beginning of the plainchant psalm in Liszt’s score.

Excerpt 2: Page 1 of Liszt’s score to De Profundis.

To hear audio of the plainchant section, please click on Excerpt 3b below. Excerpt 3b: The same section in Michael Maxwell’s score.

Excerpt 2: Page 1 of Liszt’s score Note the unorthodox instrument grouping (this grouping was utilized by Liszt throughout the entire composition whenever the orchestra was playing); the bassoon staff, nowadays of course, would normally be positioned with the rest of the woodwinds beneath the clarinets [not between the trumpets and trombones], and the piano would be above the string system [not positioned between the violas and cellos]. I retained Liszt’s system structure in my score first to demonstrate his original and somewhat peculiar score layout, and secondly to facilitate the often difficult task of deciphering Liszt’s calligraphy. It is also interesting to note that De Profundis does indeed commence from “out of the depths” with the cellos and basses! Liszt was also unorthodox when indicating time signatures. At the very beginning of his score Liszt indicated the time signature 6/4—2/3, after having scratched out the signature 3/2. Since there is no such time signature as “2/3” (a “third” note does not exist in conventional notation, nor are time signatures notated as mathematical fractions), we must assume that Liszt simply wished to ensure there was no mistaking that the passage be conducted in two groups of three quarter-notes. When the signature 3/2 does in fact appear (at the start of the lush Ab major andante section), it indicates the proper note-grouping of three to the measure. These 28

CLAVIER COMPANION

Excerpts 4: Additional plainchant section.


Excerpts 3 and 4: The use of plainchant Excerpts 3a and 3b show the beginning of the Plainchant Psalm theme in Liszt’s score and my own, with the Latin text as a silent accompaniment. Note how Liszt seems to change the time signatures in an attempt to emulate the natural speech rhythm of the original chant. This passage, along with the passage in Excerpt 4, also relates to Pensée des morts: it is analogous to the area around m. 58 in that piece, where the text is also inscribed above the music.

Excerpt 5: Liszt’s “ending”

pani. This creates, in my opinion, a smoother overlapping into my ending. After Liszt’s score ends, I continued the piano phrase, but in a descending, double octave pattern, while continuing (in augmentation) the reinforcing orchestral chords. I then went on to a furious closing passage (in diminution), with staggered entries in the orchestra in a major-mode transformation of the opening motif, then to a solo double octave run in the piano (even further diminution), and finally returned to the majestic rhythm of the march (with full unison ensemble) as a close. Excerpt 6: final page of Michael Maxwell’s score.

This excerpt shows Liszt’s final page. De Profundis comes to an abrupt halt at this point! There is nothing further notated on the back of this original manuscript page nor on the several blank pages that follow. However, at the very back of the bound volume there is a short, totally unrelated piano solo composition. The audio excerpt stops at Liszt’s ending point. Excerpt 5: The final page of Liszt’s score.

Excerpt 6: Completion

In Excerpt 6, I’ve included my original orchestration in the first measure (the one on the recording). Shortly thereafter, I felt it best to remove this orchestration (all but the piano, of course) and let the pianist truly shine in the mighty double octave run: a wise choice, I believe! The audio excerpt begins before Liszt’s score ends. p

In the Maestoso closing section I have reinforced the cellos with the basses and added trumpets and trombones to accent the tim-


CLAVIER COMPANION

29

SPECIAL LISZT ISSUE

Franz Liszt

the Teacher by Sandra Soderlund

ranz Liszt was a legendary pianist, famous for his overwhelming technical prowess and expressive power. Many today do not realize that as a teacher he had a lasting effect upon piano playing throughout Europe and even in the United States. Most of the great pianists of the nineteenth century came under his influence, whether or not they attended his classes. Liszt’s own musical education began when he was a child. He studied first with his father, Adam, who was a steward on the Esterházy estates in Hungary and also a fine amateur musician. The family was poor, but there was frequent music making in their home. When Adam Liszt realized that his son was unusually musical, he took the boy to Vienna to meet Carl Czerny. Czerny wrote about the encounter in his memoirs:

F

One morning in 1819…a man brought a small boy about eight years of age to me and asked me to let that little fellow play for me. He was a pale, delicate-looking child and while playing swayed on the chair as if drunk so that I often thought he would fall to the floor. Moreover, his playing was completely irregular, careless, and confused, and he had so little knowledge of correct fingering that he threw his fingers over the keyboard in an altogether arbitrary fashion. Nevertheless, I was amazed by the talent with which Nature had equipped him.… The father told me that his name was Liszt….1 About a year later Liszt and his son came to Vienna and moved to the same street where we lived… Never before had I had so eager, talented, or industrious a student.… Within a short time he played the scales in all keys with a masterful fluency made possible by a natural digital equipment especially well suited for pianoplaying. Through intensive study of Clementi’s sonatas… I instilled in him for the first time a firm feeling for rhythm and taught him beautiful touch and tone, correct fingering, and proper musical phrasing, even though these compositions at first struck the lively and always extremely alert boy as rather dry.…The young Liszt’s unvarying liveliness and good humor, together with the extraordinary development of his talent, made us love him as if he were a member of our family, and I not only taught him completely free of charge, but also gave him all the necessary music….2

Liszt never forgot Czerny’s generosity, never charging for lessons once he had established his fortune. A few years later Adam Liszt lost his position with the 30

CLAVIER COMPANION

Esterházy court and decided to make a living by taking young Franz on tour. Czerny was not happy with this idea, but the father and son set off, first returning to Hungary. Following multiple concerts in Germany and Austria, they arrived in Paris where young Franz became the pet of society, in demand at all the best salons. When Liszt was sixteen, his father became seriously ill and died. His mother moved to Paris to stay with her son. Franz taught piano lessons to support them. Because of his reputation he attracted several aristocratic students. Valérie Boissier, later to become the Comtesse de Gasparin, was among his pupils in 1832. Her mother, a pianist and composer, attended the lessons and reported on them to her family. Mme. Boissier published her notes as a book, Liszt as Pedagogue. Her account reveals what was important to the young Liszt in teaching. He first stressed posture and position: Liszt wants the body held straight, with the head bent slightly backward rather than forward. There must be nothing suggestive of tension in the way the hands are held, but they can move with grace when the musical text warrants it. However, one must never play from the arms and the shoulders. He insists very much on these points.3 Liszt thinks it unwise to have beginners take up scales too soon. They might develop wrong habits by doing so. It is wiser to leave them on five finger exercises for some time as preparation. Even in these the tone at first may be thin, tinny, constricted. It must be improved before the passing under of the thumb is considered.4

Liszt had Valérie develop a firm touch and independence of the fingers by meticulous practice early in their work: “When you think you are practicing very slowly…slow down some more,” he said. “You spoil everything if you want to cut corners. Nature itself works quietly. Do likewise. Take it easy. If conducted wisely, your efforts will be crowned with success. If you hurry, they will be wasted and you will fail.”5 Then he had Valérie play the elementary exercise: do—re— mi—fa—sol—fa—mi—re—do, striking each note six, eight, or twelve times while holding down the notes not involved.… Liszt then asked her to play the exercise as fast as she could and without holding down any keys. “Can you hear how uneven it is? You need much work here. Somehow your fingers are entangled. They must be freed.”6 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

Concerning touch, he does not want pressure from the fingertips near the nails but from the “palm” of the finger because this little cushion is soft and resilient, which helps to give the tone a lovely mellowness. One must play from the wrist, using what is called “la main morte” (dead hand) without interference from the arm, the hand falling onto the keys in a motion of total elasticity. Again and again, he requires an impeccable evenness in scale playing. His sensitive ears perceive the tiniest unequality. All tones must be rich and full.7

Practicing octaves was also a part of Valérie’s work. Liszt started this lesson with an emphasis on the importance of octave study.… “You must give more time to octave practice. Your hands are rather weak. In order to strengthen them I want you to drill your wrists every day, striking octaves on the same note while lifting the hand high. Start slowly. Hand and wrist must remain relaxed without the slightest contraction or ‘cramping up.’ Then get faster gradually but with no excess. “Later on you will go through major and minor scales not only in plain octaves but also in broken octaves,” he continued. “Repeated chords of four notes and five notes in diminished sevenths will soon increase the power of your fingers and hands.”8

Liszt also stressed dynamic shading: This time Liszt has Valérie concentrate on dynamics. He has in mind a goal of ideal perfection and is never satisfied with half measures. Valérie had to play some exercises with constant modification of the shadings. At one point he took his pencil and wrote down the following:

Liszt’s playing and teaching in these early lessons was apparently free of the exaggerations that were later criticized in his performances: Regarding feeling and expression in interpretation Liszt banishes anything that is overdone. He insists on sincerity and simplicity with no distortions of any kind.… “You should also scrutinize your text in order to discover which inner notes have a special value and ought to be brought out. Thus you would avoid monotony in tone production and your performance would become more interesting and effective. “Musical interpretation must always have variety; the same shadings, accents, expressions ought not to repeat themselves.…” As to such mannerisms as the high raising or low diving of hands and arms, motions of the body, and other gesticulations, he considers them theatrical and unworthy of genuine artists. The same applies to exaggerated contrasts and sentimentality. Liszt’s own expression is always simple because it is not motivated by a desire to show off at the expense of good taste. He does not play for others but for himself. He depicts his own feelings, he expresses his own soul, and it is probably the best way to reach that of his listeners.11

Liszt gave Valérie Boissier some daily exercises at her last lesson with him. These are to be practiced in all keys, up and down the chromatic scale. Excerpt 2: Liszt Daily Exercises.

Excerpt 1

He stressed the great need of flexing and relaxing the fingers in all directions by multiple exercises for at least three hours a day; these exercises would include varied scales in octaves, thirds, arpeggios in all their inversions, trills, chords, and finally, everything that one is capable of doing. When one has perfectly flexible and strong fingers, one has conquered the greatest difficulties of the piano.12 “These are only a few,” he said. “Invent all kinds of shadings and if you can, some new combinations. One must develop the mind as well as the fingers.”9

Liszt advocated the flexibility in rhythm that was typical of his time and especially his own playing: Today Liszt commented on keeping time.… “Keeping time in a musical sense is similar to the rhythm one keeps in the declamation of verses. The latter must be free from the heavy, unyielding meter which would weigh improperly upon the cadence of the caesura. In music, likewise, the rhythm must not be inflexible and uniformity is out of order. At times one increases the pace slightly, at other times one holds back. It ought to be done according to the significance of what one plays. Of course it applies principally to our contemporary music, which is very romantic. The classics must be treated with more reserve.”10 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

Later in his life Liszt taught in master classes and rarely gave private lessons. In the classes, a wide variety of music was performed, from Bach to the latest compositions. American pianist William Mason reported on his first lesson: What I had heard in regard to Liszt’s method of teaching proved to be absolutely correct. He never taught in the ordinary sense of the word. During the entire time that I was with him I did not see him give a regular lesson in the pedagogical sense…. I remember very well the first time I played to him after I had been accepted as a pupil.… After I was well started he began to get excited. He made audible suggestions, inciting me to put more enthusiasm into my playing, and occasionally he would push me gently off the chair and sit down at the piano and play a phrase or two himself by way of illustration. He gradually got me worked up to such a pitch of enthusiCLAVIER COMPANION

31

he has the same advantage as the performer, and if he does not know it, he becomes better prepared to study it later.… Its best aspect is, of course, the chance the pupils have to play for critical listeners and so rid themselves of nervousness 14 and gain confidence.

Liszt continued to play for his pupils in the classes, demonstrating at the piano, rather than using verbal explanations. Amy Fay joined the class in 1873. She was overwhelmed:

Franz Lizst’s piano

asm that I put all the grit that was in me into my playing. I found at this first lesson that he was very fond of strong accents in order to mark off periods and phrases, and he talked so much about strong accentuation that one might have supposed that he would abuse it, but he never did. While I was playing to him for the first time, he said on one of the occasions when he pushed me from the chair: “Don’t play it that way. Play it like this.” Evidently I had been playing ahead in a steady, uniform way. He sat down, and gave the same phrases with an accentuated, elastic movement, which let in a flood of light upon me. From that one experience I learned to bring out the same effect, where it was appropriate, in almost every piece that I played. It eradicated much that was mechanical, stilted, and unmusical in my playing, and developed an elasticity of touch which has lasted all my life, and which I have always tried to impart to my pupils.13

Arthur Friedheim discussed the master class procedure: Having invented the class system of teaching, Liszt believed in it implicitly, on the ground that the teacher does not have to play the same piece over and over for different pupils and repeat endlessly his suggestions for fingerings, phrasings, pedaling and the like; that if the pupil who is only a listener knows the work that is being played

32

CLAVIER COMPANION

All playing sounds barren by the side of Liszt, for his is the living, breathing impersonation of poetry, passion, grace, wit, coquetry, daring, tenderness, and every other fascinating attribute that you can think of! Everything that Liszt says is so striking. For instance, in one place where V. was playing the melody rather feebly, Liszt suddenly took his seat at the piano and said, “When I play, I always play for the people in the gallery… so that those persons who pay only five groschens for their seat also hear something.” Then he began, and I wish you could have heard him! The sound didn’t seem to be very loud, but it was penetrating and far-reaching. When he had finished, he raised one hand in the air, and you seemed to see all the people in the gallery drinking in the sound. That is the way Liszt teaches you. He presents an idea to you, and it takes fast hold of your mind and sticks there. Music is such a real, visible thing to him, that he always has a symbol, instantly, in the material world to express his idea. One day, when I was playing, I made too much movement with my hand in a rotatory sort of a passage where it was difficult to avoid it. “Keep your hand still, Fräulein,” said Liszt; “don’t make omelette.” I couldn’t help laughing, it hit me on the head so nicely.…15

In Liszt’s mind, technique was always in the service of the music. German pianist Pauline Fichtner wrote: Study with Liszt was mostly concentrated on the spiritual and intellectual element of the music, on its shaping as a work of art. Mastery of technique was taken for granted…He did no more than guide us fervently towards a freer, more natural position of the hands, elasticity of the wrist, and the practice of large-scale studies in passagework and octaves—plus the advice to practice anything difficult in all keys.16


The better prepared a student was, the more he or she got from the study. Alexander Siloti wrote: Liszt’s lessons were a totally different order to the common run. As a rule he sat beside, or stood opposite to, the pupil who was playing, and indicated by the expression of his face the nuances he wished to have brought out in the music.… No one else in the world could show musical phrasing as he did, merely by the expression of his face. If a pupil understood these fine shades, so much the better for him; if not, so much the worse!17

The Studies show that Liszt was concerned about piano technique even late in life. In most of his teaching, however, he concentrated on inspiring his students. Carl Lachmund wrote: From a pianistic standpoint, as also from the musical, Liszt was the greatest teacher history can name. It has been said, and this not only by the jealous, that Liszt was not a teacher. And he was not—in the ordinary sense. He himself wished this understood. In truth, he was infinitely more than a teacher. With his wonderful glow of genius, he inspired his pupils in a way that their talents, to the extent of their individual abilities, seemed to radiate with contagious enthusiasm…21 p

Liszt’s teaching was summed up by Carl Lachmund: Barring a few exceptions, he did not accept pupils whose technic was insufficiently developed. While he occasionally gave advice in matters of technic, his followers came to Weimar to acquire maturity in the highest musical sense, and no other of the great masters could have given this to them as did Liszt. While he would pass an inaccuracy resulting from nervousness or insufficient time for study, he censured severely any carelessness. If neglect or carelessness was flagrant he would cry: “I do not take in soiled linen here; you must do your washing at home!”18 Although anything but pedantic, Liszt was particular as to one’s position at the piano, or quick to check any mannerism. “Sit upright”—“Do not look at the keys”— “Sit still”—were repeatedly emphasized.19

Late in his life, Liszt wrote a three-volume set of Technische Studien that was published posthumously. At the beginning of the first volume is the note, It is useful to exercise the fingers, the ears and the intelligence simultaneously and to study, together with the mechanism dynamics and rhythm inherent in music as well. Consequently, these first exercises should be practised with all degrees of intensity: crescendo, from pianissimo to fortissimo, diminuendo, from fortissimo to pianissimo.20


1

Carl Czerny, “Recollections from My Life,” The Musical Quarterly XLII, no. 3 (1956): 314–15. 2 Ibid., 315-16. Salieri also taught composition to Liszt free of charge. 3 Auguste Boissier, “Liszt as Pedagogue,” The Piano Teacher 3, no. 5, 6 (1961). Translated by Maurice Dumesnil. 4 Ibid. II, 14. 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid. I, 13. 7 Ibid. I, 13-14. 8 Ibid. II, 14. 9 Ibid. II, 14. 10 Ibid. I, 13. 11 Ibid. II, 14. 12 Mach, Elyse, Ed. (1973). The Liszt Studies. New York: Associated Music Pulishers, p. xvii. 13 Mason, William. (1901). Memories of a Musical Life. New York: The Century Company, pp. 97-100. 14 Friedheim, Arthur. (1986). Life and Liszt. In M. Grant, (Ed.), Remembering Franz Liszt. New York: Limelight Editions, p. 51. 15 Fay, Amy. (1965). Music-Study in Germany. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., pp. 222-3. 16 Williams, Adrian. (1990). Portrait of Liszt by Himself and His Contemporaries. Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 462. 17 Siloti, Alexander. (1986). My Memories of Liszt. In M. Grant, (Ed.), Remembering Franz Liszt. New York: Limelight Editions, pp. 345-6. 18 Walker, Alan, (Ed.) (1995). Living with Liszt: From the Diary of Carl Lachmund, an American Pupil of Liszt 1882-1884. Stuyvesant, N.Y.: Pendragon Press, pp. 47-8. 19 Ibid., p. 51. 20 Imre, Mezó, (Ed.). (1983). Translation in Ferenc Liszt, Technische Studien Für Klavier, Vol. III. Budapest: Editio Musica Budapest, p. 2. 21 Walker, p. 47.

CLAVIER COMPANION

33

Jazz & Pop

As a performer, composer, arranger, and educator, Dr. Geoffrey Haydon has successfully bridged both classical and jazz styles. He is also in demand as a clinician and adjudicator. Currently Dr. Haydon coordinates the piano faculty at Georgia State University where he teaches piano, piano literature, jazz history, and jazz theory. He has performed throughout the U.S., in Europe, Russia, China, Japan, South America, and Central America. Dr. Haydon also regularly performs with the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra and has performed with touring shows including The Phantom of the Opera, The Producers, and most recently Sister Act at the Alliance Theater. He has numerous publications with Alfred Publishing, Warner Bros., and Stipes Publishing, and is a coauthor of Jazz History Overview, a textbook by Kendall Hunt Publishing. Dr. Haydon is an artist/clinician with the Contemporary Keyboard Division of Roland.

Page 31 of the July/August Jazz & Pop department contained a printing error which obscured part of Example 2. Click here to download a .pdf of the corrected example, or use the “archives” tab below to navigate to the July/August digital edition, which contains a corrected example. 34

CLAVIER COMPANION

It’s Got That Swing:

Jazz & Pop

Geoff Haydon, Editor

It’s about time (we discuss rhythm) y previous articles have discussed different aspects of dealing with sounds we make as jazz/pop musicians. These include chord voicings, blues licks, scales, melodic sequences, etc. However, the truth of the matter is that these aspects are only half of the big picture when playing jazz and pop. The other half entails WHEN all of these aspects are played. In other words, timing is an EQUALLY important aspect of jazz and pop. Therefore, it should be addressed in a clear, direct manner. In fact, this statement applies to all styles of music. The basic definition of music as “sound organized in time” combines two concepts that are equal contenders in the process. Moreover, “organized in time” could perhaps be more important in jazz and pop since the sounds we make are subject to spontaneous decisions that don’t always follow a specific plan (as in improvisation). Aspects of sound that include note choice, chord voicing, articulation, timbre, and even intonation (if you play a keyboard, for example) are constantly changing as jazz/pop musicians search for creative ways to push the boundaries and make a unique artistic contribution. Therefore, it is important to work towards a master y of sound. However, it is just as important that one works for a mastery of the time element. This concept is neglected in the classroom, teaching studio, and even publications and books. Perhaps part of the reason for its neglect is that time is the most abstract concept musicians encounter. While some people may challenge this statement, citing that the musical notation system clearly depicts the timing of events with meter and note values, any high-level musician understands two limitations:

M

1) The music notation system only serves as a guide for when to perform something. (This statement is true for classical music, too, especially with regard to singers.) 2) Humans are limited in their ability to precisely render note values. One only has to experience a computer’s rendition of four quarter notes at sixty beats per minute

as compared with any human’s rendition to understand this limitation. Fortunately, both of the above limitations are what make music (especially jazz and pop) attractive to us both as listeners and performers. The way Glenn Gould and András Schiff time the same Bach Prelude can be as different as night and day; however, both are equally valid and masterful. Likewise, listen to “Autumn Leaves” by Bill Evans (Portrait in Jazz) and the same by Chick Corea (Akoustic Band). Both recordings are approximately the same tempo with the same instrumentation. But they don’t “feel” at all the same, and, again, both are equally valid and masterful. The point here is that we often consider only the sound aspect when assessing a performance, perhaps remaining oblivious to a large part of the real reason for its greatness: how the sounds are timed. Let’s now discuss the different levels of time that would concern jazz and pop musicians. We can begin in the middle of the process and then move from there in two directions: 1) toward smaller units of time (micro) 2) toward larger units of time (macro) Beginning in the middle of these two points involves addressing the beat or pulse—we will discuss only 4/4 and 3/4 meter, but the principles presented can eventually be applied to other meters. Our ability to establish and consistently adhere to a beat is one of the most basic skills in music. However, it is not to be taken lightly, nor should its difficulty be underestimated. Jazz/pop musicians refer to it as a groove—the “pocket” of the music that, in its own way, holds everything else together. Generally speaking, in any given tune, the groove will not change. However, even if sometimes it does, one’s ability to control the beat (and not allow it to control them) is most important. Moving towards the micro level are subdivisions of the beat. Dividing the beat by two might seem routine and uninteresting, but nothing could be further from the SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

truth, especially for jazz musicians. They are frequently dividing the beat into two unequal portions that frankly cannot be accurately measured (at least in human terms). This concept is called “swing” (as in swing eighth notes). Although swing is sometimes taught as a two-to-one ratio within a triplet subdivision of the beat, in reality, jazz musicians do not always (or even very frequently) perform swing that way. In fact, each musician has his own unique swing feel. For example, Charlie Parker’s swing feel is not the same as Louis Armstrong’s, whose swing feel is not the same as John Coltrane’s. However, none of them, while subtly varying the subdivision of the beat, sacrifice the consistency of the beat (the groove) in doing so. Beyond subdividing the beat by two is the subdivision of the beat by three. For whatever reason, there is far less mystery when dealing with triple subdivisions. Triplets in jazz are played about the same as in any style with perhaps a little more emphasis on the third eighth note in a three-note group. Let’s move on to quadruple subdivisions. Jazz musicians view subdivisions by four as an additive of the duple subdivision. It is called double time because the swing rhythm happens twice as fast. It creates the illusion that the beat has doubled in speed. Discussing subdivisions beyond two, three, and four are outside the scope of this article, but they can eventually be addressed. However, it is recommended you wait until you are very comfortable with the above before working on subdivisions of five, six, seven, etc. Macro applications to time include learning how to feel measures (or bars) of music in groups of four and eight. Most jazz tunes have twelve- or thirty-two-bar forms such as the AAB twelve-bar form of most blues tunes, the AABA thirty-two-bar form of tunes such as “Take the ‘A’ Train,” and the ABAC thirty-two-bar form of tunes such as “All of Me.” Since these tunes are adopted as vehicles for improvisation, it is important you are able to keep track of time in large units, too. One can even feel an entire chorus (twelve or thirty-two bars) as a unit of time—in other words, you know how many choruses you’ve played during an improvisation or for the entire tune because you perceive the tune in large units that give a total overview. Musicians who have this kind of macro perception are less likely to get lost in a tune. Now, let’s talk about how to practice for better mastery of time in our playing. One method that jazz musicians employ regularly is using the metronome as a practice aid. However, what makes their method different is where they place the metronome click. It is placed on beats two and four in 4/4 meter and beat two (or three) in 3/4 meter. Notice that it is NOT placed on strong beats one and/or three in 4/4 meter or beat one in 3/4 meter. Jazz drummers generally place the closed hi-hat sound on these weaker beats. Therefore, practicing with the metronome on those same beats prepares one for playing with a combo. However, you also benefit by developing a strong inner sense of time as a result. By having the click on beats two and four, you must have your own sense of where the downbeats are; then what follows them (inside the downbeats) will line up. Try playing Example 1 with metronome clicks occurring on beats two and four at 54 beats per minute. Since the speed represents the half note value, you are actually playing at 108 to the quarter note. Once you are comfortable, try increasing the speed of the Example 1


metronome in increments of four points. At some point, you will find it difficult to keep it on beats two and four, and most likely you will find yourself gravitating back to having it click on beats one and three. However, if you work on this skill for a few minutes every day, you will notice improvement in both your rhythmic control and your ability to handle faster tempos. The same method works with 3/4 meter, too. Here are some other ideas for improving your mastery of time: Instead of using the metronome, try tapping your foot on beats two and four while playing. Counting aloud is always useful no matter what style of music you are playing. You can also tap rhythms in your lap either using your fingers or your hands. Using this method gives us the purest version of the rhythm and timing without the added distraction of pitches and/or articulations. Latin-influenced jazz has a different approach to rhythm based mostly on musical traditions developed in South American countries and on the Caribbean islands. The clave is a foundational rhythm for much of this music (see Example 2). Example 2: Clave rhythm

It is beyond the scope of this article to explore this style in depth. However, learning to play the clave rhythm also helps develop your sense of time. Try playing the clave rhythm in one hand (probably your left) while playing a melody in the other hand (see Example 3). Example 3

Then add the metronome on beats two and four. You are now handling three different rhythms at once. These kinds of activities can only improve your mastery of time. Working on the micro aspect of rhythm involves swing eighth notes. One of the best ways of integrating swing into your playing is to scat sing phrases while either snapping your fingers on beats two and four or using the metronome on the same beats. First, try scat singing the bebop melody in Example 4 while snapping your fingers (on beats two and four). Then do the same with the metronome. Finally, scat sing and play the melody with the metronome. Experiment with different tempos. Example 4

Using the metronome in creative ways develops a much keener sense of time than only putting the click on strong beats. You can also have the metronome click on irregular numbers of beats. For example, have it click every three quarter notes while playing something in 4/4 meter. Or you can do the opposite, with it clicking every two notes while playing something in 3/4 meter. All of these exercises help you develop rhythmic independence—the ability to have an inner sense of time that is not dependent upon other people or devices. It doesn’t happen overnight, but a little bit of effort each day with creative exercises designed to challenge your rhythmic control will make a big difference in your playing over an extended period of time. p CLAVIER COMPANION

35

Music Reading

Craig Sale, NCTM, is Director of the Preparatory & Community Piano Program at Concordia University Chicago, where he also teaches courses in piano pedagogy. He holds degrees from Northwestern University and the University of Illinois, and a Professional Teaching Certificate from The New School for Music Study, where he received his pedagogical training from Frances Clark. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy.

This issue’s contributors: Timothy Shafer has concertized extensively throughout the United States, performing, teaching, and discussing the rich heritage of piano repertoire. With degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and Indiana University, Dr. Shafer is the recipient of Oberlin’s Rudolf Serkin Outstanding Pianist Award, IU’s Annual Concerto Competition, and the PMTA Teacher of the Year Award. Shafer is currently Professor of Piano at Penn State. He is a frequent concerto soloist with regional orchestras, and is active as a chamber musician and soloist.

Independence Day:

Music Reading Craig Sale, Editor

How do you help a college piano major with poor reading skills? t first glance, the scope of this issue’s topic may seem limited. The majority of readers are independent teachers working with students before they leave for college. The percentage of their students who major in piano is small. However, the following articles by Dr. Timothy Shafer and Dr. Sylvia Coats contain valuable information and insights for teachers of students of all ages. One might be tempted to assume that the college teacher does not have to deal with the nitty-gritty work of teaching students how to read. After all, they are working with students who have chosen to pursue music and have had to pass an audition in order to do so. However, the fact is that many piano majors begin their college

A

Texture and fundamentals by Timothy Shafer The root of the problem

Dr. Sylvia Coats, professor of piano pedagogy and class piano at Wichita State University, authored Thinking as You Play: Teaching Piano in Individual and Group Lessons, published by Indiana University Press. Her credits include performances with the Sotto Voce Trio and presentations at conferences throughout the United States and internationally in Italy, Malaysia, and China. She has held many offices in MTNA including National Certification Chair. The Kansas Music Teachers Association honored her as 2007 Teacher of the Year.

36

CLAVIER COMPANION

years as deficient readers. Learning how the college teacher handles these students provides helpful information for those of us who work with these students before they leave for college. The activities described highlight the importance of comprehensive musicianship skills such as harmonization, technique, and improvisation. They show how the development of the whole musician is essential in building and maintaining fluency in reading. Those teachers who work with college students will undoubtedly get new ideas from these articles. The pre-college teacher will realize how necessary and practical it is to continue working on functional keyboard skills beyond the elementary method text. p

n part, the problem can be attributed to the nature of our repertoire: most music later than Bach and Mozart generally requires the pianist to execute large, rapid leaps. This requires looking at the hands, and looking at the hands requires memorizing. Memorizing, and the subsequent polishing stages of learning, requires a significant period of time away from the score. If this time away from the score is not balanced properly with other activities that require daily music reading (such as learning new repertoire, chamber music, collaborative work, etc.), sight-playing skills can wither and eventually dry up. Unfortunately, in the final two years of high school, as college auditions approach, the pressures to achieve the highest possible performance for admission and scholarship offers exacerbate the problem. Many schools require sight-playing as part of an admission audition, and this no doubt

I

keeps the issue in front of the students to some degree. Still, the problem persists. Rare is the school that will turn down an applicant bringing a highly polished audition who nevertheless exhibits poor to nonexistent sight-playing skills. Therefore, some fine pianists with poor sight-playing skills do appear in music programs. Poor sight-playing skills limit quantity and speed of learning. Additionally, since the students are generally unable to use the score to start in locations where they are not used to starting, it causes frustration in the lessons when instructors ask for changes to be made.

A two-pronged strategy My own approach to correcting this problem, when it appears, has been based on a two-pronged strategy of texture (both four-part chorales and two-part counterpoint) and fundamentals (scales and arpeggios). The chorale textures address much SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

piano literature, the basis of which is four-part harmony. The rhythmic independence found in counterpoint is a separate kind of problem that requires a separate track of study. Fundamentals support both of the above.

Using chorale textures

for accuracy. This is important—since many of the students with poor sight-playing skills have developed significant aural dependencies to help them learn their repertoire. My own approach with the Mikrokosmos has been to assign several of these short pieces per week for the student to learn, with the idea being that new repertoire must be constantly in front of them. At the lesson, select pieces from the repertoire are spot-checked and a new batch assigned. This takes only moments from the college student’s hour lesson, and yet impresses upon him the importance of being accountable for the learning of new music each week.

A steady diet of four-part chorales (two voices in each hand) acquaints the hand with common chord progressions and the intricate interval patterns that comprise them. Choosing chorales in which all the voices share the same rhythms eliminates the complexity of counterpoint from the equation. The simplest and most direct route to increasing the student’s reading ability in this texDeveloping awareness of hand motion ture requires only a few steps: Volume I of the Mikrokosmos is com1. Change the rhythm value of the posed exclusively in five-finger positions. chords in the chorale to a value that This gives the mind a chance to accurately ensures accuracy in pitch reading. For associate printed intervals with common instance, all note values may be changed finger combinations—a fundamental link to double whole notes (eight counts per Poor reading ability is one in successful sight-playing. Lack of fluenchord—for the student with serious readof the biggest cy in hand motion is one of the great ing problems!) at quarter = 60. Use the impediments to fluent and accurate sightmetronome. contributors to attrition in playing. In Volume I motions of the 2. Depress the pedal on the second piano study. It is our hands are limited to simple shifting. beat; lift it simultaneously with playing Finger numbers, for the most part, indithe chord. This frees the hands to prepare responsibility as piano cate these shifts. Students should be for and move to the next chord. teachers to see that this encouraged to preview the pieces for loca3. Insist on absolute fluency. Students vital skill is addressed tion of these hand motions by visually must play only on count one of each cho“scouting” for the finger numbers in the sen rhythm value. If the student plays a with each of our score and silently practicing the indicated wrong note, she must “live” with that students. hand shifts before playing. Bartók is wrong note for the duration of the susdemonstrably concerned with the placetaining chord. This is very effective in ment and frequency of these hand shifts, encouraging accuracy for the next chord! carefully arranging them in a progressive Additionally, prohibiting correction fashion throughout the volume. encourages the eyes to move forward, As hand motion types increase in the series, so does the potential rather than backward. Correcting a wrong note in a chord trains for error and confusion. Expanding the thumb away from the the eyes in the wrong direction if fluent sight-playing is the goal. If hand, for instance, brings a host of new finger combinations to the a student is too often inaccurate, the note values of the exercise intervals presented on the page. Frances Clark’s four-volume set, should be lengthened. Musical Fingers (Alfred), provides an excellent summary of the var4. Once absolute accuracy in sight-reading is achieved at the ious types of hand motion and includes exercises acquainting stugiven note value, the students become more secure (even bored) dents with the intervallic implications of each type. Beginning with when changing chords. At this point, the note values of the exerthe student’s journey through Volume II of the Mikrokosmos, I cise can be decreased—eventually achieving accurate quarter-note introduce these hand motions systematically, using Clark’s sumchord changes. maries and exercises. This process works very well for teaching chorale textures. With a little encouragement, students can begin to notice patterns: for Essential fundamentals of piano technique triads, when a third or sixth appears in one hand, a fourth, fifth, or Finally, and perhaps most surprisingly, I find that a student’s octave can be expected in the other hand; when a second appears in sight-playing success increases dramatically as their familiarity with either hand, a seventh chord with its resolution can be expected; pianistic fundamentals deepens. Scales, arpeggios, and blocked and specific altered scale degrees point to an expected chord resolution broken triad inversions, played while watching the hands, have a (a raised-fourth scale degree will be followed by members of a V surprisingly beneficial effect on sight-playing. At Penn State, we chord, for example). have a rigorous system of technical exams required of our underPolyphonic textures graduates at end-of-semester juries. Once students begin their Textures that demonstrate more rhythmic independence require preparation for these exams, I have heard self-reports from those specific attention. My observation is that no one knew this better also working on sight-playing that they feel the benefit of the exerthan Bartók. The first three volumes of the Mikrokosmos are woncise routines on their sight-playing. This is no doubt related to the derful resources for a sequential approach to polyphonic reading. increased physical intimacy with the piano that allows them to exeBartók was very sensitive to the feel of counterpoint in the hands cute at the keyboard with their hands what they see on the score (parallel motion, contrary motion, and oblique motion), and wisely with their eyes. systematic in introducing various types of hand motion (expanPoor reading ability is one of the biggest contributors to attrition sions, shifts, pivots, tucks, etc.). Because the repertoire in the in piano study. It is our responsibility as piano teachers to see that Mikrokosmos includes a healthy dose of sounds that are other than this vital skill is addressed with each of our students. The vast major and minor, the ear can’t always be depended upon to finish a world of great literature opens its doors wide to those who are able phrase. The student must rely on or develop eye-hand connection to read well and learn quickly. p SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

CLAVIER COMPANION

37

Diverse backgrounds = diverse needs by Sylvia Coats The piano major class at Wichita State iano majors enter the university at a variety of sight-reading levels. Several have accompanied choirs and instrumental and vocal soloists. Others have played with a worship band and are familiar with popular chord symbols. A few have never played accompaniments. In order to help the less experienced reader obtain better reading skills and to enhance the musical understanding of the good readers, I teach a class for piano majors during their freshman year that focuses on sight-reading and other functional skills. A Clavinova Piano Laboratory is the pianists’ classroom for two hours on Friday mornings. The first hour is devoted to theory at the keyboard: scales, cadences, harmonizing, transposing, improvising, and playing by ear. The second hour is devoted to sight-reading. The students complete four levels in the course curriculum and prepare for the piano proficiency exam to be taken at the end of the second semester. Let me introduce you to last year’s piano major class: four students in their second semester of piano class and two students who joined the class in the spring semester: • Kelsey—reads well, plays by ear, and accompanies the college choir, but has no previous theory background. • Patrick—a conscientious student who learns quickly and plays confidently, but needs to listen for musicality.

P

Sylvia Coats instructs the piano major class.

Christina Kesler rehearses sight-reading for the final exam before a student jury committee.

• Angie—a very curious student with no theory background, fairly good reading skills, who is eager, along with Kelsey, to understand music theory. • Christina—has an exceptional theory understanding from her precollege and community college background, but is not a confident reader. • John—a transfer student with two years of college theory, has poor reading skills, but is very determined to rise to the class expectations. • Tony—has returned to college after a ten-year break of playing for music theater. He relies more on his ear than his reading skills.

Conceptual reading through fundamentals Piano majors who do not read well can be trained to read with a conceptual understanding. What is conceptual reading? It is not reading one note at a time. It is not stopping the music to correct mistakes. It is recognition of pitch and rhythmic similarities. It is the ability to feel a constant pulse. It is awareness of the key center and the feel of the topography of the key in the hand. It is hearing harmonic changes and cadence resolutions. It is expressing the music. Thus, the piano major skills class is a lesson each week to help 38

CLAVIER COMPANION


students develop an understanding of key signatures, harmonic progressions, logical fingering, intervals, rhythm related to pulse, and compositional style. Functional skills of scales, chords, transposing, harmonizing, improvising, and playing by ear directly contribute to their success in sightreading. Here is a glimpse into the classes. During one class, students were paired together to explore contemporary scales and chords. Each group studied music based on whole tone, pentatonic, twelvetone, or modal scale structures, and discussed their discoveries with the class. In contrast to the contemporary scales, they played four-octave scales in major and minor keys with a heightened sense of tonality. The various scale structures helped them realize that music can be organized around pitch centers in a variety of ways. Students prepare assignments each week in harmonizing and transposing. At one class they extended their background of primary and secondary chords to learn secondary dominant chords. They immediately put the theory to use through playing “The Star Spangled Banner” by ear and searching for a chord to harmonize the raised fourth degree of the scale—a B b dominant-seventh chord in the key of Ab Major. They then found instances of the raised fourth degree of the scale that signaled a secondary dominant chord in other pieces they read. Such similarities between pieces are becoming more evident to them. Playing chord progressions in different inversions in all keys ensures a tactile memory of chords. The students harmonize melodies with popular chord symbols as well as figured bass. They play songs by ear with a variety of accompaniment patterns. Transposing is the most difficult skill for the class members, probably because they were not taught to read by intervals and patterns. Transposing forces students to read intervals, a basic skill necessary for good sight-reading. Rather than choose a key only a step away from the original, a key that is a fourth or fifth away requires them to read by intervals. Students learn to improvise melodies and accompaniments with primary, secondary, and secondary dominant chords. In addition, improvising in modes with harmony in stepwise root movement frees them from the classical constraints of I, IV, and V chords. They arrange well-known melodies in the style of each of the historical periods of music. Students plan the key, meter, harmony, and accompaniment patterns. Because of the activities, they begin to observe the same concepts in their SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

sight-reading and performing repertoire.

Benefits of group learning The group environment is the key to their success in improving sight-reading. Working with their peers in pairs and as a class, they discuss the new concept and teach each other what they have learned. In the sight-reading hour each week the students read Bach short preludes, Beethoven sonatinas, Schumann’s Album for the Young, and Bartók’s Mikrokosmos, Volume 2. I instruct them to practice sight-reading in the repertoire books outside of class in order to become familiar with the composers’ styles. During the class they play the selections together, which requires them to keep going even if they make mis-

takes. I stress continuity in sight-reading and encourage them to improvise in rhythm even if the pitches are not accurate. Initially it is very difficult for them to keep going when they make mistakes. However, as they become more comfortable with improvisation, they start to trust themselves to keep going. Counting is so important to their success in reading. We are never too advanced to count out loud! Counting naturally contributes to looking ahead in the music. For instance, beat four wants to go to beat one, etc.

Evaluation of progress In the sixth of eight tests during the year, students were required to read a piece of my choice from the Schumann Album

CLAVIER COMPANION

39

for the Young. After the sight-reading test, I interviewed each student about their study of the score. Questions were in regard to their awareness of key, patterns, theory, style, and progress since the first semester. When asked about their progress, the less confident readers said they now see patterns in notes, rhythms, chords, and fingering that help them move around the keyboard without looking. The better readers analyzed chords, key, and structure. They were aware of stylistic differences between composers such as Mozart and Brahms. Previously, Tony thought Schumann was trite, but after studying the inner contents of pieces in the Album for the Young, he changed his mind. Several

40

CLAVIER COMPANION

students commented on the mood of the music and the high points of phrases. In their last class meeting, Christina, Tony, John, Kelsey, Angie, and Patrick rehearsed for their final exam. They were responsible for reading any selection from the repertoire books. Three of them served as the jury committee, while the other three performed functional skills and sight-reading. In their spirited exchange, they demanded excellence from one another with humor and support. When asked to discuss what they have learned, Patrick and Angie said they now harmonize melodies at church and Patrick jumped in to transpose a song down a whole step for a singer. John said learning harmony helps

his jazz playing. Tony and Kelsey are more aware of chord analysis and structure in their repertoire. Christina remarked that playing in tempo as a group is more like the real world in accompanying, rather than practicing alone at a slow tempo. I am gratified that they have grown in their skills through their growth as a group. p

Books used in the class: Bartók, Bela. (2004). Mikrokosmos Volume 2. L ondon: Boosey & Hawkes. Hinson, Maurice, Ed. (1986). Beethoven Seven Sonatinas. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Publishing Company. Lancaster, E.L. and Renfrow, Kenon D. (2008). Alfred ’s Group Piano for Adults, Book 2, 2nd ed. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Publishing Company. Kern, Alice. (1994). Harmonization-Transposition at the Keyboard, 2 nd ed. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Publishing Company. Linn, Jennifer, Ed. (2005). Schumann Selections from Album for the Young, Op. 68. Milwaukee, WI: G. Schirmer, Inc. Palmer, Willard, Ed. (2004). J.S. Bach 18 Short P reludes for the Keyboard. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Publishing Company.



CLAVIER COMPANION

41

Perspectives in Pedagogy

Rebecca Grooms Johnson, Ph.D., NCTM, is a nationally respected leader in the field of piano pedagogy. She is an independent teacher and has taught extensively at the university level. Active in the Music Teachers National Association, she has served as President of the OhioMTA, National Chair of MTNA’s Pedagogy Committee, and National Certification Chair. She is currently Vice-President of the MTNA Board of Directors, and three times a year she publishes a feature article in American Music Teacher titled “What’s New in Pedagogy Research.”

This issue’s contributors:

An author of two encyclopedia articles and a book, Kathy Van Arsdale is former president of her suburban Denver MTNA affiliate. She holds a BME from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and an MA from the University of Denver. She has presented at conferences and conventions for Music Teachers National Association, Colorado State Music Teachers Association, American Choral Directors Association, and the National Society for Gifted and Talented. A consultant for the International Piano Teaching Foundation and an adjudicator and chairman for National Guild of Piano Teachers, she has maintained her home teaching studio for thirty years.

A specialist in group teaching for thirty years, Julie Lovison studied piano in Chicago with Mollie Margolies, received a Bachelor of Music degree from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, and has done graduate work at Teachers College, Columbia University and the National College of Education. Prior to founding The Lake Shore Music Studio in Chicago, she taught in the preparatory department of Millikin University and Young Peoples Arts Program of Alverno College in Milwaukee. As consultant to the International Piano Teaching Foundation she is a frequent speaker and teacher trainer.

42

CLAVIER COMPANION

Issues and Ideas:

Perspectives in Pedagogy Rebecca Grooms Johnson, Editor

A survey of current methods: The Robert Pace Keyboard Approach his issue concludes Clavier Companion’s survey of piano methods.1 Looking back over the past two years, I have come to realize that we are blessed with a tremendous variety of excellent, pedagogically sound materials. Several of my core beliefs have been confirmed: no one series is right for every teacher, or for all of any one teacher’s students; when used by the right teacher with the right student, all of the reviewed teaching approaches can produce happy, enthusiastic, well-prepared students; and we must never stop examining and testing new methods as they are published. Each article in this twelve-part series has had three sections—an introductory synopsis by the Associate Editor, two articles written by teachers who have used the method extensively in their studios, and a response from the authors of the method surveyed in the previous issue. We hope that you found these articles to be an interesting and helpful overview of the most popular methods currently on the market. My deepest thanks go to all the teachers who wrote about their experiences with each series, and to Pete Jutras and Steve Betts for their editing expertise and always patient help. It has been a pleasure.

T

The Robert Pace Keyboard Approach—by Robert Pace Publisher: L ee Roberts Music Publications, Inc; distributed by Hal Leonard Corp. Levels: Books 1—4 (Revised) Music for Piano, Theory Papers, Finger Builders, Creative Music Book 5—Music for Keyboard, Skills and Drills Book 6—Music for Piano

Robert Pace was an early leader in the multi-key pedagogic movement. He wrote: In my own mind, I had no doubts that key diversity should be an essential aspect of every piano student’s learning from the very beginning, although that was contrary to the practice of the most widely used and popular piano methods on the market at that time. It was in this context that I decided that any method books I created would be “Multi-key” with no key restriction.2 The original method was first published in 1961, and revisions were made from 2006 to 2009. Alpha: Moving at a breathtaking pace, Book 1 begins with six pages of off-staff pieces introducing note direction and steps/skips in the C and D major five-finger positions. The Grand Staff is presented with emphasis on the four As, and rhythmic counting is nominative. Sharps, flats, and key signatures are introduced on page eleven, and pieces are immediately transposed into various keys. Occasional “variations” of pieces are given—students are encouraged to find the differences and then change a note or two to make their own new piece. Chords in all twelve major keys are introduced on two pages in the middle of Book 1, followed by I and V7 melodic harmonization in each hand. Relative and parallel minor tonic and dominant chords appear in the final pages of the first book along with a piece introducing Alberti bass accompaniment style. Nominative counting continues throughout the presentation of eighth notes and compound meter. There are no graphics or color in any of the core books in this series.

Initially influenced by the Oxford Piano Course and the Burrows-Ahearn materials, 1 The aim of this series is to review the core materials of piano methods that are either new or substantially changed since a similar series of articles appeared in Piano Quarterly in the 1980s. Please see the September/October 2009 issue of Clavier Companion for more details on this project. For reviews of methods that are older or have not been revised recently, we invite you to revisit the original Piano Quarterly series.


Music for Piano: Repertoire in the lesson books begins with an emphasis on folk songs and pieces by Robert Pace, then quickly moves to original works by classical composers. Opportunities are provided for transposition and improvisation. Book 2 introduces waltz bass, the damper pedal, Dorian mode, twelve-tone row, sub-dominant chords, diminished triads, diatonic triads of the major scale, blues scales, and Phrygian mode. The final piece is Soldier’s March by Robert Schumann. Book 3 teaches the I-IV-ii-V7-I cadence and melodic harmonization; augmented triads; whole-tone scale; twelve-tone row with retrograde; twelve-bar blues; canon at the octave, the second, and the fourth; bitonality; quartal harmony; secondary dominants; all seven modes; mixed meter; and non-chord tones. It concludes with a Ländler by Franz Schubert. Book 4 is essentially an early- to midintermediate book of repertoire in sequential order of difficulty with brief performance suggestions at the top of some of the pages. Bagatelle, Op. 119, No. 1, by Beethoven, is the last piece in this book. Books 5 and 6 continue the format of Book 4, concluding with the Chopin Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72, No. 1 (posthumous).

tions for hand position, wrist movement, and an emphasis on musical playing. Oneoctave major and parallel minor scales appear in Book 2, interspersed with longer technical exercises. Books 3 and 4 provide work on two- and four-octave major and minor scales, arpeggios, more advanced technical exercises, and Hanon (with instructions for transposition). Skills and Drills: Listed as a companion for Book 5, this volume provides extensive work on chord progressions, harmonizing melody lines, seventh chords, modulation, and improvisation. Short pieces and technical etudes comprise a section on sightreading and transposing, with a concluding section listing major and minor scales and arpeggios, and more advanced technical exercises. Compact Discs: Neither compact discs nor MIDI files are available for this series. Teacher’s Guide: No Teacher’s Guides for these books are currently available, although workshops are offered. Dates and locations for the training workshops are posted on the Lee Roberts website: leerobertsmusic.com.

Omega: If one ends the series with Book 4, students will be at an early intermediate level. The sequenced repertoire in Books 5 and 6 extend to early-advanced literature. Reflections: It has been interesting to review this series, not only because it was one of the revolutionary pedagogical influences in the recent history of piano methods; but also because of the direction James and Jane Bastien took some of its concepts in their own piano series.3 The most obvious adaptations were a slower pace, less emphasis on traditional classical repertoire with more pop and rock style pieces, reduced levels of theory concepts and, of course, the use of color and graphics. (For more information on this adaptation, see Jane Bastien’s discussion at www.namm.org/ library/oral-history/jane-bastien). New publications such as Succeeding at the Piano continue to use the multi-key philosophy as a major portion of their eclectic pedagogical approach. 4 I wonder if, when Robert Pace first wrote these books, he ever imagined they would have such a farreaching and lasting influence on how thousands of students learn to play the piano. p

Theor y Papers: Offering extensive opportunities for drill and reinforcement, these books provide necessary support for the extensive array of theory concepts presented in Music for Piano Books 1-4. There are no games or graphics. Creative Music: In describing these books Pace writes: Creative Music I Revised contains materials both for sight reading, transposition, and for improvisation which are closely related to those presented in Music for Piano I Revised. Here the learners reapply in slightly altered fashion the basic musical ideas just encountered. The goal is for students to be able to read and understand music at the level of their current technical advancement and to be able to apply the appropriate concepts to each new example. (From the Foreword of Book I, Creative Music I Revised.) Books 2-4 feature examples for sightreading on even numbered pages and creative activities such as improvisation on the facing odd numbered pages. Finger Builders: Short technical exercises are given in Book 1 with various suggesSEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

CLAVIER COMPANION

43

A revolutionary change by Kathy Van Arsdale former student of Rosina Lhévinne holding a performance degree from Julliard, Dr. Robert Pace made the remarkable decision to revolutionize the art of piano teaching in America. Deeply rooted in a philosophy of music education he called “Comprehensive Musicianship,” his dynamic approach was well ahead of its time. Dr. Pace often pointed out that only approximately one hundred pianists earn a full-time living as concert artists. Establishing the vital role of music making in the lives of all learners became his mission. Not only are technical performance skills and repertoire taught in Comprehensive Musicianship, but learning PROCESSES—original thinking and imagination—are emphasized. Among the first to stress the importance of early childhood music education at the piano, Dr. Pace developed an inventive program for preschool students. Offering an early, consistent incorporation of music theory, history, analysis, performance practice, composition, and aural skills, this original multi-key approach develops higher level thinking skills from the very beginning. Peer learning and teaching begin immediately. By incorporating the ideas of important learning theorists and psychologists such as Jerome Bruner, Jean Piaget, Howard Gardner, and Abraham Maslow—as well as various contemporary researchers and neurologists, a breakthrough in educational methodology was achieved. Teaching music conceptually through spiral learning became the basis of the Pace pedagogical approach. Multi-key, multi-level, multi-purpose materials provide a masterful basis for instruction and offer limitless potential in the hands of imaginative teachers. Inventive supplementary materials for all levels (including advanced students) continue supportive options beyond the scope of most series. Even at the elementary level, materials include unusual offerings such as modal, bi-tonal, twelvetone row compositions, and circle-of-fifths pieces. Duets are found in every level of the Music for Piano books. Many flashcards are available, including off-staff materials.

A

exciting contemporary sound (see Excerpt 1). It incorporates a number of concepts including triads, extreme dynamics, bi-chordal composition style, program music, crossing hands technique, and changing meter. Excerpt 1: “Escape to Sherwood” by Earl Ricker, from Music for Piano, Book 3, mm. 1 – 37.

Supporting each piece Core materials are structured into four books: • Finger Builders takes students from five-finger positions in all keys through scales, technical exercises, arpeggios, and cadences in all keys. • Music for Piano provides music literature that, in intermediate and advanced books, includes outstanding short examples in their original form organized into repeated cycles of music history. A huge variety of musical sound is presented. • Creative Music offers sight reading, transposition, harmonization, and improvisation related to the music literature. • Theory Papers supports literacy through written activities for each level—from note, interval, and chord identification through formal analysis. Each piece is supported by appropriate technical skill builders in every key, theory related to the piece of the week, improvisatory and compositional exercises in the style of that piece, sight-reading, and aural skill examples. Integrating the whole musical picture into a comprehensive, easy-to-teach unit is a tremendous strength of the series. All four books are interconnected to concepts related to the masterwork-centered music literature. Earl Ricker’s Escape to Sherwood is an intermediate-level student favorite due to its big, 44

CLAVIER COMPANION

Researched, tested, and ready to teach with carefully designed progressions of musical concepts, the series requires no hunting for the next sequential piece, technique, or theoretical concept. Although all materials are organized and correlated in a complete package of musicianship, teacher and student creativity is encouraged. Spiraling conceptual learning ensures review of each concept: review pieces are woven into the books, and often developed through activities in Creative Music or Theory Papers. One of the activities I like to use is the Question and Answer game. This dialogue begins with a four-measure question from Creative Music such as this one from Book 4, performed by the teacher or all the students (see Excerpt 2). Individual responses are performed until all have supplied an answer or two.


Excerpt 2: Question and Answer activity from Creative Music, Book 4.

Appropriate for all students Students of diverse learning styles, backgrounds, and personalities comprehend and enjoy the music, finding at least one way in which they can shine. For younger students, learning through play is emphasized by using musical games and songs. Gifted learners skip ahead at their own rate, and delight in perceiving the big picture presented in the materials. Pace materials are particularly strong in the areas of standard piano literature, the integration of music theor y from the start, and an emphasis on improvisation and composition for every student. With the exception of a few books, this is a non-graphic method. Dr. Pace opposed selling books via color pictures, and chose to let the beautiful music speak for itself. Piano class becomes the place for visuals and weekly “hands-on” activities. Flashcards, chalkboard games, finger puppets, fine art reproductions, flannel board, board games, and student art projects reinforce concepts. Student imagination is piqued by aural and visual design.

What about classes? The stereotype that this is a “group method” scares many away. Although the method can be implemented in a wide variety of ways, it may be best used in a combination of partner and group lessons (about forty minutes each). This requires studio reorganization, with long- and short-term teacher design and planning. Who has time to teach all this? Consider using weekly groups to teach concepts, gain an instant ensemble, and use peer learning and teaching; then add repertoire lessons (partner or private) for individualized attention. What can you do in weekly piano group? • Fun activities—many can be found in Creative Music and Theory Papers SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

• Games from Gloria Burnett Scott’s wonderful book, Musical Games and Activities (Hal Leonard, HL00372363, $14.95) • Aural skills, performance and critique, flashcards, dictation • Ensemble work using Pace’s many supplementary duet books demonstrating various compositional techniques • Board games and other materials from a variety of publishers. Group learning reduces quirks and inappropriate behavior, develops discerning listening skills, models expressive performance, increases fun, and provides encouragement and social support—keeping students engaged longer to develop studio loyalty. The traditional “big me, little you” teaching dynamic is erased.

Teacher training The Pace method can be daunting without proper training, which is available at locations throughout the nation. It is a relatively unknown method with little name recognition, and thus, little music store display space. Materials can be difficult to find (online is best). Pace program certification provides training in topics such as educational theory, business practices, psychology, early childhood education, teaching methodology for lifetime retention, and the comprehensive approach to music learning. Ideas can be infinitely interrelated, reshaped, and revisited. Teacher support and continuing education is possible in local groups of teachers of the Pace method, or online. Innovative Pace materials are applicable in a wide variety of ways, stimulating students AND teachers. Teachers find the series comprehensive, engaging, and challenging. An invitation to inventive teaching, the series provides a tested and trustworthy template for instruction. Because it CLAVIER COMPANION

45

is intellectually appealing, teachers avoid burnout. This method speaks to teachers through its strong philosophy, the possibility of implementing individual teaching strengths in working with groups, conceptual thinking, and perceiving the big picture. As a Guild adjudicator, I have seen all the methods performed. My

transfer students bring in their old methods. Having implemented this method in my home studio for thirty years, it’s clear I’m a true believer. Never stagnant, every teaching day with Pace is greeted as a joyful opportunity. p

Building layers of musical understanding by Julie Lovison teach the Robert Pace approach because I can’t imagine not giving my students the benefit of having a broad understanding of music that makes studying more fun, more practical, and a more thoroughly rich experience. The beauty is in how students build their understanding one layer and one concept at a time. There is simply no other approach that so totally integrates comprehensive music study and builds layers of musical understanding—from the first basic concept that melodies go up, down, or stay the same, to the intricacies of I-vi-IV-ii-V-I progressions, secondary dominants, modulations, and diminished-seventh arpeggios found in Levels 4 and 5. This method is not about flashy graphics and student-friendly songs. It is up to the teacher to romance the material and involve students. This is hard work, but the method itself is exciting, prepares the student for all the music they will ever play, and is, therefore, well worth the effort.

I

Excerpt 3: “April Showers” from Kinder-Keyboard.

Building a foundation Whenever possible, I prefer to start students in the Moppets (four- to five-year-olds) or Kinder-Keyboard (six- to seven-yearolds) programs, where we can have a few years to get comfortable and develop familiarity with basic, but powerful music concepts. What we love about the Moppets course is that it includes creative movement, singing, playing and acting out songs, rhythm instruments, xylophones, improvisation, listening games (for ear development), and even drawing and coloring—all natural parts of a child’s world. Students experience a wide spectrum of songs that use major, minor, pentatonic, Dorian, and whole-tone scales in 4/4 and 6/8 meter. Students learn to recognize melodic patterns that repeat, sequence, and invert; steps, skips, and larger intervals; and discover the relative position of the ABCs to the twin or triplet black keys, all while encouraging each student’s creative ideas. It is truly a musical playground, where the toys are musical concepts they can use the rest of their lives. Songs are highly patterned in Kinder-Keyboard. I put the patterns of the songs on flash cards and color code repeated patterns (see Excerpt 3). Students enjoy a game of unscrambling the patterns as each child plays one pattern of the song, then we switch. Separating the cards helps them see and learn the individual patterns. In another game, we pick a new five-finger pattern for transposition. One student will play a steady beat as a duet—with notes one and five of whatever key we are in, or F# and C# if it’s a pentatonic song. Then we may take turns improvising a new melody with the same rhythm, incorporating ear training as students try to duplicate what each student improvised. Another day we’ll play a fishing game with the melodic patterns and use additional cards with various combinations of steps and skips patterns. Six year olds appreciate being able to move around in class, rather than sitting at the piano for the entire lesson.

Transitioning to the core books Students who have completed Moppets and Kinder-Keyboard can comfortably jump into Book 1 at page 12, poised to move quickly 46

CLAVIER COMPANION

from there. If students begin with Book 1 materials, they will need time and lots of reinforcement with the basic concepts, often through playing musical games. Although the series can be used successfully with individual students, it only takes a brief encounter to see how much better these books can be experienced through group activities. Although each level’s four core books give plenty of reading, writing, and creative improvisation practice, a teacher who wishes to supplement with repertoire from other series can easily relate concepts such as intervallic reading, transposition, question and answer phrasing, repeats, sequence and inversion, and the application of I and V chords to these supplementary pieces. I have successfully used Alfred’s Basic Piano Library Prep Course books to ease the transition from Kinder-Keyboard to Book 1 and solidify reading skills, but any contemporary series could be used.

Combining activities Technique and theory can be effectively combined. For example, the Hanon exercises presented in Level 2 Finger Builders (see Excerpt 4) can be played in the right hand while the left hand (or a second student) can play the I-ii-iii-IV-V-vi-viio chords that have been taught in Music for Piano and reinforced in Theory Papers. These chords can first be played in block form, then Alberti bass. Just as the melody would be in a piece, the right hand should be louder and perhaps crescendo as the notes ascend. For added fun try the left hand in calypso style rhythm (eighth, quarter, eighth, quarter, quarter). Try reversing the hands—or my student’s idea, play a crossed-hands version. Students learn that ascending or descending diatonic chords can be an accompaniment device, and experiment with applying this bass to “Merrily We Roll Along” and other folk songs (see Excerpt 5). Later, the right hand can play a two-octave scale while the left hand plays a I-IV-V-I chord progression in Alberti bass pattern. Studying upper and lower neighbors, passing tones, and parallel and contrary sixths and tenths in Book 2 is so helpful in preparing SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

Excerpt 4: “Legato Study” from Finger Builders, Book 2.

to play Bach Inventions, Schumann character pieces, and Mozart sonatas, as well as jazz studies.

Applying skills and knowledge I always explain to students that the eight-measure pieces in the Music for Piano Books 1 and 2 are there to teach something important about music that they can apply to other music. We establish a routine for quickly evaluating the melody, rhythm, and harmonic patterns before playing; then we discover the new concepts and immediately transfer them to other musical situations. Students enjoy being able to easily transpose, improvise, play by ear, and find appropriate and interesting harmonies based on chord formulas and their knowledge of musical scales and styles. They are truly engaged in their practice because they know how to study music independently. Songs are learned quickly since all the notes are meaningful to them. They understand the phrase structures, chords, and melodic components, and develop a comfortable technical facility to perform with stylistic accuracy. Because most have learned with partners or in a group from an early age, they have developed a healthy collaborative approach to music and a confident, realistic attitude about their strengths and areas to improve.

Recommended teacher training The teacher’s manuals for Music for Moppets and KinderKeyboard are essential to understanding how to teach these books. Currently in revision and projected to be published in early 2012,

Author Response Response to Succeeding at the Piano review

Editor’s Note: Clavier Companion will invite the authors of each method series reviewed to respond to that review in the following issue. The response from the author of Succeeding at the Piano is presented below. I would like to thank Rebecca Grooms Johnson, editor of “Perspectives in Pedagogy,” for including the Succeeding at the Piano method in the July/August issue, as well as both Gail Lew and Sylvia Coats, for their detailed assessment of the method. The reviewers did a fine job of identifying the core pedagogical issues of SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

Excerpt 5: “Merrily We Roll Along” from Music for Piano, Book 2.

the Book 1 Teacher’s Guide provides detailed page-by-page directions. Additional training with seasoned teachers who studied with Dr. Pace is invaluable for practical structuring advice. Pace teachers typically continue their training by regularly meeting together to practice teaching and share creative ideas. If a Pace group is not available, getting together with other instructors who teach in groups is also helpful. The delight in completing the Pace series comes from being able to boil advanced literature down to simple concepts, thus making Mozart, Beethoven, and Persichetti as easy to play as Hot Cross Buns. Having the technique in place, along with the requisite theory knowledge, enables students to learn pieces quickly and interpret them sensitively and musically. We all desire this intensely rewarding musical experience for our students. My excitement in using the Robert Pace approach is that even students who end formal lessons after Book 1 or 2 have a more profound understanding and a set of practical skills to enable them to continue a satisfying lifelong involvement, with a healthy enthusiasm for playing and sharing music with others. p 2

Pace, Robert (2010). Why Multi-Key? Retrieved from http://www.leerobertsmusic.com/ dynamic-learning-robert-pace/why-multi-key-robert-pace.pdf 3 Please see the Clavier Companion March/April 2011 issue for the Bastien Piano Basics review. 4 Please see the Clavier Companion September/October 2011 issue for the Succeeding at the Piano review.

All excerpts in this article © Lee Roberts Music Publications, Inc. International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.

SATP. They deserve our appreciation for their expertise, and our thanks for the time they have devoted to this important, informative series. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Frank J. Hackinson, President and CEO of The FJH Music Company Inc. His unwavering commitment to pedagogical quality, as well as to aesthetic detail, has served as a cornerstone to our field of piano pedagogy. Here is a quick review of some of the defining characteristics of SATP: a) The reading approach in Succeeding at the Piano combines conventional note reading with reading by intervals. This means that from the first lessons students learn to read patterns naturally CLAVIER COMPANION

47

and easily. By the end of the 2B level, students know both staffs completely as well as ledger lines above and below the staffs. The system works the best when the Theory and Activity Book is used along with the Lesson and Technique Book. For students who need a little extra help, the Flash Card Friend as well as the Succeeding with a Notespeller books provide further reinforcement. The Recital Book is also another way to review the reading skills learned in the Lesson and Technique Book. b) Correct information for healthy technique is included in the Lesson books. Students learn that technique is an essential part of their everyday routine. c) Students are introduced to the elements of musicality as early as the Preparatory level book. Recurring activities that promote excellent musicianship fill the pages of the Preparatory Book. I am sure that when you use these activities and observe the great results, you’ll see why I included them. d) Interesting repertoire: With music by six leading pedagogical composers and historical pieces, students are engaged in a wide variety of musical styles with roots firmly grounded in the classics. e) Succeeding at the Piano recognizes that learning is non-linear and uses a pacing system that accommodates natural learning cycles. Within each carefully leveled grade, SATP’s natural learning cycles move students through units that fluctuate slightly in difficulty. Athletes have long known that this is a more effective way to train, and we see that students are happier and psychologically healthier when they learn this way. f ) Familiarity training is another important pedagogical approach used in Succeeding at the Piano. As Rebecca Grooms Johnson aptly stated in the initial review, my goal with familiarity training is to introduce concepts “in the order of: listen, play, see, learn, and reinforce concepts.” Familiarity training works, and it helps to ensure healthy, motivated, successful students. With students playing musically, learning excellent technique, and developing strong reading skills, they progress quickly and confidently. I wrote Succeeding at the Piano to serve students and teachers and encourage a love for piano playing that will last. Succeeding at the Piano is designed as a core piano method, with typical starting ages of five to nine years old. p —Helen Marlais Author, Succeeding at the Piano

Find us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/ClavierCompanion 48

CLAVIER COMPANION



CLAVIER COMPANION

49

First Looks

Susan Geffen is a Managing Editor of Clavier Companion. She is active as an educator, adjudicator, presenter, panelist, and writer. She is a specialist in Recreational Music Making and has also worked as a composer’s assistant and orchestral score proofreader.

This issue’s contributors: Steve Betts is Professor of Piano at California Baptist University and a Managing Editor of Clavier Companion. He is a contributing author to the Frances Clark Library for Piano Students.

Myra Brooks-Turner entered Juilliard at age 12 and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Southern Methodist University. Her piano solos and duos are published by FJH Music Company, Schaum Publications, and her own MBT Productions publishing venture. She lives in Knoxville. Vanessa Cornett-Murtada is the Director of Keyboard Studies at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, where she teaches courses in piano and piano pedagogy. She is an international clinician and performing artist and works as a performance coach and certified hypnotherapist for musicians struggling with performance anxiety. Edward Gates is Frieda Derdeyn Bambas Professor of Piano at the University of Oklahoma. He teaches undergraduate and graduate applied piano as well as selected graduate seminars in piano literature. Jeremy Siskind has performed at many of the world’s foremost venues, including Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. As a composer, Siskind has been honored by ASCAP and Downbeat. Siskind received his bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School of Music and just completed his master’s degree in English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University.

Additional contributors listed on the next page

50

CLAVIER COMPANION

First Looks Susan Geffen, Editor Books, New Music, CDs & DVDs, Pupil Saver, News & Notes

Closer look

Back-to-school reading Creative Piano Teaching, Fourth Edition by James Lyke, Geoffrey Haydon, and Catherine Rollin. For over thirty years, three editions of Creative Piano Teaching have provided a wealth of information for piano pedagog y classes and independent keyboard teachers. This fourth edition, arriving after a fifteenyear hiatus, continues the book’s strong legacy. With updates and expansions of previous chapters, a long list of contributing authors, and new topics, lead authors James Lyke, Geoffrey Haydon, and Catherine Rollin explore a wide variety of pedagogical topics in this important resource. The preface informs the reader that “Creative Piano Teaching is intended as a piano pedagogy text for those preparing to become teachers. It also serves as a valuable resource for established teachers in the profession.” The book contains over 600 pages and is divided into seven sections. The first two sections, Part One: The Young Pianist and Part Two: The Advancing Pianist, comprise approximately two-thirds of the content. Part One: The Young Pianist includes a section titled Beginnings, five chapters that introduce various concepts to the beginning teacher. With chapters by Lyke, Richard Chronister, Ann Collins, Denise Edwards, and Carole Flatau, this section creates a good foundation for the remaining content of the text. A highlight of this section is Chronister’s chapter on music reading: it should be required reading for every music teacher. The remainder of Part One explores a wide variety of topics relating to the elementary pianist who starts lessons as a young child. Here chapters by Lyke, Rollin, Jo Ellen DeVilbiss, Lee Evans, Karen Koch, Karen Krieger, George Litterst, Paul Sheftel, and Christos Tsitsaros convey information relating to

musicianship skills, technical development, motivation, modes of instruction, jazz styles, technology, and repertoire. The Advancing Pianist includes two subsections. The first, Style Periods and Appropriate Repertoire, contains two chapters each for the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Twentieth-Century eras. These chapters are similar to those in the third edition, with the first chapter for each period summarizing the salient concepts and the second chapter providing a list of essential repertoire. The authors here include Reid Alexander, Kenneth Drake, William Heiles, and Walter Schenkman. Also retained from the third edition is Haydon’s chapter “Introducing Jazz to the Intermediate Student.” New chapters in the first section include Rollin’s “Preparing Students for the Romantic Style of Chopin” and Tony Caramia’s “Taking You from I Can’t Get Started to Over the Rainbow.” The Caramia contribution alone is worth the price of the book. His recommendations concerning internet sites related to jazz pedagog y sift through the immense resources available, providing readers with a list of quality materials. Haydon, Rollin, Gail Berenson, Steven Hesla, and Ruth Slenczynska contribute to the second half of the Advancing Pianist section—Approaches to Technique, Practicing, Memorizing, Pedaling, Fingering, and Recital Performing. The remaining five sections of the book discuss briefly the following broad areas: Research and the Piano Teacher, The Adult Pianist, Historical Perspectives, Organizations for Piano Teachers, and The Instrument. Authors not previously mentioned include Vanessa Cornett-Murtada, Peter Jutras, and Suzanne Schons. Each of these chapters provides an excellent springboard for further exploration. Schons’s chapter on brain research should be read by every musician and teacher, and Berenson convincingly makes the argument for teachers to join professional organizations. Types of adult students are discussed in four chapters by Edwards, Jutras, Lyke, and Haydon. These chapters examine a wide variety of topics, from teaching the adult hobbyist to preparing music SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

Guide to new music reviews Grade levels

majors—including those for whom piano is their primary instrument—for piano proficiency examinations. Many chapters contain recommended reading and reference lists that provide access information for numerous excellent resources for additional study. The author biographies at the end of the book are helpful and informative; the omission of an index, however, is unfortunate. This significant expansion of Creative Piano Teaching is a welcome resource for our profession— congratulations to James Lyke, Geoffrey Haydon, and Catherine Rollin, and to their team of authors. (Stipes, 2011, 617 pages. $68.80) —Steve Betts The Secret Life of Musical Notation: Defying Interpretive Traditions by Roberto Poli. If you’ve played much music at all, you’ve surely encountered a marking in a score that just didn’t make sense. Maybe you had a teacher who insisted you execute it anyway, and you just had to get used to it. Or maybe you’re the teacher confronted with this kind of paradox. If so, here’s a book that you will not only enjoy but that will make you think in new and unexpected ways. Roberto Poli looks everywhere inside and outside the box in search of alternative meanings for common musical notations—“hairpins”; the terms sforzando, rinforzando, and stretto; and pedal markings and rhythmic values in the music of composers from Haydn to Scriabin—and it’s a wonderfully illuminating journey. Poli launches each of his discussions with markings that are seemingly problematic—either contradictory (cresc. with a closing hairpin in Chopin’s Polonaise Fantasy), redundant (dim. with a closing hairpin in the Barcarolle), or otherwise inscrutable (sforzandi at the ends of slurs in Haydn)—and, through study and comparison of varied examples, explores alternative implications of the notations. Along the way he touches on possible changes in the meaning of a notation over time and alterations that have been made by editors in SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

the printing of scores. In the chapter on hairpins, he dwells mainly on their agogic (rather than dynamic) possibilities during the nineteenth century. Considerations include the difference between long and short closing hairpins, the placement and spacing of markings, variations in the way composers use markings, changing usage within a composer’s creative lifetime, and implications for voicing and metric displacement. Although the agogic element of hairpins has a long history, an all-encompassing rule for its application may remain hard to ascertain. For example, in at least one instance Poli argues that an opening hairpin indicates a slight reduction of tempo as the symbol widens, while a closing hairpin instructs the performer to linger before gradually returning to the original tempo. Poli’s thoughts on sforzando and rinforzando are particularly intriguing. Far from demanding heavy accents, sforzando may often denote a special expressiveness, a prolongation, agogic placement, the entrance of an important voice, harmonic underlining, or metric displacement or nondisplacement, all of which might or might not include dynamic stress. Especially interesting is his discussion of Chopin’s use of sforzando to emphasize structural pillars of form. The chapter on stretti centers almost entirely on the music of Chopin. In his early works, Chopin seems to use the term in the expected sense of pressing forward, but Poli provides many examples after the early 1830s where stretto signals an underlying metrical compression or foreshortening. Hence it is not so much a tempo instruction as a key to the structure of the phrasing that otherwise might be overlooked by the performer. In the chapter on rhythmic values Poli provides a convincing argument (mostly through the study of alignment in manuscripts) that dotted rhythms should often be assimilated into triplets and compound meters, as late as the music of Prokofieff and Scriabin. A few of his suggested applications of this usage are startling (as in the first movement of Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata), but such surprises are part of the pleasure of this book.

1 Beginning: five-finger patterns and simple rhythms 2 Easy: scales and simple syncopation 3 Intermediate: beginning counterpoint and complex rhythms (Bach notebooks, Bartók Mikrokosmos I-II) 4 Late intermediate: technical and rhythmic sophistication (Bach inventions, Bartók Romanian Folk Dances) 5 Difficult: for competent pianists (Mozart sonatas, Brahms Rhapsody, Op. 79, No. 2) 6 Very difficult: for advanced pianists (Chopin etudes, Beethoven Sonata, Op. 57)

Categories S-Solo, E-Ensemble

Quality rating Reviewer’s Choice: music that may become part of the standard repertoire Check-rated ✔: repertoire that is highly recommended

Krista Wallace-Boaz holds a D.M. in piano performance and pedagogy from Northwestern University and teaches class piano and pedagogy at the University of Louisville. Lynette Zelis is the owner of Noteable Notes Music Studio in Wheaton, Illinois, where she teaches private and group piano lessons and maintains studios for nine other teachers. She was one of only five teachers in the country to win the 2001 Group Piano Teachers Award from the MTNA and the National Piano Foundation.

CLAVIER COMPANION

51

Poli’s discussion of pedal notations (again mostly Chopin’s) is interesting, although he gets a little stuck in ideas that aren’t as fresh as those in the other chapters. He expends a lot of effort pinpointing the exact location of release signs in manuscripts, only to reach the conclusion that the marks “merely followed a conventional notational method of the time.” He does make the important point that many of Chopin’s pedal marks work only with careful balancing of the texture. Meanwhile, this chapter reminded me again of the challenge an editor faces when translating musical script into printed music. Markings cannot be as freely and “conceptually” located as they are in the original manuscript; each must be specifically placed, often meaning that a marking ends up aligned with its closest element on the staff. Today, even our treasured urtext editions are the result of innumerable such decisions. Poli’s research is impressive. He has located and studied original manuscripts, early printed editions, subsequent versions and revisions, and primary and secondary written sources. He compares recordings and relates conversations with colleagues

52

CLAVIER COMPANION

and even with his students. He supplies over 200 well chosen and clearly marked examples from manuscripts as well as from first and subsequent editions. (Poli provides a link to his website, www.robertopoli.com/secretlife, where he has recorded many of the examples.) The book reads less like a treatise on performance practice than a series of detective stories: the author retraces his thinking—from original doubt through changing ideas, extensive research, and comparison of sources and possibilities—to his ultimate conclusions. This process sometimes makes it hard to remember Poli’s “solution” to a specific problem, and it may leave the casual reader wondering how it would be possible to carry out this kind of research and study on every marking encountered on a score. The more important point, though, is that a musician should not mechanically reproduce a musical marking, especially if it seems wrong for the music. Poli proposes a wealth of possibilities for us to ponder. One thing is certain: this book will affect the way you look at musical notations. (Amadeus Press, 2010, 254 pages. $24.99) —Ed Gates

New music (S6) 30 Jazz Piano Classics. Various arrangers. Kudos to the people at Alfred for putting together a collection of great standards arranged by great jazz pianists! This book compiles arrangements of beloved standards by some of the best pianists of jazz’s glory days: Earl Hines, George Shearing, Fats Waller, Teddy Wilson, Mar y Lou Williams, André Previn, and Marian McPartland, among others. The vast majority of the arrangements are wonderful, authentic, and concise. Because of the sheer number and diversity of the arrangers, however, there is very little consistency throughout the book, and it’s not clear for whom it would be recommended. W hereas George Shearing’s arrangements could be played by someone of intermediate skill, Art Tatum’s arrangements (as one would expect) require intensely virtuosic pianism. In addition, the arrangements are short, most of them


two pages. Some arrangements, however— especially McPartland’s—are sprawling, and seem very out of place in the collection. Further, the boogie-woogie and stride arrangements (of which there are many) often require the pianist to fluidly reach tenths in the left hand, a requirement which might scare off all but true stride aficionados. With that complaint lodged, it should be pointed out that there are numerous gems in the book. Shearing’s contributions, in particular, are outstanding; his reharmonization of “O ver the Rainbow” will refresh any recital program with its sheer originality. The same can be said for McPartland’s written-out improvisation on Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “My Funny Valentine,” a freewheeling theme and variations. Some of the pieces are also fascinating from a musicological perspective: seeing Waller’s own arrangement of “The Jitterbug Waltz” or Earl Hines’s take on the Ellington “Do Nothin’ ‘til You Hear from Me” puts one in privileged company. Although 30 Jazz Piano Classics doesn’t make for a cohesive book, it might be a good item to have in your library if you or your students have an interest in authentic jazz arrangements. (Alfred, $19.99) J.S.


Enliven the holiday season (S, E2) Rats ‘n’ Bats and Witches’ Hats by Debra Wanless. This is a collection of eleven short, generally one-page pieces, each with a Halloween theme. The cover indicates that this collection is elementar y level, but I would encourage teachers to use this for early-to-midintermediate students: the Halloween season is short, and these pieces contain concepts—such as compound time signatures of 6/8 and 12/8, multiple tonal centers, and changing key signatures—that would be difficult for elementar y students to understand. Additionally, some of the left-hand passages cover a large span on the piano. The pieces have appealing titles—“The Skeleton Shuffle,” “Stray Cat Boogie,” “Shadows of the Night,” “Gallopin’ Ghouls,” and “Hallowe’en Rock Out!”— and range from syncopated fast boogies to slow and lyrical waltzes. “Black Hat Hoedown,” the collection’s one duet, is really cute and contains easy rhythmic motives and melodic figures. This duet would be a good recital piece for young students. Wanless includes some fun in each of the pieces. In “Una’s Ghost,” for instance, students knock on the wood of the piano to indicate the ghost’s presence, while “The Skeleton Shuffle” imitates the shaky skeleton with a tremolo chord followed by a glissando. A wide range of expression and clever use of the keyboard make many of these pieces come alive. This would be a great book for early-intermediate students who are good readers, enjoy playing lots of

repertoire, and are athletic in their piano technique. (Mayfair Music, available at www.debrawanless.ca, $8.95) L.Z. (S3-4) Especially Popular Christmas, Books 1-3, arranged by Dennis Alexander. When he was a boy, Dennis Alexander listened to Christmas music on his parent’s large Curtis Mathes console record player. At the time, he decided that Elvis Presley ’s “Blue Christmas” was “almost the ‘coolest’ thing” he had ever heard, and these three volumes of Christmas arrangements reflect the composer’s love for timeless popular holiday songs. Each book contains seven or eight pieces, for a total of twenty-three arrangements in the series, most of them secular holiday favorites. The books contain plenty of “Alexanderesque” modulations, suspensions, sophisticated rhythms, and appealing harmonies. Book 1 (early

CLAVIER COMPANION

53

intermediate-to-intermediate level) contains a mix of upbeat and reflective, lyrical selections. A jazzy “(There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays” pairs with a contemplative “The Holly and the Ivy” that is set with gentle hemiolas and syncopations. Book 2 (intermediate) includes “Blue Christmas,” the nostalgic jazz ballad “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and a boogie-woogie version of “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.” The pieces in Book 3 (late intermediate) are especially mature sounding, and students will be attracted to fresh arrangements of “Believe” from the movie The Polar Express and “The Gift” by Jim Brickman. These pieces have a good deal of pedagogical merit. They offer rhythmic challenges, extended legato patterns in both hands, a variety of articulations, and ample opportunity to teach expressive phrasing and legato pedaling. Another strength of this series is the number of songs which are probably not well known to some of the younger generation: arrangements of “The Christmas Waltz,” “There Is No Christmas Like a Home Christmas,” and “Mistletoe and Holly” will introduce students to classic hits and add spice to holiday recitals. (Alfred, $7.99 each) V.C.M.

54

CLAVIER COMPANION

(S5) Popular Performer: It’s Time for Christmas, arranged by Kenon D. Renfrow. This collection of ten well-known Christmas melodies draws from a variety of new and classic tunes. The opening arrangement of “Away in a Manger” utilizes a large amount of the keyboard, building on a flowing eighth-note accompaniment low in the left hand paired with thick right-hand chords in the upper register. The sound is glorious, rather than overbearing, especially with Renfrow’s secondary dominants and an Italian sixth chord providing subtle hints of colorful harmonies. William Harold Neidlinger’s “ The Birthday of a King” was originally published in 1912, and is rarely seen in contemporary Christmas collections. Renfrow gives the beloved tune a fresh makeover, with continuous rolling left-hand eighth notes (spanning well over two octaves) and numerous right-hand seventh chords. Clearly marked dynamics create an ebb and flow of loud and soft sounds. “Have Yourself a Merr y Little Christmas” is in a light jazz style, with parallel dominant seventh chords, chromaticism, and a gentle jump bass in the accompaniment. The rhythmic combinations of

eighths, quarters, eighth-note triplets, and sixteenth notes create an atmosphere of improvisation. Renfrow continues the same style in “Let it Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!,” offering an upbeat rendition that includes frequent syncopations, parallel octaves, and chromatic scale flourishes. In contrast, “What Child Is This?” features a haunting recurring E-minor scale woven into a texture of delicate sixteenth notes. The collection also includes “Ding, Dong Merrily on High,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear,” and “Winter Wonderland.” An arrangement of the more contemporary tune “The Gift” rounds out the collection, and its voicing demands, particularly in the right hand, will challenge the pianist: careful listening will allow melodic projection in the thick chords. Further, Renfrow often combines the melody with a countermelody or accompaniment figure in the right hand; precise fingering and a clear understanding of legato are essential. Lefthand accompaniment patterns provide excellent experience in creating different sounds and characters using single-note accompaniment patterns and jump bass. Occasionally the span of a tenth is requested, and Renfrow marks those instances with the option of rolling the chord. (Alfred, $12.95) K.W.B. p



CLAVIER COMPANION

55

CD & DVD Reviews Steven Hall, Editor

Steven Hall has a wide range of performing experience as an orchestral soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician throughout the United States, Europe, and Taiwan. A German reviewer wrote, “He proved that he need not fear comparison with the greatest in his field.” He has released two compact discs featuring the Ibach piano on the ACA label. Hall completed his D.M.A. in Piano Performance as John Perry’s teaching assistant at the University of Southern California and is a founder and faculty member of the Brandeis Piano Conservatory in Dallas, Texas. He is the president of BPC Recording Company and serves on the boards of the Lennox International Young Artist Competition and the Dallas Music Teachers Association.

This issue’s contributors: Sarkis Baltaian has gained an international reputation as a concert pianist, chamber musician, recording artist, and pedagogue. Currently, he is Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. Jim Edwards has written for a number of publications, including Clavier, and has served as a music critic for Beacon-News, part of the SunTimes Media Group. Edwards lives with his wife and Steinway, Baldwin, and Chickering pianos. Eric Hicks is a private piano teacher in Austin, Texas. He received his degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, SUNY at Stony Brook, and the University of Texas at Austin. Denise Parr-Scanlin is an Assistant Professor of Piano at West Texas A&M University and teaches piano and chamber music at the Lutheran Summer Music Festival. She has performed and adjudicated in the U.S., Europe, and Asia and appears on the Naxos recording of the Sonata for Cello and Piano by Sam Jones. Sin-Hsing Tsai is U.C. Foundation Associate Professor of Music at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She has performed and taught in Taiwan, China, Korea, Germany, Argentina, and the U.S., and her playing can be heard on the AUR label. Richard Zimdars, Despy Karlas Professor of Piano at the University of Georgia, was artistic director of the 2011 American Liszt Society Bicentennial Festival. His new CD of solo piano works by Vincent Persichetti, Jacob Druckman, and Marga Richter will be released on Albany Records this fall.

To link directly to the respective websites of these recordings, please click anywhere on the text of the review.

COMPOSER

COMPOSER

Liszt: Fantasie und Fuge (transcribed F. Busoni); Sonata in B Minor Garrick Ohlsson, piano Bridge 9337 [Total Time 61:20]

Homage to Liszt Eric Himy, piano Centaur Records CRC 2969 [Total Time 79:16]

Garrick Ohlsson offers an intriguing Liszt program with this CD: a Busoni transcription of a lesser-known Liszt organ work paired with one of the most recorded compositions in piano literature. Both were composed in Weimar, and both push the expectations of nineteenth-century form beyond its prior limits. During his years in Weimar—a fascinating epoch for Lisztophiles—Liszt devoted himself to composition and teaching while living with the eccentric and influential Princess Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein. Though knowledge of historical context may not be essential to an appreciation of these beautiful performances, the two works are a striking choice for Ohlsson’s recorded contribution to the 2011 Liszt celebrations. Ohlsson unleashes their grandeur with long sweeping lines and crisp rhythmic placement. These details, combined with utterly transcendent moments, make this B-minor sonata an important new voice in the history of its recordings. This is great music played by a great musician. D.P.S.

This CD presents pianist Eric Himy performing a satisfying variety of eleven Franz Liszt masterpieces. The range of works does as much service to the composer as to the performer. Along with the brilliant warhorses one would expect on a Liszt olio, such as the first Mephisto Waltz and Funérailles, there are introspective gems like Nuage gris, En rêve, and the Sonetto del Petrarca 123. Though there is never a doubt of Mr. Himy’s well-schooled musicianship and, quite frankly, stunning technique (especially in the Busoni arrangement of La Campanella), this reviewer was generally more persuaded by his virtuosic than melodic playing. The big payoffs on this disc are the Mephisto Waltz, the octaves in Funérailles, and an engrossing performance of the Dante Sonata. Mr. Himy’s skill and the diversity of the selections make this disc a welcome addition to any collection. E.H.

COMPOSER

COMPOSER

Liszt Students Play Liszt The Caswell Collection, Vol. 10 Pierian 0039/40 [Total Time 2:02:46]

It is unfortunate that Liszt made no recordings, but luckily his students did—their recordings from piano rolls and acoustic and electrical discs provide great insight into Liszt’s teaching. The twenty tracks on this two-CD collection feature pianists Bernhard Stavenhagen, Eugène d’Albert, Arthur Friedheim, Emil Sauer, José Vianna da Motta, Alexander Siloti, Alfred Reisenauer, Vera Timanoff, Richard Burmeister, Georg Liebling, Conrad Anasorge, and Frederic Lamond. Each interprets Liszt’s manner of performance with unique élan, and orchestral colors, forcefulness, and exquisite delicacy are evident throughout. Four selections—described “as played by Liszt”—deviate greatly from markings in the published scores. Siloti’s abbreviated 1923 “Benediction of God in Solitude” is spectacular. Also included is Frederic Lamond’s 1945 interview about his first meeting and later lessons with the maestro. This collection is a treasure trove of early piano recordings made by legendary masters. J.E.

Franz Liszt: Années de pèlerinage (Complete) Jerome Lowenthal, piano Bridge 9307A/C [Total Time 2:58:17] American pianist Jerome Lowenthal pays tribute to Liszt’s bicentennial year in this three-CD collection featuring all three volumes of Années de pèlerinage. Lowenthal, a marvelous artist of a supreme order, captures Liszt’s aesthetic essence by masterfully portraying the varied facets of the composer’s life as virtuoso pianist, traveler, lyricist, and visionary. Superbly crafted melodic lines juxtaposed with tremendous pianistic depth allow Lowenthal’s probing approach to generate performances that are highly compelling and evocative. Furthermore, he vividly portrays Liszt’s music not only through his playing, but also through his splendidly penned program notes, further illuminating Liszt’s personal impressions during his pilgrimage through Europe. Lowenthal’s daughter, pianist Carmel Lowenthal, joins him for the concluding selection, the seldomheard duet Christmas Tree Suite. The Lowenthal duo renders a novel and imaginative reading of these eight miniatures, which depict the celebration of Christmas Eve. S.B. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

COMPOSER Liszt Illuminated Claudio Arrau, Jorge Bolet, and Gunnar Johansen, pianists Marston Records 50625-2 [Total Time 2:32:01]

As part of its celebration of the Liszt bicentennial, the American Liszt Society sponsored a two-CD set featuring three pianists, all of whom received the Medal of the American Liszt Society: Claudio Arrau, a pupil of Martin Krause, who was himself a pupil of Liszt; Jorge Bolet, a pupil of David Saperton, associate and son-in-law of Godowsky; and Gunnar Johansen, who worked with Egon Petri, a disciple of Busoni. Several tracks have never been released in any medium, and only one selection has appeared previously in CD format. Arrau, at the young age of 79, presents a magisterial account of Après une lecture du Dante, live from the Salzburg Festival. In contrast, his Sonata in B Minor, performed live in Toronto at age 74, is a spontaneous, risk-taking event: Arrau gives the impression that the piece was wrenched from his being at that very moment. The fugue and buildup to the recapitulation construct a gigantic arch of tension and release.


COMPOSER

Never maudlin but always highly nuanced, Bolet’s recitations of the Three Petrarch Sonnets offer an intimacy of expression clothed in a ravishing tone. His hair-raising Rhapsodie espagnole (Alice Tully Hall, 1972) is delivered with rhythmic panache and control, sending the audience into a frenzy. All aspects of the 1986 Carnegie Hall performance of the Ballade No. 2 in B Minor—atmospheric pedal sonorities, noble declamation, orchestral rhythmic discipline, and structural organization—are realized to the maximum, showing Bolet at his greatest at age 69. Johansen’s pianism had it all, from airborne lightness in La Campanella to the grand chordal sonorities of “Vision” from the Transcendental Etudes. The F-minor etude from the same set has an unrivaled forward, agitato sweep. In Réminiscences de Don Juan, Johansen offers Liszt’s contemplation on Mozart’s masterpiece with dignity, elegance, and wit, never descending into melodrama or kitsch. With the three pianists’ technical command undiminished in maturity, this triumvirate takes aim at the music within Liszt’s oeuvre and realizes the full range of his kaleidoscopic musical visions. This collection is an outstanding addition to the Liszt recordings appearing in the composer’s bicentennial year. R.Z.

Mozart: Concertos No. 20 & No.27 Mitsuko Uchida, pianist/conductor Decca Classics CD 0289 478 2596 8 DH [Total Time 65:53] This newly released CD highlights Mitsuko Uchida as soloist and conductor in two of Mozart’s late piano concerti. Conducting from the keyboard, Uchida not only challenges the Cleveland Orchestra to be her equal partner, but reciprocates with sonorities of symphonic dimensions. She delivers the Concerto, K. 466 with profound substance and unrelenting energy: her articulation is as remarkably unique as it is well crafted and convincing. The Concerto, K. 595 receives a serene, unhurried reading. Filled with tender lyricism and gentle gestures, Uchida’s interpretation eschews the typical allegro mood, opting instead to illuminate the mature simplicity of Mozart’s final work in this genre. The cadenzas effortlessly display her consummate artistry, expressing the dramatic writing in dexterous and engaging ways. Uchida captures the essence of these compositions with her sincere and committed performances. She truly brings a fresh and valid perspective to the already abundant recorded catalog of Mozart concerti. S.H.T. p

CLAVIER COMPANION

57

News & Notes

Roy Gertig

The University of Georgia’s Hugh Hodgson School of Music hosted “Liszt and the Future,” the 2011 American Liszt Society Festival. The February 17-19 festival welcomed 283 registrants. To honor Liszt’s bicentennial, ALS had launched several initiatives it hoped would produce results Thomas Hampson and remembered long after the 2011 William Bolcom at the festival, foremost among them American Liszt Society the commissioning of a new Festival. work from William Bolcom. The resulting song cycle, Laura Sonnets, based on five Petrarch sonnets, was given an exceptionally persuasive premiere by baritone Thomas Hampson and pianist Craig Rutenberg. They opened their recital with authoritative performances of Liszt songs. To offer an opportunity to younger composers, ALS organized a composition competition. Submissions of solo piano compositions were to be eight-to-fifteen minutes in length, and composers aged 25-40 were eligible. Steinway & Sons generously donated a cash prize of $4,000, and thirty-one entries arrived from eleven countries. The jury of ALS pianists Paul Barnes, Matthew Bengtson, and James Giles declared two winners, dividing the prize between Brian Ciach and Gilad Cohen. Ciach’s Piano Sonata No. 2, played by Matthew Gianforte, and Cohen’s ALS Bicentennial Ballade, played by Paul Barnes, Composition Competition were presented with gusto and winners Brian Ciach and poetry. Gilad Cohen receive their The Medal of the American prizes from Steinway & Liszt Society is the society’s highest Sons representative Byron award. To preserve the legacy of Brown. great Liszt performers, ALS sponsored the production of a two-CD bicentennial album. Three previous medal recipients are featured in the album: Claudio Arrau, Jorge Bolet, and Gunnar Johansen. The album notes contain an essay about each artist (the Arrau essay is by Garrick Ohlsson). Produced by Gregor Benko and Ward Marston, the discs contain sixteen works of Liszt. [Editor’s note: Please see the review of this ALS recording, Liszt Illuminated, in this issue.] Mr. Benko introduced the album in a lecture to the festival audience and played Bolet’s performance of Petrarch Sonnet 123, which was followed by a long silence from the mesmerized audience. Then, shouts of unbridled enthusiasm erupted Alan Walker presents the Alan after Johansen’s performance of Walker Book Award to the Transcendental Etude in F Jonathan Kregor, ALS treasurMinor. er Nancy Roldan looking on.

ALS also sponsored a competition for a book award to honor Alan Walker, distinguished author and biographer of Liszt and Hans von Bülow. Musicologists Ben Arnold, Jay Rosenblatt, and Larry Todd formed the jury. They chose as the winner Liszt the Transcriber (Cambridge, 2010) by Jonathan Kregor. Dr. Walker himself presented the award of $2,000 to Dr. Kregor in a ceremony prior to the closing session of the festival, an inspiring, visionary lecture given by Dr. Walker. Forty-three pianists, ten instrumentalists, ten lecturers, five singers, and the University of Georgia Symphony Orchestra and Concert Choir presented twenty-three sessions during the 2011 festival. —Richard Zimdars

Elyse Mach and Rena Charnin Mueller receive ALS Medals Elyse Mach and Rena Charnin Mueller are the 2010 and 2011 recipients of the Medal of the American Liszt Society. The medal is the society’s highest honor and is given to music professionals who are outstanding advocates for the music and ideals of Franz Liszt. Dr. Mach, Professor of Music and Board of Governors Distinguished Professor at Northeastern Illinois University, received her medal at the October 2010 Great Romantics Festival in Hamilton, Ontario. She has published over 100 articles, many of them about Liszt, and ten books, including Contemporary Class Piano. She has been a contributor to the Chicago Sun-Times and Clavier Companion and has performed throughout Europe and the United States. Dr. Mueller and Mária Eckhardt authored “Franz Liszt: List of Works” for The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2001). The eighty-seven page catalog of works was almost twenty years in the making. She is Clinical Associate Professor of Music at New York University, has published three editions of major Liszt compositions, and has written extensively on the composer. Since 1986, she has presented twenty-two papers on topics concerning Liszt. p

Explore our new digital edition at ClavierCompanion.com!

Roy Gertig

Roy Gertig

Bolcom song cycle premieres at ALS Festival

58

CLAVIER COMPANION


Pupil Saver A dream of a piece

E. L. Lancaster’s “Dream Echoes” (in Alfred’s Contest Winners, Book 2) is built on a repeating two-measure theme that moves into new hand positions with ease. Editor’s notes instruct the late-elementary pianist to mark the score’s hand-position changes and to listen carefully for the differences between mezzo forte and mezzo piano in the echoing theme. The tonal center is G, and the tempo direction “Reflective” is more a feeling than a speed, allowing the pianist a personal choice of expression. Measures 1-4 set the tone:

At the bridge in measures 13-16, hand crossings run up the keyboard before pausing at F-sharp. The dream theme then reappears, getting slower and softer in the final bars. At measures 29-32, the left hand crosses to a high G as the composition ends in peaceful slumber. p

—Myra Brooks-Turner

Find us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/ClavierCompanion


CLAVIER COMPANION

59

Keyboard Kids’ Companion Created by Teachers

Approved by Kids

Meet the Composers

Happy 200th Birthday, Franz Liszt!

F

ranciscus “Franz” Liszt was born on October 22, 1811, in Raiding, Hungary. His father, Adam, worked as a sheep accountant for the royal Esterházy family. A talented musician, Adam played in the palace’s summer orchestra under Franz Joseph Haydn’s direction. Europeans were awestruck by The Franz Liszt The Liszt Academy in Great Comet of 1811, which became Budapest more brilliant as Franz Liszt’s birth date approached. Franz’s mother, Anna, told him the comet was a sign The Gypsies, who often camped that he was destined for greatness. outside Liszt’s village when he was Franzi attended a one-room schoolhouse with sixtyAnna Liszt a boy, made a lifelong impression six other children, where the village schoolmaster on Liszt. He was fascinated by the singers’ and taught them to read and write. Franzi begged for dancers’ improvisation as they performed around their piano lessons. His father taught him, and Franzi made campfires. astonishing progress. Whenever asked what he wanted Liszt made a lot of money during his lifetime. He was to be when he grew up, Franzi pointed to a portrait of generous to friends and charities. He guided his life Beethoven and said, “Like him.” Génie obligie! (With genius comes with his motto, The Liszt family moved to Vienna so that Franzi obligation!) could study with Carl Czerny and Antonio Salieri. Franz Liszt was one of the most important pianists, Czerny called the boy “a natural,” but made him work teachers, and composers of the Romantic period and hard for cleaner technique. Czerny forced him to all times. He wrote around 1,400 musical compositions. practice only exercises for months. Franzi was not Much of his music was inspired by his religion, the happy, but realized when he grew up that his teacher Gypsies’ music and dancing, and Niccolo Paganini, the had been right. He even dedicated his Transcendental best ever violinist. Liszt wowed audiences with his Etudes to his old teacher. stunning technique. He invented the modern piano When Franzi was about eleven years old, Czerny recital, and he was one of the first to play entire took him to Beethoven’s home. After Franzi played for programs from memory. He turned the piano so that Beethoven, the old master took him by the hands, the side faced the audience as we do today. Stories of kissed him on the forehead and said, “Go! For you are Liszt as a piano teacher are famous, and especially his one of the fortunate ones! For you will give joy and legendary master classes (another of his inventions). happiness to many other people! There is nothing Liszt died on July 31, 1886, at the age of seventybetter or finer!” four. His compositions were not taken seriously and fell When Franzi was almost twelve years old, the out of favor for many years. But now the world knows family left Vienna for a world concert tour, taking a Liszt for his amazing contributions to music, today and route similar to that of Wolfgang and Nannerl Mozart. into the future. After three years, Franzi’s father became sick and died. Stricken with sorrow, Franzi moved back to Paris. He began teaching piano lessons to support himself and his mother. Franz Liszt, whose father taught him the ways of the Catholic Church, said that nothing seemed “so selfevident as heaven, so true as the compassion of God.” At the age of fifty-three, Franz Liszt took the minor holy orders of the priesthood. 60

CLAVIER COMPANION

Many thanks to award winning Liszt biographer Alan Walker for his assistance with this article


Ask the teachers My piano teacher says that I need to practice more. But my parents won’t let me. They say I need to make time for other things, and they’re setting up lots of after-school activities for this year. What should I do? This may sound like an unusual problem, but it’s more common than you think. Very few students practice too much! Of course, your parents want what’s best for you. To help your parents understand that more piano practice is worthwhile, try these ideas: • Tell them that you want to practice more, and why: practice time isn’t just about learning new pieces, it’s about building skills. If you don’t practice enough, you will soon be stalled on one level. You can also develop injuries, even permanent injuries, if you attempt to play pieces beyond your technical skill level. • Point out that the more you practice, the more you understand in your lessons. Your parents will get more for their tuition money! • Of course piano teachers want you to practice more. Many doctors, scientists, and education specialists believe it’s important too. Remind your parents that kids gain many health and school-related benefits by practicing piano. Click here to download “A Few Benefits of Music Study”

• Ask your teacher to help you prepare a wish list of repertoire and performance opportunities possible if you step up your practice hours. • Ask your teacher to review productive practice tips. We can spend time accomplishing very little, or even getting worse with poor practice habits. But if your parents hear you working hard and making progress, they will likely feel that investing additional time is valuable. • Finally, understand that your parents are right to wish you exposed to many opportunities. But it’s also important to pursue an activity or two in depth. Instead of booking lots of after-school activities, ask your parents to consider enrolling you in an organization such as a scout troop, 4-H Club, or summer camp. You can sample many activities without overburdening your schedule!

A closer look at Keyboard Kids’ Companion Click on the text below to view videos of Lisztrelated performances! ■ Transcendental Etude No. 4, “Mazeppa” ■ Egon Petri plays Schubert-Liszt ■ Heifetz plays Paganini Caprice No. 24 ■ Liszt’s piano arrangement of Paganini ■ Tom and Jerry play Liszt!

Liszt Review 1. Franz Liszt was born in the village of ________________. 2. Liszt’s first teacher was ___________, and in Vienna, his teachers were ____________ and _____________. 3. As a pianist and teacher, he invented the ___________ and ________________. 4. Hearing the great virtuoso violinist ________________ inspired Liszt to push hard for virtuoso technique on the piano.

Keyboard Kids’ Companion ©Clavier Companion 2011 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

Helen Smith Tarchalski, Editor

Reprint permission granted exclusively for Clavier Companion subscribers and their students

September/October 2011

CLAVIER COMPANION

61

Advertiser Index 3-D Piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 www.3-dpiano.com The Achievement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . inside front cover www.theachievementprogram.org Alfred Publishing Co., Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 www.alfred.com American School of Piano Tuning . . . . . . . 62 www.piano-tuning.com The Boston Conservatory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 www.bostonconservatory.edu Burt & Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 www.burtnco.com Carol Montparker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 www.montparker.com DePauw University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 www.depauw.edu/music Eastman School of Music. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 www.esm.rochester.edu The Frederick Harris Music Co., Ltd. . . . . . 3 www.frederickharrismusic.com The Golandsky Institute. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 www.golandskyinstitute.org Hal Leonard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, back cover www.halleonard.com Harmony Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 www.harmonyroadmusic.com Houghton College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 www.houghton.edu/greatbatch Hutchins & Rea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 www.hutchinsandrea.com Indiana University Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Keys To Imagination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 www.keystoimagination.com KITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 www.keynotetheory.com Lamont School of Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 www.du.edu/lamont Lee Roberts Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 www.leerobertsmusic.com MTNA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 www.mtna.org

Piano Wellness Seminar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 www.pianowellnessseminar.com PianoArts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 www.pianoarts.org Pianofonics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 www.pianofonics.com San Francisco Conservatory of Music . . . . 21 www.sfcm.edu Sheet Music Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 www.sheetmusicplus.com

Mason Gross School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 www.masongross.rutgers.edu Music Bag Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 www.musicbagpress.com Music Educator’s Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . 54 www.musicedmarket.com Music for Young Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Teaching Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 800-873-3043 Tonic Tutor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 www.tonictutor.com UMKC Conservatory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 conservatory.umkc.edu University of Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 www.music.uga.edu

www.myc.com Music Perceptions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 www.musicperceptions.com MusicLearningCommunity.com. . . . . . . . . 55 www.MusicLearningCommunity.com Nazareth College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 www.naz.edu/music The Novus Music Group . . . . . . . . . . . 32-33 www.NVmusicgroup.com Piano Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 www.pianoexplorer.net Piano Life Saver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 www.pianolifesaver.com Piano Street . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 www.pianostreet.com

University of Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 www.music.missouri.edu University of North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . 41 www.uncsa.edu Well-Balanced Pianist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 www.WellBalancedPianist.com Westminster Choir College . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 www.rider.edu/westminster WholeMusicLessons.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 www.WholeMusicLessons.com Willis Music . . . . . . . . . . . inside back cover www.willispianomusic.com Yellow Cat Publishing, LLC. . . . . . . . . . . . 53 www.yellowcatpublishing.com

www.iupress.indiana.edu

PIANO TUNING PAYS: Train at home to become a qualified piano technician with American School of Piano Tuning complete homestudy course. Tools included. 800-497-9793.

62

CLAVIER COMPANION

TEACHING SKILLS: A complete guide for piano teachers. Topics for teaching beginners through preparing an advanced student to present a solo recital. “How to” strategies. Major authorities of piano pedagogy cited. Forward by Dr. Paul Pollei, founder of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition. $15.95 Intellectual Pub. Co. 800873-3043 Fax: 936-271-4560 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

Explore our new digital edition at ClavierCompanion.com!

Whether you are a seasoned professional or new teacher, membership in Music Teachers National Association is an essential part of your professional life. Since 1876, MTNA has been the foremost leader in empowering the music-teaching professional by providing valuable resources and networking opportunities for its members.


CLAVIER COMPANION

63

Questions & Answers Louise L. Goss Preparing for Liszt he Questions & Answers column of Clavier Companion typically deals with issues related to elementary and intermediate level piano instruction. This issue of our magazine is devoted to a celebration of the bicentennial of the birth of Franz Liszt. Most of Liszt’s compositions are so demanding, both in their musical challenges and their virtuosic requirements, that it is only the very advanced high school student who can undertake this repertoire. However, I thought it would be interesting to explore some of the ways in which intermediate-level students might begin preparing for the advanced Romantic literature of Liszt and his colleagues. One hallmark of Romantic piano literature is the singing melody. We encourage our students to project melody over the accompaniment. This begins early in a student’s instruction, and we constantly instruct our students to “bring out the melody.” Equally important to effective Romantic interpretation is the shaping of the melody. Students must find the “high point” of the phrase, with the preparatory crescendo leading to that focus and a sensitive tapering to end the phrase. In the more advanced Romantic repertoire, the texture often changes from two musical layers to three:

T

1) the all important melody, 2) a supportive bass line, 3) and the harmonic filler in the middle register. Each layer is assigned its own dynamic level. In general, the melody is the most prominent element of the texture. The bass is supportive of the melody, and the inner harmonic material is the quietest of all. This basic three-layer texture is common among all composers of the Romantic period. Learning to control these three textures is an important part of the teacher’s curriculum for the advancing student. Musical examples that prepare for the control of this threelevel texture abound—here are two examples (see Excerpts 1 and 2). Excerpt 1: Burgmüller: Berceuse, Op. 109, No. 7, mm. 1-8.

Excerpt 2: Czerny: Study in A-flat Major, Op. 139, No. 51, mm. 1-8.

64

CLAVIER COMPANION

It is also at this level that the student must begin to master the use of Romantic rubato—stretching the rhythm at climactic moments, and taking special time at the ends of phrases and sections. The Lyric Preludes in Romantic Style by William Gillock were composed specifically to prepare students for more demanding Romantic repertoire, and Gillock often guides the students in a refined rubato (see Excerpt 3). Excerpt 3: Gillock: “Night Song” from Lyric Preludes in Romantic Style, mm. 16-21.

The great Romantic literature also requires extensive technical preparation. Excellent preparatory studies can be found in music that includes light finger work in fast passages and figurations. There is much helpful material in the etudes by Burgmüller, both Op. 100 and Op. 109. The Czerny studies are famous for their emphasis on the development of facility. Heller and Mozkowksi have also made important contributions to literature that promote technical fluency and the control of various keyboard figurations. In contrast with the more closed positions of classical piano music, Romantic literature frequently requires open, extended positions, including playing full octave chords in both hands. This can strain the smaller hand and eventually lead to injury if the teacher does not proceed with insight and great care. Strain and discomfort result when a student presses into the key and continues pressing after the hammer has struck the string. This is especially harmful when the hand is extended to produce a full chord or octave. We must help our students learn to relax the arm immediately after the sound occurs. Discomfort is also relieved substantially when the thumb is allowed to leave its key and return to its position close to the second finger. I believe all teachers should create preparatory exercises that can be taught by rote and will help the student deal with octaves (playing octave pentascales or major and minor octave scales) and full octave chords in various inversions. The focus of these rote exercises can be on loosed, relaxed arm and hand, and quick release of the thumb. Finally, as students near the time they are ready to study their first pieces by Liszt, they should begin listening to recordings of his music. Perhaps the best repertoire to begin with are the Liebesträume and the Consolations. The three Sonetti del Petrarca are also good listening experiences because of their lovely melodies and wonderful bass support. p

Louise L. Goss is a co-founder, along with Frances Clark, of The New School for Music Study in Princeton, NJ. She is an author and editor of the Music Tree series and the Frances Clark Library for Piano Students. She currently serves as the Chair of the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy.


Clavier Companion 20110910

Recommend Documents