Happy Holidays!
24 Saturday Dec 2011
Posted Thank you!
in24 Saturday Dec 2011
Posted Thank you!
in22 Thursday Dec 2011
Tags
That, of course, is unacceptable to me. I am writing this post in the hope that others born after the fall of the Berlin Wall will want to know about Havel’s life and follow the links provided.
I admired Vaclav Havel’s world-changing, focused political resistance as much as his talent as a playwright.
Vaclav Havel, president of Czechoslovakia (1989–1992) and the first President of the Czech Republic (1993–2003), was at the center of the people’s resistance to Communism. He had an acute awareness of all the disparate views around him while simultaneously acting with great clarity upon the path ahead.
No shots were fired during the volatile transition of power.
During his presidency, Havel visited New York. Between meetings and honors ceremonies, he and his wife got together with Milos Forman and his wife. Havel was staying in a hotel near the U.N.
Milos Forman wrote an op-ed piece about Havel’s 1990 visit, which I can’t seem to locate online.
What I remember from Forman’s piece is that passersby would recognize Havel as the foursome was standing outside the hotel talking. People would approach him to ask about his country and what his plans were for the future.
He had changed from a suit into jeans and a sweater. This was time with friends, the only goal of which was to have fun! Havel’s response to people was something like, “We’re not talking about that right now. Where’s the best place to get a hamburger?”
In one recent article, the author said that Havel was born into wealth but his family lost everything during the war. When he was a child, he rejected the isolation of privilege, wanting to fit in with his friends.
One could infer that he was already on the path to leading a revolution for the People.
Rest in peace. The world has lost a great statesman.
Thousands of mourners in the streets (with photos)
Havel’s theatrical work (with quotes)
Artist’s politics and politician’s art
“Our Moral Footprint” 2007 op-ed by Vaclav Havel
New York Times search results page for “Vaclav Havel”
19 Monday Dec 2011
Posted collaboration, music, performing, video
inTags
breathing, Madama Butterfly, Martin Katz, Metropolitan Opera, NY Philharmonic, Pablo Sarasate, Plácido Domingo, Sarah Chang, Verdi "Requiem", Westminster Symphonic Choir, Zubin Mehta
During my first year of graduate school, the Westminster Symphonic Choir sang the Verdi “Requiem” with the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center. The choir of 200 was located behind the orchestra of 110.
The orchestration is extremely dense, with a lot of brass sound. With that in mind, our conductor, Zubin Mehta, handed his baton to Placido Domingo, our tenor soloist, at one point. Mehta walked out into the hall in order to listen to the balance in the “Dies Irae” (which turned out to be fine).
I was somewhat surprised, not knowing that Domingo actually was a conductor. (That happens when you spend 1/3 of your life in the practice room, 1/3 in class, and 1/3 in a sub-basement of the library.) But according to his web site, he had studied both conducting and piano before circumstances led him, at age 17, to focus intently on his singing career.
In that rehearsal, Domingo stood hunched over the conductor’s score. Considering that Mehta hadn’t given him a chance to prepare for conducting that day, we understood completely.
Domingo, of course, knew the entire score, orchestration included. (Soloists learn only their part all too often. Done with your aria? Close the score and check out.) He cued all the orchestral entrances and the chorus. We were impressed!
Fast forward to Saturday’s Metropolitan Opera broadcast of “Madama Butterfly” with Domingo conducting. This is what I heard:
By “breathing,” I mean not only the intake of breath, but the apportioning of its release throughout every phrase.
From the first note, the orchestra was stunning. I did not personally enjoy the singing quite as much, but it was certainly credible.
Domingo’s understanding of how to breathe was so irreproachable, when a singer needed what may have been an emergency breath just prior to the end of a phrase, the entire orchestra was right there.
In his book, The Complete Collaborator: The Pianist as Partner (Oxford, 2009), Martin Katz emphasizes that:
The primary building block of successful collaboration is surely the breath.
and
… nothing approaches the importance of breathing in the quest for true collaboration.
He insisted that all his collaborative piano students breathe this way. The breathing must be visceral:
(adapted from Merriam-Webster.com)
Maestro Domingo has this in his blood, a wonderful thing to witness.
Please take a few minutes to watch this video of the violinist Sarah Chang conducted by Domingo. She plays Pablo Sarasate’s “Ziegeunerweisen” with the Berlin Philharmonic. You will enjoy listening as well as seeing the unspoken, joyous communication between soloist and conductor.
The audience is also shown, in completely immersed appreciation.
I would imagine that no violinist could have asked for a more responsive, gifted, energized, sensitive conductor.
15 Thursday Dec 2011
Tags
An Evening of Readings and Carols
from Westminster Choir College
Monday, December 19 at 8 p.m.
and Sunday, December 25 at 3 p.m.
A little less formal than Kings College, with several choirs.
WWFM The Classical Network.
This beautiful movement is part of Rachmaninoff’s “Vespers,”
all of which can be heard on YouTube.
http://youtu.be/Dp82BXNwrWcRachmaninoff, “Bogoroditse Devo,” conducted by Robert Shaw
“A Car Talk Christmas Carol”
(self-explanatory!)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4231170
“Downtown Messiah,”
a street-smart version of the oratorio. You’ll love it!
This link features a one-hour “best of” version in addition
to the full-length show.
http://www.wfuv.org/search/node/Downtown%20Messiah
12 Monday Dec 2011
Tags
We already know what his hands look like!
This post is a followup to “Student makes a breakthrough!”
Neither do I! Let me explain.
Two lessons ago, an “adult beginner” and I spent the entire time on a Mozart Minuet. For the first time ever, my student understood how to use the indicated fingerings.
Throughout the next lesson, she stuck to the fingerings! She played the entire Minuet perfectly. So we decided that we would explore the Trio (the middle section of the Minuet and Trio) at the following lesson.
My student arrived this week with the Trio ready to go.
She played hands alone first, with perfect fingering, phrasing and dynamics.
The she played hands together the same way!
My student told me about finishing a practice session. As she stood up from the keyboard, she glanced at the music again. Her eyes took in a ledger line note above the treble clef. This is what went through her head:
It’s a “C” on flute. I wonder what it is on piano?
Oh, right. I read the music the same way I always have.
I was, of course, thrilled. But since this wasn’t my lesson, I wanted to discuss things with my student.
When I asked her how it felt to be able to play this way, she was reluctant to own her success:
I thought maybe it (the Trio) was just easier (than the Minuet).
But I’m sure she’s remembering all the angst she usually goes through. I responded with encouragement, repeating that I was very happy and that she had made major progress.
Next, I asked her how she did it!
Me: Did you put in more time practicing?
Student: No.
Me: How much would you say you practiced?
Student: Oh, about 5 or 6 times.
Me: For 1/2 hour each?
Student: Yes, for about ½ hour.
Me: How did you go about it?
Student: I kept saying to myself, “Not flute! Not flute!”
because flute and piano fingering are different (she plays both).
Her next comment is well worth remembering:
It’s a matter of focus (not added practice time). When I focus on the fingerings (and not all the other things that usually lurk around), I can play it!
In addition, she realized that when she feels tired, it’s time to stop. Mindless repetition is not helpful, and neither is the influence of force.
There is no secret about how to do this. Nevertheless, I learned something today:
I get to hear both the Minuet and Trio! And we’ll do some Christmas music, too. This student is, just in the past month, no longer a beginner. I can’t wait!
It’s about focus, not time!
More discussion about this is presented in my E-book (see below).
08 Thursday Dec 2011
Posted listening, music, outside the box, teaching
inTags
George Frideric Handel, Hallelujah, independence, Messiah, music education, Young People's Concerts at Lincoln Center
Gramaphone ~ Image by annavsculture via Flickr
I resisted valiantly! I had good ears, and heard a great amount of detail in the music without “help.”
Soon after that, I had students in New York. One of them, an 8-year-old, told me during her lesson that she had attended a Young People’s Concert at Lincoln Center. I was excited about that, and asked her to tell me what it was like.
Me: What did they do?
Student: They did this piece by this guy named Frederic.
Me: George Frederic somebody?
Student: Yeah, I think so…
Me: George Frederic Händel?
My student ran to her room, returning with the concert program.
I look at the program and see that they had sung the “Hallelujah” Chorus from Messiah.
Me: How did you like it?
Student: Wellllllll, it was boring.
Me: Why was it boring?
Student: They said the same word all the time!
What would you have said next? I couldn’t tell her she was required to like it… she had listened, after all, and besides that, she was correct!
We talked about how sometimes the words aren’t so important, and that sometimes they can just be there and the chorus can sing like instrumentalists.
A regimented listening requirement, in this case, may have ended with my student hating music!
On Tuesday evening, I was listening to a jazz program. The experience of hearing music that sounds completely different from classical got me to think about what I was hearing.
Since I am not completely conversant with the vocabulary used by jazz musicians or reviewers, hearing and reading about the genre is something I find refreshing.
One piece in particular caught my attention. Why is that?
The piece was:
not beautiful
nor lyrical
not performed by a singer
recorded by a group I didn’t know
The opening was played by tenor sax in wah-wah fashion. How did he do that? The instrument didn’t sound at all like a tenor sax.
The drummer kept the same off-beat through the entire piece. The only variation was that he was louder toward the end.
What was exciting about this performance?
innovation
imagination
great rhythm
unusual sounds
wonderful energy
it was new to me
I think that since every genre, every hall, every instrument, every performer, every composer, and every group is different, each type of music and each performance deserves to be listened to on its own merits.
Our role is to encourage our students to listen, and then to follow up. A student may be interested in different types of music, use different words, and not fit the mold we had in mind. What we need to do is listen attentively while they describe what they’ve heard in their own way. And then, without ever telling them they’re wrong, put negatives into perspective and guide their listening experience.
05 Monday Dec 2011
Posted article, outside the box, the unexpected
inMany thanks to Jasmine Hall of http://onlinecolleges.net for sharing this post!
November 28, 2011
If you’ve been doing lots of searching for a scholarship, it’s probably no surprise to you that weird prizes exist. You can win money for college by duck calling, being a Star Trek fan, and even just for having the right last name. Read on, and we’ll take a look at 30 obscure scholarships you might not even believe exist.
If you can do amazing things with duct tape, or even predict the future, you just might win money for school with these scholarships.
Love candy, bagpipes, or amateur radio? These scholarships award cash to those who have obscure interests.
If you’re a member of a distinctive society, or someone in your family is, it’s worth checking out the possibility of getting a scholarship from that group, and we’ve detailed some of them here.
If you belong to a family of rich people, chances are you’re going to be okay in the college finance department. But even long lost relatives, or anyone who shares your name can help.
Most students might expect to see scholarships for football, basketball, and baseball, but big team sports aren’t the only ones getting scholarship money. Check out these fun and unusual sports scholarships to see if you qualify.
——–
Apologies for the numbering. I was unable to make it continuous.
01 Thursday Dec 2011
Tags
The 2 most recent lessons my adult student experienced overwhelmingly prove the point.
My student has played flute for several years, taking up piano more recently.
Playing the flute involves one position for the hands most of the time.
Flute fingering is notated with T(thumb) 1 2 3 4.
Piano fingering is different: 1(thumb) 2 3 4 5.
Since the lowest note on the flute is Middle C, flute music is notated in the treble clef, on one staff.
Piano music is usually notated on 2 staves, with treble clef for the right hand and bass clef for the left. So it looks more complicated right away.
We are working on a Mozart Minuet and Trio.
My student’s approach is to use just about any available finger at random.
One left hand passage, C G rest C D, is fingered 5 2 rest 2 1.
We discussed how using the correct fingering would make this passage easier to play… reliable, no hesitation between notes.
My student tried the fingering as written. The outcome was C G, what’s next? C D. Whew.
I showed her how she could play 5 2, then keep move her hand to the next spot on the keyboard keeping the 2nd finger ready to play immediately.
She tried that. When she reached the G with her 2nd finger (so far, so good!), she switched to her 3rd finger while still playing G. (That happens a lot.)
We talked about that, and she tried it again.
The same thing happened. I made an involuntary sound in my throat, and she picked up on it. When we talked about that, I said, “I know you can do it! Try it again!” She was almost there. I wasn’t ready to give up.
So she tried a 3rd time, and voilà! She played the passage perfectly!
We discussed how that sounded, and decided it had musical flow!
We talked about how it felt to be able to do that, and my student was very happy!
I gave her an assignment, asking her to focus only on the fingering in this one piece for next time.
She mentioned having to look at the notes, too.
I encouraged her to look at the notes and the fingerings together. She tried it, and played the passage flawlessly!
After my student left her lesson, I began feeling that perhaps I had pushed her too hard.
Two weeks later, my student played the entire Minuet with perfect notes and perfect fingering! This is a first!!!
Since the fingering was perfect in more than one lesson, there’s a good chance that the new approach will stick.
The piece is under tempo, but that isn’t what we’re working on right now. She didn’t backtrack and she didn’t give up.