Ashkenazy plays Chopin Nocturne op 37 no 1
Claudia Arrau, Chopin Nocturne op 37 no 1
Richter plays Chopin Ballade in g minor
Monday, 28 January 2013
Friday, 25 January 2013
Interview with Rhodes Scholar Laura Pittman
Former long- time piano student Laura Pittman is no stranger to accolades. She holds many
past national and local awards as a pianist, to include a national travel and
workshop scholarship from Conservatory Canada for one of the highest marks in
Canada in a Grade 9 piano exam. At
present an engineering student at Memorial University of Newfoundland (St. John's NL), she has
just won one of the highest scholastic honours that exists, a Rhodes Scholarship
for the upcoming year of 2013.
Laura, rowsellpiano wishes to
congratulate you on your enormous achievement of being named a 2013 Rhodes
Scholar.
Can you briefly outline what led you
to apply for this scholarship?
Aside from the amazing educational opportunity, what excites
me about the Rhodes Scholarship is the community of people you become a part of
and have the opportunity to meet. When
you bring so many people together with different backgrounds, interests and
areas of expertise there is tremendous potential to truly make a difference in
the world. The chance to be a part of
this community was one of the main factors that led me to apply for the
scholarship.
What successes and accomplishments
do you attribute to being named a Rhodes Scholar for 2013?
I don’t believe I could attribute a single success or
accomplishment to becoming a Rhodes Scholar; each endeavour that I have
participated in has helped shape who I am today.
Apart from my Conservatory Canada Award, some of my most notable
accomplishments include the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education
Student of the Year (2011), Canadian Interuniversity Sport Academic All
Canadian (2010 & 2011), Memorial University Alumni Entrance Scholarship and
Dean’s List Awards from 2007 to 2012.
As an award winning pre-college
piano student, do you think learning a musical instrument in your formative
years shaped who you are today?
Yes, I definitely believe that learning a musical instrument
helped shape the person I am today.
In what way?
Among other things, learning the piano helped improve my
focus and attention to detail.
Additionally, I always found music a great way to relax and de-stress.
It provided an escape from the sometimes chaotic and complicated “real world”
and allowed me to focus my energy (and sometimes frustration) and express it in
a productive way. After playing I always
felt refreshed and ready to tackle anything!
Can you define any skills you
acquired as a piano player and student of music that led to your success as a
top MUN engineering student, and future Rhodes Scholar?
My involvement in music not only improved my focus and
attention to detail but also exposed me very early to performing in public
which helped develop my public speaking skills.
Do you still play the piano for
enjoyment?
I still play, but not as much as I would like, and I continue
to find it a great way to relax and de-stress. I love sitting down and playing
old songs or tackling something new. I
don’t think I will ever stop playing for enjoyment.
How do you plan to use the Rhodes Scholarship,
and where might this lead you?
As a Rhodes Scholar-elect I plan to complete graduate
studies at the University of Oxford in England.
Beginning in October 2013 I plan to spend two years at Oxford completing
two, one year master programs. The first
will be a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering followed by a Master of
Business Administration. In the future I
hope to lead a socially responsible, global company whose mission includes
improving the lives of others.
Do you have any advice for young
people with ambitions similar to yours?
Don’t be afraid to take risks, challenge yourself and
explore your interests; otherwise, you will never know your true potential.
Thank you Laura for the opportunity to interview you, and I
wish you all the best with your future dreams and plans.
Sally Rowsell, rowsellpiano
Wednesday, 23 January 2013
Bake a Cake in a Piano Lesson?
How does baking a cake relate to playing the piano?
When baking a cake, it is necessary and preferable that the cake rise while baking.
When baking a cake, it is necessary and preferable that the cake rise while baking.
As a young child, my mother would tease me by requesting I not jump up and down while a cake was baking, for fear the cake not rise in the oven. A cake that sank in the middle was not as appealing as one that rose during the baking process!
An old wives tale? Who knows.
To get to the point, what does this have to do with playing the piano?
It is this: a phrase in music is much like a cake in the oven.
It is this: a phrase in music is much like a cake in the oven.
As a finished musical product, each phrase should rise as it bakes.
Often, a slight crescendo through the mid- point of a phrase prevents a sinking effect (decrescendo) in the phrase, therefore allowing the phrase to bloom, to open, to rise, and quite simply, to happen naturally.
Happy baking and remember to crescendo through your phrase.
Tuesday, 1 January 2013
December Practice Results
December Practice Results
Most Improved Student Lisa Bourne
Most Outstanding Student (tie) Rashmi Elangage
Sarah Veber
Most Practice Minutes Rashmi Elangage
Saturday, 1 December 2012
November Practice results
NOVEMBER PRACTICE RESULTS HAVE HIT THE PRESS:
Most Outstanding Student: Ella Sutherby
Most Improved Student (tie): Sophie Drover
Emily Meade
Most Practice Minutes: Rashmi Elangage
All students are doing great work; here, those who stood out for the month of November are recognized
Thursday, 1 November 2012
Impressionism
Among my favourite selections as teaching pieces lie the works of Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, and Charles Griffes.
This blog post emerges after a great week of impressionistic music, and my attempts to briefly explain the inpressionist movement first in art, then in music. It is by no means scholarly, but meant to be a guide for my teenage pianists who are exposed to the wonder of impressionism for the first time (or second time, third time..).
Impressionism began in painting, and only then spilled into the world of music. Impressionism in music stretches roughly from 1890-1910. (some say earlier, 1870). To follow is a brief outline and description of impressionism in art, with some famous samples from both art and music.
Impressionism " is a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists.
Their independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s, in spite of harsh opposition from the conventional art community in France.
The term impressionist was first used by French art critic Louis Leroy in 1874 based on Monet's painting Impression, Sunrise. (see this painting below). Leroy found the term fitting to describe the loose, undefined and "unfinished" style that Monet and several other artists applied to their paintings.
Characteristics of Impressionist painting include relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), common, ordinary subject matter, inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience, and unusual visual angles. The development of Impressionism in the visual arts was soon followed by similar styles in other art forms that became known as impressionist music and impressionist literature."
In order to convey the movement and changing nature of a passing moment, the Impressionists used quick, broken brush strokes that were left without any further smoothing. This method allows the viewer to clearly see the traces of the brush and gives impressionist paintings an unfinished appearance. The Impressionists worked quickly, sometimes in one sitting, in order to capture the fleeting moment and to give their work a spontaneous feel.
Monet‑Impression_Sunrise_1872
Monet 1953
Vincent Van Gogh Starry Night 1889 (which he painted while in an asylum)
Monet Water Lilies 1916-1923
Pierre- Auguste Renoir, Young Woman at the Piano 1875
Impressionism in music is a style of composition initiated by French composer Claude Debussy at the end of the 19th century.Elements often termed impressionistic include static harmony, emphasis on instrumental timbres that create a shimmering interplay of “colours,” melodies that lack directed motion, surface ornamentation that obscures or substitutes for melody, and an avoidance of traditional musical form. Common is quartal harmony, that is harmony abundant in 4th's and 5th's, and skyscraper chords.
Watch and listen to a Yale professor give a lecture on Impressionism:
http://oyc.yale.edu/music/musi-112/lecture-21
And next, the music:
Debussy Arabesque no 1 Francois-Joel Thiollier, piano
Arabesque no 1, piano, Aldo Ciccolini
The White Peacock, Charles Griffes, pianist, Olga Samaroff
This blog post emerges after a great week of impressionistic music, and my attempts to briefly explain the inpressionist movement first in art, then in music. It is by no means scholarly, but meant to be a guide for my teenage pianists who are exposed to the wonder of impressionism for the first time (or second time, third time..).
Impressionism began in painting, and only then spilled into the world of music. Impressionism in music stretches roughly from 1890-1910. (some say earlier, 1870). To follow is a brief outline and description of impressionism in art, with some famous samples from both art and music.
Impressionism " is a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists.
Their independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s, in spite of harsh opposition from the conventional art community in France.
The term impressionist was first used by French art critic Louis Leroy in 1874 based on Monet's painting Impression, Sunrise. (see this painting below). Leroy found the term fitting to describe the loose, undefined and "unfinished" style that Monet and several other artists applied to their paintings.
Characteristics of Impressionist painting include relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), common, ordinary subject matter, inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience, and unusual visual angles. The development of Impressionism in the visual arts was soon followed by similar styles in other art forms that became known as impressionist music and impressionist literature."
In order to convey the movement and changing nature of a passing moment, the Impressionists used quick, broken brush strokes that were left without any further smoothing. This method allows the viewer to clearly see the traces of the brush and gives impressionist paintings an unfinished appearance. The Impressionists worked quickly, sometimes in one sitting, in order to capture the fleeting moment and to give their work a spontaneous feel.
Monet‑Impression_Sunrise_1872
Monet 1953
Vincent Van Gogh Starry Night 1889 (which he painted while in an asylum)
Monet Water Lilies 1916-1923
Pierre- Auguste Renoir, Young Woman at the Piano 1875
Impressionism in music is a style of composition initiated by French composer Claude Debussy at the end of the 19th century.Elements often termed impressionistic include static harmony, emphasis on instrumental timbres that create a shimmering interplay of “colours,” melodies that lack directed motion, surface ornamentation that obscures or substitutes for melody, and an avoidance of traditional musical form. Common is quartal harmony, that is harmony abundant in 4th's and 5th's, and skyscraper chords.
Watch and listen to a Yale professor give a lecture on Impressionism:
http://oyc.yale.edu/music/musi-112/lecture-21
And next, the music:
Debussy Arabesque no 1 Francois-Joel Thiollier, piano
Arabesque no 1, piano, Aldo Ciccolini
The White Peacock, Charles Griffes, pianist, Olga Samaroff
Wednesday, 31 October 2012
October Practice Results rowsellpiano
October Practice Results
Student of the Month (tie): Rubyanne Whelan
Sarah Drover
Most Improved Student (tie): Emily Meade
Julia Ling Smith
Most Practice Minutes: Rashmi Elangage
Friday, 19 October 2012
Gold Medal Winners
Congratulations to students Joshua Veber and Sarah Veber, recipients of the 2012 Gold Medal for Grade 6 Piano and Grade 10 Piano (respectively) in Atlantic Canada.
Joshua received a 94 for his grade 6 piano exam, while Sarah received a mark of 93 in piano, grade 10.
Both students will perform at the awards ceremony in Halifax November 25, 2012.
Joshua received a 94 for his grade 6 piano exam, while Sarah received a mark of 93 in piano, grade 10.
Both students will perform at the awards ceremony in Halifax November 25, 2012.
Gold Medals are awarded each academic year by province or region, to candidates who have obtained the highest mark for practical examinations in each discipline, Grades 1 through ARCT.
The Gold Medal Awards Ceremony in Halifax this November will celebrate excellence in music with the community of Gold Medal Teachers and Medalists for this year. Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Chopin Ballade No 1; the many faces of........
Anybody recognize this tune? (and the player?)
Martha Argerich's version
Rubinstein and Chopin
and finally, Evgeny Kissin Ballade no 1, Chopin
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