tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45249321503526173232024-03-05T06:22:41.944-08:00John Kenneth Adams, PianistJohn Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-79495821813789949022015-11-03T15:18:00.000-08:002015-11-03T15:18:41.030-08:00"Opening the Shutters* John Kenneth Adams<br />
<br />
Recent headlines proclaim the extraordinary amount of time the young spend on mass<br />
media. Between 7 and 9 hours a day is the new norm. The fact that so little study has<br />
been done in any scientific way to filter through all this is equally disturbing. It is<br />
hard to have direct personal communication today as so many are addicted to their<br />
mobile devices. Empathy is the greatest casualty.<br />
<br />
Students! Please take out your ear phones, turn off your cellphones, delay that next <br />
tweet or Instagram, and take out your scores. Teachers! Place your 50 most<br />
pressing worries, your menu for dinner, and your imminent foreclosure on the back<br />
burner....then greet your next student.<br />
<br />
What now? Perhaps the silence might be daunting for you both. <br />
<br />
It is just this silence that is the life spring of music, that silence from which creativity<br />
flows. It is a precious commodity today. The ability to be quiet and prepare ourselves<br />
for entering the special world of creativity is at the center of all learning. <br />
<br />
There is a certain lack of beauty today in education. Try not to let mass media take over<br />
your life to the point where you miss out on spontaneous human connections. Look up,<br />
not down What is lacking in schools and homes must be supplied by teachers who are<br />
committed to their own and their student's personal development. Proper learning is a <br />
dialogue, not just a solo aria. <br />
<br />
We have to coach the young to find ways to discover beauty in themselves and believe that they possess unique and precious gifts of self expression. Music demands that we be quiet and make a space around it. Certainly this discipline of quiet and space can help one learn any subject on a higher level of understanding. <br />
<br />
So many educators fail to notice this simple fact: test scores go through the roof when<br />
nurtured with the arts. Business leaders miss the point that human emotions drive achievement more than any body of dry statistics and profit driven mantras. <br />
<br />
We must never forget the basics of musical expression and the long established rules for <br />
unlocking musical thought. The most potent force in music is the power of melody. It<br />
can often be just a fragment, but even this can suggest much more than thought possible.<br />
<br />
I am thrilled when a student says “I just love this bit/” Often, it is just a<br />
couple of chords, or just a subtle shift in harmony. <br />
<br />
Ask yourself how many times you have been moved by just an unexpected shift from<br />
major to minor, or the flight in the melodic line to a place you thought impossible. <br />
<br />
We must go deeper into the music. We must teach pieces that are on the near side of<br />
attainable and not so demanding that the student loses track in the search for solutions.<br />
We must dig into that quiet spot where music aesthetics dwell, sorting out good taste<br />
from bad taste. Students need to be presented with an ideal. As Plato said, if you<br />
want to appreciate beauty, then you must first contemplate beauty. <br />
<br />
Place what is possible in a direct way in front of your students, and take time<br />
to find those places that evoke a response from them. Explore all the reasons that<br />
make them feel that way. Ask them every lesson what they like in their pieces, and<br />
if there is a roadblock, be honest enough to explore more than one solution. The goal<br />
is to have many solutions, realizing the most complex situations are solved with <br />
simplicity. You can't solve complexity with complexity. Above all, have a healthy<br />
respect for the fact that not everything in music is explainable. <br />
<br />
Face up to a changed world and learn the language of the young..Incorporate the best<br />
features of new media techniques for learning, but don't let tt be a crutch for not<br />
searching into your own imagination. Include those with handicaps in your class. They<br />
will teach you more than you could possibly teach them. In the process never forget you<br />
have a tremendous world of experience to share. This will give you confidence and<br />
support you when you feel down. <br />
<br />
Many of you will live to see a new attitude towards education. Trying to cram down<br />
learning by endless testing and rote teaching will give way to a more pragmatic approach,<br />
one that has learned the value of human connection. Emotions stirred by creativity build<br />
new pathways in the brain, opening the shutters to a world where work and contemplation<br />
go hand in hand. <br />
<br />
When you find the quiet spot, you will have found the center of creativity...that great<br />
wellspring of all emotion. <br />
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John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-73718573636902590992014-11-05T07:55:00.002-08:002014-11-05T07:55:40.323-08:00"Conversations in Music" proves a good formula for the times....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1G6JOznsT7jRTEJn90FtJORjagcudSvLLWHW_l6CW_AAQZuTeFU_QvA_79yn7EQ5wUoRI1Gl-THj-D-E-E4FUZ1fM1cBMhIuLl8Wn3cFycqIu_yeD4L0l6cv1JiXRXttTlaWDDFDNvPA/s1600/000_1014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1G6JOznsT7jRTEJn90FtJORjagcudSvLLWHW_l6CW_AAQZuTeFU_QvA_79yn7EQ5wUoRI1Gl-THj-D-E-E4FUZ1fM1cBMhIuLl8Wn3cFycqIu_yeD4L0l6cv1JiXRXttTlaWDDFDNvPA/s320/000_1014.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Brahms is still on my mind. This tree out my window reminds me of his sound . . burnished hues of gold, brown, orange, red, with stratas of green and yellow. I must play more of his music in the years ahead. Last night I returned to Charleston to fill an emergency request after a cancellation on their series. It was a good turnout for an<br />
Election Night, a mixture of Town and Gown. <br />
<br />
I was struck by the beauty of sound of the Steinway in Lightsey Chapel. Gene Koester selected it personally in NYC. It has similar qualities to my personal Steinway Concert Grand, especially in the richness and depth of the sound. My Steinway is always challenging to others, as it has a very firm action, which use to be the standard feel of the instrument. In recent decades piano actions have become much lighter in general, the tone spot often hard to feel under you, especially when dealing with the nerves and pressures of public performance. Of the six pianos I have played since mid-September, five have been Steinway. School pianos get knocked around, there is no getting around it. I have to say the Steinway at Winthrop was especially rewarding, as was the sound in the venerable old hall. So much for pianos!<br />
<br />
I continue to explore my new "Conversations in Music". It is challenging focusing audiences today in this modern world of technology. Everything is built on speed and<br />
instant connections. Music of depth, be it pure classical, film scores, standards of<br />
Kern, Gershwin, Rogers,...will always win through. Its great fun to be rid of some of<br />
the constraints of former years, and now play anything I like for anybody to listen to.<br />
Nothing replaces the art of live performance. John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-14644723862107210932014-10-19T09:58:00.000-07:002014-10-19T09:58:18.189-07:00MalalaLast March I attended the Commonwealth Day Service in Westminster Abbey. Queen Elizabeth looked radiant, belying her 88 years by walking up stairs unaided, as did Prince Phillip,now into his 90's. They are both amazing and seem to have endless energy and interests. The principal speaker was Malala Yousafzai, who has just won the Noble Peace Prize. Her classmates were seated just in front of us, and Malala stood with her Lady Principal in the aisle as the audience filed in. She goes to school in Birmingham, having been brought to the UK for medical treatment by Prime Minister Gordon Brown. <br />
<br />
Westminster is a difficult space to see anyone, but I walked to the front where an<br />
attendant showed me where the Queen would sit (at the very end of the Choir, on a huge oak chair) and where Malala would speak (from the huge pulpit) and indeed she was right<br />
in front of us. When the Royals came in (we had been seated for over an hour) all we saw was the tops of their hats, as everyone of course stood up. I must say, hearing "God Save the Queen" with full organ blasting away with full choir and congregation made for a real tingle. Elizabeth is very dear to my generation. We saw her often as a young lady in the newsreels during the Second World War, and followed her as she joined the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Corps and learned to be an auto mechanic! Her father George VI told her she couldn't just sit around the palace, much to her delight. When she married Prince Phillip we got up before dawn to hear the service on the radio. <br />
<br />
Malala is a force. Her speech was obviously the words of a 16 year old girl, but the power of her presence is very forceful. She has the aura of one chosen to lead. She gives basically the same message over and over, mainly that it is everyone's right to be educated...and of course as a professor and artist, I have always had the same goal. There is something of the miracle in hearing such a young voice give life to this hope for universal knowledge. <br />
<br />
Since she has won the Noble Peace Prize, the articles about her have revealed the double edged sword she has experienced in her homeland of Pakistan. While she is revered by millions, she is reviled by many as being an embarrassment to her government, and the product of a publicity driven father and others out for financial gain. They say her father writes all her speeches, that she is a weapon of Western Agents out to shame Pakistan and some go as far to say that her shooting was all an arranged affair. I know this sounds crazy, but in the turmoil of present day Pakistan very believable. The fact that she has risen above all this is a tribute to the truth of her message. <br />
<br />
A few days after returning home I read in the London Telegraph that the Queen has made known her discomfort with the short set of stairs that leads up to the choir in Westminster. I remember looking at them while standing at the front with the nice lady attendant, and wondering why they looked so steep and no visible rail. I am always looking for rails these days....funny what you noticed as you approach 80. The Queen is<br />
terrifically spry for her age, but I agree with her! Give us rails and we can conquer the World! <br />
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John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-24129391822065701662014-10-08T01:12:00.000-07:002014-10-08T01:12:11.472-07:00":LONDON CALLING . . "<br />
"Thank you so much for giving such a wonderful performance at the<br />
church and for your generosity in donating the proceeds to the<br />
on-going series. You are indeed fortunate to have so many close<br />
friends who support you in London and they likewise in your talent<br />
for enthusing an audience with anecdotes and consummate playing.<br />
A rare gift!" <br />
Simon Markson <br />
London, October 2014 <br />
<br />
<br />
Trans-Atlantic travel these days is crowded and impersonal, everyone's head buried in<br />
the Web. Its odd seeing everyone looking down, and dangerous too. Its almost a new<br />
kind of public space, where you have to assume the person coming at you like a rocket<br />
doesn't care if you land on your behind, while they plunge ever forward, looking for<br />
who knows what. <br />
<br />
With this as a backdrop, 15 days in London is always a thrill. Once there, the vibe becomes what you will. Piccadilly is always jammed, the main artery that connects <br />
Hyde Park with Piccadilly Circus. If you want a view of the current world population, just sit on a bench and watch as the huge tide of humanity passes by. Escape is always<br />
close at hand in London, a few steps can take you into the vast green spaces of the parks, or just to side streets that suddenly become neighborhoods where the city seems far away. <br />
<br />
My particular path usually takes me along the C2 bus route, a rather charming flashback<br />
to a more sedate London of years ago. It runs from Victoria, around Berkeley Square, and then Upper Regent's Street to the outlying Parliamemt Hill Fields, where you can walk up the path to overlook the City of London, St.Paul's dome still dominating the horizon just by sheer presence alone, even through huge modern towers are rising everywhere.<br />
<br />
I hop off at Albany Street, an almost hidden corner of London, where street life seems that of decades ago. Markson Pianos and I have a long history. When I took a sabbatical in 1969, I rented a small piano from them for my room, and over the years I have used their practice rooms for concert preparation. They are the largest piano rental operation in London, and one has to get use to the continuous moving of pianos in and out. It's a bit like "The Piano Shop Around the Corner", but on a bigger scale. I always love being around the piano restoration area. Young women are entering this once male dominated area, and this has brought a whole new atmosphere with it. <br />
<br />
Five years ago, Markson Pianos established a concert series in the nearby Saint Mary Magdalen Church, an imposing Gothic style church, although build in the Victorian Era.<br />
In late September I did a recital for them, returning to the series after three years. <br />
The price of a ticket includes a glass of wine at the close, and that makes for a genial atmosphere. The "Suite Bergamasque" was a huge hit with the audience, and one forgets its more than "Clair de lune", which, by he way, gains immensely by it's surrounding pieces. It is also quite long, as Debussy took his time. The "Passepied" is nine pages, and no place to ever take your hands off the keys. <br />
<br />
I played a group of pieces from British films from the 1940's, including the haunting "The Dream of Olwen" by Charles Williams, who also wrote the theme song for "The Apartment". A rarity was the "Cornish Rhapsody" by Hubert Bath, and it is quite virtuoso and involved. The biggest rarity was "Tomorrow" from "The Constant Nymph", the long unseen movie with Joan Fontaine and Charles Boyer, recently re- discovered by Turner Classics.The composer of this is none other than Erich Korngold, who by this time had established himself as one of the greatest composers in film, after fleeing the Nazi invasions in Vienna. We forget that Korngold was hailed as the "New Strauss", and his music has legions of admirers. <br />
<br />
As a present to my London friends, I made an arrangement of three classics about the City, including "A Foggy Day in London Town", "Limehouse Blues" and "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square". It was fun weaving a portion of each song into the next one, ending in a series of stacked chords (the way Marian McPartland showed me decades ago), and of course, the chimes of Big Ben at the close. I was almost too clever, but my goodness, how they loved it. <br />
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John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-84099598226700541612014-09-16T11:21:00.000-07:002014-09-16T11:21:18.182-07:00Stillness in Art.....<br />
<br />
A swing around the state last week let me take the temperature of artistic<br />
appreciation at two schools of widely varying missions. Returning to the<br />
South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts in Greenville after a five<br />
year absence, I found a strong sense of mission and a warm environment. Like<br />
all schools that can afford it, there is a broader range of administrative <br />
positions in place, in other words, more people to handle the outreach,<br />
publicity, student welfare...the list is rather impressive. The facility<br />
has really outgrown its physical space, and probably was built too small<br />
in the first place. For instance, there is no hall big enough to seat the<br />
entire student body. <br />
<br />
All the above aside, I was there to do a masterclass for piano students, and<br />
on the heals of that, a Piano Portrait entitled "The Young Debussy". The <br />
masterclass was well prepared, and the students were receptive and flexible.<br />
One can only do so much with a student playing a large work in the span of<br />
half an hour, so the challenge is to strike a balance between the immediately<br />
possible, and the attainable in the next few days or weeks. Stephen Taylor, one<br />
of our own from USC School Of Music, is doing a fine job, working well within the<br />
limits of having his students for only two or three years. He has brought a stable<br />
environment to the piano area, and has the right personality to reach high school<br />
age students. <br />
<br />
As for the Piano Portrait, the setting up of the equipment was a bit dicey, as the<br />
young man doing the set up was not very familiar with PowerPoint. Nevertheless, <br />
a picture finally appeared on the screen, and was big enough to be effective in<br />
a large space. It rather amuses me that very few actually tackle PowerPoint as<br />
a creative tool. It rather remains in the charts, graphs, numbers milieu, beloved<br />
by people who have to present that kind of information in their work. Going beyond<br />
this into the creative world of sound, image, performance and theater, is quite a<br />
different world. The medium is still the message, but the power of imagination and<br />
creativity can lift the whole medium to an entirely different level. <br />
<br />
I was impressed with the quality of listening from 100 young musicians. There is<br />
such power in the stillness of quiet passages, allowing the performer, if all systems<br />
are on go, to weave a spell. IS there anything more profound than total quiet from<br />
an audience absorbed in the music?<br />
<br />
Returning to Winthrop University is always a pleasure. The huge auditorium in the midst<br />
of the campus still dominates the landscape. Winthrop has such a distinguished history<br />
in bringing music education to the fore in South Carolina in the early 20th Century. <br />
I played there first 50 years ago, and returned many times over the years, not only for<br />
my own performances, but to hear many great artists who performed there. I remember<br />
particularly a performance by Arthur Rubinstein, where an overflow audience extended<br />
onto the stage. The New York Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez was another landmark<br />
event. <br />
<br />
There is a feeling of deja-vu at Winthrop. The music facilities remain the same as<br />
decades before, and obviously their facility has served them well, if somewhat faded<br />
today. The small recital hall has the most wonderful Steinway concert grand, and it<br />
fills the long, narrow hall easily. The PowerPoint slides looked gorgeous, and the<br />
audience was attentive and supportive throughout a 70 minute presentation. Matt Manwarren is a calming presence, and he had a large class of students in attendance.It was wonderful also to have Ann Herlong in the audience, a fine pianist who has contributed so much to our state over the years. I am impressed with many of the younger faculty at the many colleges and universities around South Carolina. The fact that so many attended USC is a feather in our cap. Its amazing to look back over half a century and witness the musical growth in our state. <br />
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John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-20966932150059335642014-09-08T10:02:00.000-07:002014-09-08T10:02:36.302-07:00A Long Summer ...full of work and memoriesI am just finishing up six months at home without any trips anywhere! I had to admit it<br />
was the very first time in 50 years that I had spent the entire summer in Columbia. I guess that makes me practically a native son. I did this by choice. Since retiring I have added up almost 20 trips to Europe, and almost all have included stays in the UK. After coming home from Holland and England in March 2014, I felt it was time to pay attention to my house and garden, and to go through personal items I want to pass on to family and friends. Its very liberating getting rid of things...or should I say "treasures", as everything I have in this house brings a memory. About half my music library has been passed on, and another section of it has been sorted, and it is ready to depart. I have kept a basic library, but I have to admit I had to buy new copies of Bach and Beethoven, as mine were in a fragile state. I love passing on music, much of which was passed on to me over the years. <br />
<br />
We had a lush early summer, and only in late August did it offer a few oppressive days near 100 degrees...just enough to remind us what it is like. I often think of all the summers I taught the first summer term. It always seemed to be the hottest when I would offer a workshop for pianists. Many times we faced high temperatures going to and fro, but thankfully the AC always functioned, so we were comfortable. I often had a group of teachers from the upstate, and that was nice, as most people from the upstate thought of USC in those days as a Den of Iniquity. I remember one day during class I was demonstrating the use of arm weight, going into all sorts of contortions to get the idea across. One nice lady from Greenville offered to be the guinea pig, so she sat at the piano, and obviously had a lot of good solid knowledge, as she played with complete physical freedom and made a gorgeous sound. I was thrilled, and said "Virginia, you are the LOOSEST WOMAN in South Carolina!" I was the perfect example of speak first and think later. To this day I still get a Christmas Card signed "the Loosest Woman in S.C. Love, Virginia."<br />
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John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-17238309234205248672014-05-18T07:55:00.000-07:002014-05-18T07:55:13.427-07:00Jan Luyken Straat - AmsterdamBeing in Amsterdam recently after 45 years away was both a shock and familiar<br />
at the same time. I was impressed with the fact that the Dutch character is unchanged, a mixture of love of place, value for value, and wry humor. Its obvious the Dutch love their country, and live outdoors as much as possible. Bicycles are still everywhere, and one learns quickly to not step into a bike lane with an absent mind. The renovated Rijks Museum, closed for ten years, is open again, and greets the public with fabulous public spaces, tasteful displays of art, and the feeling of being in an extremely well run and loved place. <br />
<br />
All this brought back a clear memory of playing in the Concertgebouw Recital Room in 1969. I was staying with a very supportive family in Eindhoven for a few days, and then<br />
moved up to Amsterdam into a very strange hotel not far from the hall. The room I was given turned out to be under a staircase, and all night long I heard footsteps over my head, making for very little sleep. The next morning I walked around the neighborhood, and came upon a very small hotel in a row of houses on Jan Luyken Straat. There was only a very small plaque by the door, and after I rang the bell, the door opened, but<br />
as is the case in most houses like this in Amsterdam, the person opening the door was<br />
standing at the top of a rather steep set of stairs. The door was opened by pulling a lever, which opened the door below. I asked if there was a free room, and she said yes, come on up and see for yourself. I said I was up the street in a terrible room, and needed absolute quiet. We went to the attic room on the back side, and there I found the most wonderful atmosphere, with a double window looking down on the gardens below.<br />
No one would walk over my head in this room. <br />
<br />
The lady who ran this place lived in a small apartment on the first floor, and in the late afternoon, early evening, she kept her door open to greet guests, and offer a glass of sherry. She was interested in my career, and I gave her two free tickets for my "show". She came with a friend, and afterwards she served small sandwiches and wine as we sat around and went over the evening. <br />
<br />
I stayed there a couple of more times, before she left to retire on the Costa del Sol <br />
in Spain. She had a devoted clientele, many being business men and women from Hungary, Romania and Austria. <br />
<br />
When I was leaving the Rijks Museum, the streetcar passed Jan Luyken Straat, and I <br />
could see the gardens I use to gaze down on from my attic room. Today the old place is a very posh boutique hotel with steep prices. I wonder what my lady would think of that!<br />
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John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-51954197719802606192014-02-01T13:40:00.000-08:002014-02-14T07:07:21.503-08:00What I Learned from Pete SeegerHow curious can life be? Just Monday my nephew called wanting info on Howard Hanson.<br />
He was going to introduce one of the Air Force bands on a concert swing this week, and<br />
wanted to know if I had any bit of musical information that might make his comments on<br />
Hanson"s "Romantic Symphony" more interesting for his audiences. Somehow I made a comparison between Howard Hanson and Thomas Hart Benton, the great artist from Missouri. I said they were part of the group that put a face on the Arts in mid- 20th Century America. By that I meant Howard Hanson had enormous reach as both composer and educator, much the same as Tom Benton, who taught at the Kansas City Art Institute, but also became an internationally revered artist. <br />
<br />
Thinking about Thomas Hart Benton, I reached back in memory to the early 1950's when I <br />
knew his daughter Jessie, mostly through a madrigal group formed at the University of Kansas City by my teacher Virginia French Mackie. Jessie was still in high school, but <br />
Mrs. Mackie was a great friend on her mother and father, and suggested Jessie might like a bit more musical exposure. Jessie was quite clever with the guitar, and she conned me into being part of her backup group for a performance of folk songs at the River Club, a very posh KC club of wealthy business leaders. I was pretty woeful in this role, but Jessie was so charming and talented, so I went along with it. <br />
<br />
We went to rehearse at her home, and Tom was in the living room with his guest Pete Seeger. Seeper was sprawled on the floor with his five string banjo, letting loose with the most wonderful songs, and Tom had his big glass of bourbon, looking very much the master at home. Rita Benton insisted we see the house, and Tom's studio in the back yard. Its now a museum run by the Missouri Division of Parks and Recreation. <br />
<br />
Jessie had no fear of anything, and before we knew it, we were singing "Across the Wide Missouri", and Pete joined in, but being such a gentleman, didn't try to hog the show. When we got to the famous line, singing "Mis sou RI " so prettily, there suddenly was this huge interruption from Tom, who bellowed at the top of his voice, "damn it, it's MIS-SOU-RAH!!" I had always heard Tom Benton was a rugged individualist, and this proved the point. <br />
<br />
A dear friend from high school and college posed for Tom as Laurie, when he illustrated "Green Grow the Lilacs" with his wonderful etchings. Most of you will recognize this work as the basis for "Oklahoma!" by Rogers and Hammerstein. His murals were all around Kansas City, including the USC Campus, Helxberg's Department Store, and later, the Truman Libraty. Next year the Metropolitan Museum of Art with display their new acquisition of one of his most famous murals. <br />
<br />
To come back to my theme of co-incidence, just this past Monday Pete Seeger died in New York City at the age of 94. His mother was the fine American composer Ruth Crawford Seeger, and I often taught a suite of piano pieces by her, and always told the student about Pete Seeger. You must read his obits, as they are wonderfully written, and tell a great American Story. <br />
<br />
So what did I learn from Pete Seeger? I heard the most wonderfully direct type of singing, by someone who lived every note and believed every word. He was a Great American. <br />
<br />
John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-63454693587443792402014-01-24T12:07:00.000-08:002014-02-14T07:09:04.843-08:00THE PIGEON STEINWAY<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrpUpgkF_gb5nk6z0cZEccZjtFJcfkD9C5K9aAJSBNxw32ToWlsGxSHMzpQAq8jKLq7lwBWRN_RAuo8BVlvuwWcSte-vxFTwX4lYXmgpGcY3rCq-M8JdxDb1tc8DuouqAddHbOJ1xBng/s1600/000_0830.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrpUpgkF_gb5nk6z0cZEccZjtFJcfkD9C5K9aAJSBNxw32ToWlsGxSHMzpQAq8jKLq7lwBWRN_RAuo8BVlvuwWcSte-vxFTwX4lYXmgpGcY3rCq-M8JdxDb1tc8DuouqAddHbOJ1xBng/s320/000_0830.jpg" /></a></div>When I first came to the University of South Carolina in 1964 I auditioned in the old<br />
recital room on the third floor of McMaster College. I have few clear memories of that<br />
day, but I remember that the windows were wide open, as there was no air conditioning, and it was a very warm day in late April. The stage was tiny, but there was a rather sedate old Steinway piano, plus the organ console, and a lectern for classes. All those Steinways of a certain vintage had firm actions, so I was streaming with sweat when I finished, of course dressed in coat and tie. Everyone but me was use to the heat, and I particularly remember Dr. Hugh Williamson in his grey striped seersucker coat and bow tie, looking dapper and completely unfazed by me or the weather. <br />
<br />
This memory set me to thinking about how all our Steinways came to roost in the(then) USC Department of Music. There had not been any new Steinways in a long time by 1964. I can visually see 6 grands in my mind's eye, all already vintage. I remember I inherited Dr. Williamson's studio, and he had a decent old Steinway, again very stiff in action, and another one that was rather battered. Dr.Williamson and Madame Trembly-Baker were the two piano professors at that time, and Dr. David (Dode) Phillips was teaching class piano.Fufure piano professors Charles Fugo, Max Camp, John Williams and Raymond Dudley were not to begin appearing until much later. I had accepted my new job with the offer of a brand new Steinway, but it took about two years before it appeared. Not long after that, yet another one came, and I absolutely loved it, and kept it until we moved into the new school some 30 years later. By the time we moved out of the old building we had built up to about 17 Steinway grands, and 2 upright Steinways. Some were so old and worn they were sold in a sale, and the choir room Steinway, which figures in this story, brought the highest price. I could not make myself go to the sale...too many memories. <br />
<br />
It seems we were always moving pianos around, and I even let my nicest Steinway be moved a couple of times for special events. Eventually Fraser Hall was built, and we had two Steinway concert grands there. Can you imagine maintaining these instruments with the antique heating system in McMaster, to say nothing of the inadequate air conditioning, at that time all window units, except for Fraser Hall. One day not long after I arrived, I was driving down Devine Street and saw a small air conditioner in a display window, a new type unit for casement windows. I had a very tall, narrow window in one corner of my room, and it fit snugly into it, and could not have been any bigger than 15'by 15'. I let it run year round, and it did the trick of cooling my studio, which had enormously high ceiling and was large enough to hold classes. My Steinways started to settle in, and the only real bumps were the seasonal changes from heat to air conditioning,the heat from ancient radiators being especially variable. I remember Robyn Gibson came to visit and brought a humidity gauge, and my room proved to be 0 humidity on a cold winter day. "Just like the desert", I remember her saying. <br />
<br />
During the summer of 1985 I was building my home in Hopkins, so I had moved into an apartment near the university for the duration. I had to practice at school, as my Steinway was in storage at Rice Music House. So, I suddenly was at school hours on end, almost everyday for six months. I would often be there on the weekend, when no else was particularly about. The building was always open until late, and even then hard to secure. I would go about closing windows in classrooms, and particularly seemed to be forever closing windows in the choir room, which had many, many tall ones. There was in the choir room a very nice old Steinway grand, and it never seemed to go badly out of tune. Sometimes I would practice on it. Grant Johanneson came to play, and he discovered it also, and inquired if it might be possible to acquire it! So a real seal of approval was awarded to it. <br />
<br />
Imagine my dismay when I came into the room one hot July night and found a PIGEON nesting in the Steinway. I thought the term was "Pigeons on the Grass, Alas, Alas", but it turned out to be "Pigeon on the Steinway, Alas, Alas", apologies to Gertrude Stein...no pun intended. Too bad her name was not Gertrude Steinway. Alas. Alas. <br />
<br />
Update all this to the planning stages of the USC School of Music around 1992. After so many years of striving to preserve our pianos, I was determined to get as full a quota of new Steinways as possible. I remember the piano faculty were all in agreement, but Charles Fugo, the piano coordinator at that time, sent me to talk to the Purchasing Office, to make the pitch. I remember his laughing about it and saying, "John, you know how to talk to those people". So off I went, presenting my request for two new Steinway concert grands, 9 Steinway 7' pianos for the four piano studios, and one for the pedagogy studio. Other pianos were also needed for classrooms and studios. "Pie in the Sky" was the comment from the budget director. He told me we had to divide the piano order into various companies, and go for the lowest bids; no way could we purchase all those Steinways. <br />
<br />
I went back to the piano faculty, and we were rather at loose ends over the whole situation. Be as it may, particularly when dealing with The State of South Carolina, an<br />
event came to past that reversed that decision. USC had just invested millions in a huge new system wide computer system. We were in the midst of registration the following year, when suddenly the whole new system crashed. There was all the faculty once again registering thousands of students by hand, a long, tedious operation. The South Carolina Legislature changed the state's bidding process, and allowed the purchase of top of the line products under certain situations. I am sure there was great consternation that second rate computers had been purchased. The heavens parted, and I received a call from the USC Purchasing Office to come back again. I did, original request in hand, and suddenly it was a whole new ballgame. We could have all our Steinways, and also several Baldwin 7' grands, plus (at first) a whole platoon of uprights from Mason and Hamlin, a small studio piano that both Charles Fugo and I went to play and found to be a very nice instrument. Unfortunately, the company suddenly went into bankruptcy, and we had to scramble, settling on Yamaha uprights. We still had<br />
to divide the order between several piano makers, but it was a triumph to get all<br />
those Steinway pianos. <br />
<br />
Bids were sent out, and Charles and John Williams went to Arkansas to pick out the <br />
Baldwins, and then I joined them for the trip to New York City to pick out all the<br />
Steinways, at the factory on Long Island, and the showroom on W.57th Street in Mannhattan. Sadly, Max Camp was very ill at the time, and unable to travel. He trusted us to pick the three that he would need. The bid was won by Fox Music in Charleston, and Mr.Fox and his charming wife joined us for the weekend. He provided limos with drivers to take us everywhere, and we did feel like VIP's. Steinway personnel had some good laughs over "John William and John Adams" gracing their showrooms...! <br />
<br />
Once selected, the pianos were placed in storage, I believe in Kentucky, for the wait until the new building was ready. I have a vivid memory of playing the Steinway I selected on the first round of selecting. It had the rich sound I loved, and the action was not so light. It was in a corner, next to a portrait of Rachmaninoff. I felt he<br />
approved, and it only took a few notes for me to make the final decision. I was pleased when Joe Rackers mentioned to me how much he loves that piano, so I told him the Rachmaninoff bit. Unfortunately Max Camp died shortly after we moved in, so he never<br />
got to experience his pianos. The last time I spoke with him, he asked if we were holding his pianos until he could come back. A very sad note. indeed.<br />
<br />
Inquiring recently about the current number of Steinways currently in the USC School of Music, the total was 28 grands and 2 uprights. No new Steinways have arrived since I left in 2004, but a friend of mine did donate her wonderful vintage Steinway in 2000 to the school, and of course, there is the Women's Symphony Steinway, purchased in the early years of the S.C. Philharmonic. I played the Dedication Recital on this Steinway. I must not fail to mention my own magnificent Steinway concert grand, a former CD piano reserved for Steinway Artists, that I purchased from Rice Music House around 1980. It actually came from Fox Music House and was housed in Galliard Auditorium. Arthur Rubinstein was one of the immortals who played it. I am proud to have spurred on this great collection, and hope USC will continue to make wise choices. <br />
<br />
John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-27269467072951651132013-10-21T12:23:00.001-07:002013-10-27T10:19:45.616-07:00What Ever Happened to.....POISE!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpL4QWrQJdV8aUEdAGLEkimx4FQqByqTmCNUbb-bYePUcxTwQbfKt8MDAMaf3Bwi5i1DSnIYAUBZvMq0DjVBBIam6d8X9hai29W-757Hshs2BX-0AkTxN0lO119eHPA5Pqqu_pLJ-HUiI/s1600/000_0415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpL4QWrQJdV8aUEdAGLEkimx4FQqByqTmCNUbb-bYePUcxTwQbfKt8MDAMaf3Bwi5i1DSnIYAUBZvMq0DjVBBIam6d8X9hai29W-757Hshs2BX-0AkTxN0lO119eHPA5Pqqu_pLJ-HUiI/s200/000_0415.JPG" /></a></div>It is hard to pick up a music magazine <br />
or visit a musical website today and<br />
not be confronted with an article about <br />
various types of remedies for pain free<br />
performance, no matter what the instrument.<br />
This is a phenomenon of modern times,<br />
perhaps aggravated by the pace of living <br />
we must adapt to today, and by <br />
demands of ever increasing displays of <br />
virtuosity, speed and volume, at least for some. <br />
<br />
So much stress does lead to physical meltdowns, both physically and mentally.<br />
Musical stress usually creeps up slowly over a period of time, only becoming noticeable<br />
when it has already formed into a habit. Everyone knows bad habits are hard to change, but first you have to recognize the particular habits that need attention. <br />
<br />
The great detector in playing the piano is the EAR. The ear judges the quality of<br />
sound you are making and makes countless assessments of tonal color, attack, duration, <br />
volume, and endless other components in the total picture. Certainly the aesthetics of <br />
sound lie at the heart of most physical problems that result in poor judgments and <br />
lack of musical direction while practicing.If you have no tonal ideal in your inner hearing, then you have no direction in just what you might need to apply to get a musical result. In other words, you are probably looking for a cure before trying to identify the disease.<br />
<br />
I think the underlying cause of so much tension in musical performance today results from failing to differentiate musical tension from physical tension. Musical tension is the result of endless study of the ebb and flow of the harmonic structures and formal considerations that give the music at hand its very life.Translating all this information to the actual execution of the music is a long process, and one that most are unwilling to go through. Many times pianists get so caught up in the music emotionally they fail to address the physical side properly, and this leads eventually to real physical problems. I have often observed still wrists, stiff arms, and stiff shoulders, yet students can be bound and dtermined to play the most demanding music at any cost. Often they are so use to that tense state of being, the introduction of any new information about relataton techniques can be viewed with suspicion. <br />
<br />
Physical tension is the initiating of effort to physically bring force (weight) to bear upon the action of the keys. As in all things physical, tension has to be immediately followed by a release of tension. Injury and distress results from misdirecting the timing of basic motor impluses in trying to bring the musical ideas to life.In basic piano technique this can be noted when one fails to aim for the "tone Spot" in the key, resulting in continuing to press against the bottom of the key...a fault commonly referred to as "keybedding". It is important to discover that nothing happens after the initial contact of the hammer with the string (other than a slow decaying of the sound).. hence the ability to time one's attack to just that initial point of sound means that a physical cessation of impluse must occur the split second the intended sound is heard. All it takes to keep the key down is just the smallest amount of finger pressure. <br />
<br />
Learning to listen to oneself is a lifelong project. In musical terms it means the most exact attention to connecting one sound to the next sound, and making sure what you are hearing fits into the overall direction of the musical phrase. <br />
<br />
<br />
Real life teaches us the basics of tension and release with our every waking moments. Just to breathe means you let the lungs tense to inhale and relax to exhale. The foot has to make the effort to move forward and make contact with the ground, yet automatically relax instantly after impact, ready to strike again. There is no going forward without the joint effort of tension and resolution. <br />
<br />
Preparation is the key to good habits at the keyboard. This means one will need to go<br />
through the process of continually sorting out just what actions will result in a good result, and vice versa, just what actions will lead to distress. This is where taste and discrimination enter the scene. What are the demands of the score? What decisions about mood, character and tonal effects have to be considered? What technical challenges leap off the page, whetting your appetite to find a way to conquer them? What physical endurance questions need to be sorted through? Indeed the challenges are great, and a road map might get you where you want to go, rather than just ambling along, hoping for miracles en route. <br />
<br />
What is so disappointing today is that so much information about developing a stress free,resilient and lasting technique has been around for a long time. Tobias Matthay was a genius, no doubt, in that he made great discoveries in the theories of relaxation. His problem in getting his ideas down concisely was partly the result of a rather stilted Victorian style of writing, so tangled and confusing for many readers today. I made an intense study of Matthay's "The Act of Touch" many years ago when I first started teaching. Under the thickets of dense language with many repetitions was the bones of<br />
a deep understandment of the laws of tension and resolution in all their many forms. He later successfully condensced all this into the more concise "The Visible and Invisible in Piano Technique", one of the touchstones of piano pedagogy. <br />
<br />
It is unfortunate that so many teachers and performers distrusted Matthay's ideas, somehow not able to bridge the gap between understanding the laws of tension and resolution and their application. Just like the study of ballet, or anything thing related to physical effort, you have to place yourself under the guidance of a teacher who knows how to transmit all this information into practical solutions. The transmitting<br />
of these ideas is based on the absorption of the SENSATIONS felt physically when one does them correctly, as judged by the highest laws for musical taste and feeling. In other words, Word has to be made Flesh. <br />
<br />
I personally remember vividly when I returned to the USA after two years of study with Hilda Dederich, who went to Matthay when she was eight years old and remained with him until his death half a century later. When I mentioned Matthay, pianists would say things like "I suppose you play with the floating elbow", or "How do you find the energy to play if you are supposedly so relaxed?" What they failed to recognize was the<br />
fact that relaxation is a BASIS, not a movement superficially applied. What ever happened to that wonderful word "POISED". Once you start your car motor, it is poised for action. You don't have to restart it at every street corner (unless it is a clunker!). Relaxation is a state of being poised for action. I guess if I said the snake is poised to strike I might get your attention! If I said I was POISED to play DOUBLE FORTISSIMO you might jump back is anticipation of the blow. IN sum, you must be poised<br />
physically to do anything correctly at the keys, and it is this state of poise that allows you to apply just that amount of energy you need to bring your musical vision to light. <br />
<br />
Having taught my share of talent the past decades, I can say that few students arrive with any organized way of thinking about how they are going about their craft. That is not to say they are not musical, or lack a sense of direction. The most talented have drive, practice for hours and without doubt want to play the hardest pieces right away. They have PASSION in other words. Such zeal is often the culprit unfortunately. It drives one to only play with all systems on full steam ahead. I fell into this category<br />
just as I entered high school. It took a long time to realize I had to learn how to separate my head and heart, otherwise I spent all my energy going in circles. One revered teacher told me quite pointedly that I must learn to practice part of the time UNEMOTIONALLY! At first I thought that was a terrible piece of advice. Time has taught me the wisdom of it, and it changed my whole approach. <br />
<br />
With the door opening on a whole new vista, I realized i could spend quite a lot of time playing at a greatly reduced volume and speed. This allowed me more space, and I could begin to attend to so many musical details. I began to plan instead of just reacting to my gut emotions all the time. I think real listening begins at this stage. You begin to notice the smallest details, and how they fit into the whole. You learn also how to feel your way into difficulties that need to be sorted through. I found sound became something<br />
mallable in my hands, arms, and back. I began to sit up at the keyboard, which also helped me to have a sense of taking everything in, instead of sitting with my head in the keys. I remember vividly something Myra Hess said in a conversation with me in 1960. She said if I played a chord with great force, there was a reaction not only towards the keyboard, but an EQUAL one coming back towards me. I had to learn to deal with that. She illustrated this by having me push against the piano as if I wanted to move it. I felt what she wanted immediately. It was a big effort, and I had to release my tension<br />
immediately or just fall over half paralyzed. She ended up saying that she always felt the piano key as an extension of her body, and not just an obstacle to overcome. <br />
<br />
Archimedes said, "Give me the proper leverage and I can lift the world". Perhaps in the final result, piano playing is all about the correct use of leverage, doling out just the proper amount of energy to do the job at hand. If you fill your lessons with observations of what we do naturally with our bodies all day long, perhaps you will find just the right kind of descriptive language to make it clear to your students how to play the piano. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-41592427719342847512013-08-15T10:32:00.000-07:002013-08-15T10:43:16.137-07:00Playing for Chedworth August 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODCAEf-aft5YX2_SFd0Szx4zTsEhQeFloP7olzlxpEFh8EtpeWwSWGLnuYhvJeUCOcfaDoP2_pR6Vz1_vEXdFXQMopWno5CyYYdZ_DKzNEzs8W3MqGfwEFrXXAsM1PJLTmOkDuiEjkQc/s1600/3381662_622c9d5c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODCAEf-aft5YX2_SFd0Szx4zTsEhQeFloP7olzlxpEFh8EtpeWwSWGLnuYhvJeUCOcfaDoP2_pR6Vz1_vEXdFXQMopWno5CyYYdZ_DKzNEzs8W3MqGfwEFrXXAsM1PJLTmOkDuiEjkQc/s320/3381662_622c9d5c.jpg" /></a></div>It had been sixteen years since I played in the old Norman village of Chedworth, Gloucestershire.The beautiful Saint Andrew's Church was the setting for a benefit concert for the recently established Chedworh Society, raising funds for the fabric of the church and other preservation goals of this ancient village. I played a program of Brahms, Schubert Debussy and Jerome Kern for a full house of very appreciative listeners. Afterwards a reception was held in the garden of the Manor House, in full mid-summer bloom. I had quite a few friends from London and one couple from Scotland,recently relocating to Cirencester, just a few miles away. <br />
<br />
I first came to Chedworth in 1969 as a guest of Ruth Croome, a longtime London friend. I dedicated the concert to her memory, and tried to select music I knew she would love. Ruth was a great friend of the village, and took a particular interest in the local school, knowing well it was important to keep such a good school going in such a small place. Now the Cotswolds are world famous, and much of the property is owned by people who come down for the weekend. But it is still basically a farming area, and when I was there they were just beginning to harvest the huge grain fields on the surrounding hills. The village has a wonderful community hall, and supports a choir, a brass ensemble and a bell ringing group at the church. Although just an hour and a half from London by car,the area seems far more remote, and rather lost in time...a valued virtue in this day and age. <br />
<br />
A local resident remarked that I had been coming to Chedworth longer than many in the audience, which gave me rather a start. I managed to raise 1200 British Pounds for the <br />
Chedwoth Society, much to the delight of the organizers. It was my great pleasure to do so. Ruth would have been proud.<br />
<br />
PHTO: Christine Matthews, Copyright by permission<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-49394533407525643572013-06-02T16:37:00.000-07:002013-06-03T08:12:09.610-07:00Carolina Spring 2013<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMpyfn9Wx_pUI-_Pk7Z58eTImvROg-S1kjqW9TZr7gQrOEdas1rTVDtyX150haEVm828BPqvtBsw6McztW80Gx0RB2uxu1VRlYLHnSa8k4ewcHqPNx60tqBcgSMp_b9bmkSvPd66CfSTM/s1600/000_0867.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMpyfn9Wx_pUI-_Pk7Z58eTImvROg-S1kjqW9TZr7gQrOEdas1rTVDtyX150haEVm828BPqvtBsw6McztW80Gx0RB2uxu1VRlYLHnSa8k4ewcHqPNx60tqBcgSMp_b9bmkSvPd66CfSTM/s320/000_0867.jpg" /></a>If you garden in this climate one thing is certain: UNCERTAINY! This has been a double barreled spring this year. A rather damaging frost in early April did more damage than at first ascertained. The result was many small trees and shrubs had to gather forces and produce a second wave of leaves. Natural pruning was the result, and Japanese maples seem to have thicker foliage than normal, plus a much darker leaf color. Azaleas bloomed here on Horrell Hill at unusual times, one bush blooming twice, making for May azaleas. My rhododendrums were spectacular, the best in 25 years. They take some care in this area, our being just outside their zone. But wilh regular watering they can and do survive. We are also about 450 feet up, so we are a micro climate that tolerates plants like this. <br />
<br />
I found the spring to be just as erratic on a visit to London this May. When I arrived on May 15 the trees in Green Park were just coming out, and lilac trees were in full bloom. London parks are always feasts of color whatever the season, and flower beds aong the paths were particularly colorful this year. The Chelsea Flower Show finished this past Saturday, and I saw people carrying home plants of all sizes down Kings Road, one lady carrying a rose bush of huge porportions onto a bus. No doubt the passengers ducked. London always amazes me in the sense that it is a collection of villages, and village life in one of the largest cities on earth is thriving. John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-40291782421332903202013-04-22T07:27:00.000-07:002013-04-22T07:27:16.917-07:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEPdL7NJ9icRlh68YWyTnQYqdZ48IEEnNzOOu2DPwUfyC1bFbXWizQKf8_HHjDeF9bTqqwrG-dK7CwjbQkPzqEVLehOjGErKR-ialF6p8w6yOWsu_rBChUdMhCntU-Qb9YFRepaV2D6L0/s1600/000_0831.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEPdL7NJ9icRlh68YWyTnQYqdZ48IEEnNzOOu2DPwUfyC1bFbXWizQKf8_HHjDeF9bTqqwrG-dK7CwjbQkPzqEVLehOjGErKR-ialF6p8w6yOWsu_rBChUdMhCntU-Qb9YFRepaV2D6L0/s320/000_0831.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
"ANTICIPATION"John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-8115336467103261722013-03-08T12:33:00.001-08:002013-03-08T13:00:42.236-08:00Charleston MTA Upcoming Event with John Kenneth Adams<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA7MQvdypzZh7O42cvCfLW7ME4JoTKKeA44EL7oEcLPkDeOrbO95MJw0Y-ko7PukSqROU6-HvwJ4Dqm_L5sgY5zZmBdKdinmfiDb_WOL-M2N0epQBKjFDzugi5bVi4HG7CQ0SU0EJJYLE/s1600/000_0730.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA7MQvdypzZh7O42cvCfLW7ME4JoTKKeA44EL7oEcLPkDeOrbO95MJw0Y-ko7PukSqROU6-HvwJ4Dqm_L5sgY5zZmBdKdinmfiDb_WOL-M2N0epQBKjFDzugi5bVi4HG7CQ0SU0EJJYLE/s320/000_0730.jpg" /></a>I will be visiting the Charleston Chapter of MTNA on April 12. The program is entitled<br />
"Stop - Look- and LISTEN". I will explore ways to increase listening skills at the piano, looking at compositions by Bach, Beethoven and Debussy. In the Bach "French Suite in C minor" I will show how pattern definition can result in a musical articulation that reveals the character of the piece. In the slow movement from Beethoven's Sonata in C minor Opus 10, No.1, I will present various ways to conquer a very, very slow tempo which contains many quick and tricky rhythmic passages that decorate the line. In the Passepied from Debussy's "Suite Bergamasque" I will show how the piece as a whole is influenced by such a work as the Bach Corrente from the above French Suite. I will also show how to approach the pedal in Debussy in general, since no pedals are indicated in the originals.<br />
<br />
I often find that teachers are very interested in Baroque ornamentation, but far less interested in the articulation. And the fact that most just use pedal to cover over a general dislike of holding any notes to create the necessary suspensions and resolutions within the line, points more to a technical problem then anything else. I will offer first the Allemande and Corrente without pedal, and then illustrate how just a very small dose of pedal can aid the performer in performance without blurring the line. So, many students play what I call Un-Holy Bach...they don't HOLD anything!! Just the addition of a few suggestion of how to play two melodies in one hand should carry a lot of interest for most. <br />
<br />
This all takes place at Fox Music House, starting at 9:30 AM. If you might be interested you can email me for more info. www.jadams12@sc.rr.com<br />
John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-6912636257036924702012-11-28T15:51:00.002-08:002012-11-28T15:56:18.650-08:00Two Recent Concerts Fall 2012Claude Debussy Commemorative Concert<br />
<br />
Louisa Harmer, Piano*<br />
John Kenneth Adams, Piano<br />
<br />
Applegarth Studio<br />
Brook Green, London, UK<br />
November 4, 2012<br />
<br />
Petite Suite<br />
(arranged for two pianos by Henri Busser)<br />
Ms. Harmer and Mr.Adams<br />
<br />
Group of Five Preludes<br />
Ms.Harmer<br />
<br />
La Mer<br />
(arranged for solo piano by Lucien Garban)<br />
Mr. Adams<br />
<br />
* (Ms.Harmer is a former student of Denise Lassimone)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Piano Portrait - "Liszt in Italy"<br />
<br />
Charleston Southern University<br />
Charleston, South Carolina<br />
October 9, 2012<br />
<br />
John Kenneth Adams, Piano<br />
Myungsook Stoudenmire, Piano*<br />
Eugene Koester, Piano*<br />
<br />
Les jeux d'eau a la Villa d' Este<br />
Gondoliera<br />
Valse Impromptu<br />
Mr. Adams<br />
<br />
Sposalizio<br />
Ms. Stoudenmire<br />
<br />
Sonetto del Petrarca 104<br />
Mr. Koester<br />
<br />
* (Ms.Stoudenmire and Mr.Koester are former students of John Kenneth Adams,<br />
both currently on the piano faculty at Charleston Southern University)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-10740220129234205142012-09-30T04:57:00.000-07:002012-09-30T05:00:43.308-07:00To Bach Again!A summer of notes. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Or rather, old dogs<br />
know most of the tricks, but sometimes have trouble remembering what they actually are!<br />
I spent a long summer at home, I think the first time I have ever stayed in Columbia for the whole time. I have several projects on the fire, but two have taken most of<br />
my time. The first one has been learning four Preludes and Fugues from Bach's WTC II.<br />
I always stayed close to WTC I in my teaching, finding the Preludes especially useful<br />
in building up quick thinking and strong fingers. The distance up to WTC II is over<br />
twenty years, and they are totally different in many aspects. One of the most striking ways is the stronger connection between the Prelude and its accompanying Fugue. Also, the counterpoint of the Fugues is more chromatic and challenging in its execution. There is also a very Italian feel to the vocal lines, reflecting Bach's deep study of Italian religous works in preparation for his great Passions and Mass. Many of the Fugues call out for texts derived from the liturgy. Bach is still up to his borrowing of themes, or outright theft, for instance the subject of the Fugue in E Major, taken from Johann Fischer and his Adriana Musica.<br />
<br />
After reviewing Bach recordings by the most successful of the current crop, and also returning to some favorites from the past, I was struck more than ever by the wide<br />
choices still open to us today. One can easily throw up ones hands (hopefully not while<br />
playing!). I have zeroed in on articulation and fingerings. If we actually do what<br />
Bach implies in his figurations, we must have incredible control, and patience in<br />
the learning process. Great care must be taken in understanding the principles of<br />
holding notes, especially with the thumb, while playing rapid figurations with the<br />
other fingers...in other words...learning to play on both sides of the hand without<br />
developing undue tension and stress. So, you think, just put the pedal down and let<br />
it hold everything. Disaster looms! Instead, you must often pass the fourth finger over<br />
the firth finger, devise quick finger substitutions, break up some knotty places by<br />
taking a note with the opposite hand, and not relying on the pedal, except in special<br />
circumstances. <br />
<br />
How much easier it is to just pedal away in Bach. I was often startled by teachers<br />
who would ask me if I used the pedal in Bach, or just left it out altogether. I guess<br />
the answer to this is just how much blur can you endure! What I actually do is hard<br />
to teach. I use the pedal in tiny dabs, almost like a glue gun, where I can bind a<br />
note to another in an instant, or connect a far flung line. What I do NOT do is just<br />
pedal away, with no thought about purity of line and clarity of counterpoint. I think<br />
of Bach has layers of voices, each with its distinct character and articulation. <br />
<br />
This raises the question of the early instruments versus the piano. I think Bach is<br />
wonderful on any instrument, and the piano adds its own dimension. What is most important is to do the scholarship for an enlightened performance, but be catholic <br />
enough in taste that you can take inspiration from varying viewpoints. What I want<br />
to avoid is becoming trapped in dogmatic arguments that squeeze all the life out of<br />
the music. <br />
<br />
Wanda Landowska was the wonderful soul who revived the harpsichord in France between<br />
the world wars. She actually had her instruments souped up to the hilt. She was not only advancing her own knowledge and performance practices, but she was also stirring<br />
up a public uninitiated in both the literature and the instrument. She took rather<br />
bold action to get herself extablished at a time when Baroque music was in the background. In our time, Glenn Gould established a new goal post for the playing<br />
field. He was equally as bold as Landowska and to some a radical. Since those heady<br />
days of his first "Goldberg Variationa" things have leveled off, and scholarship has<br />
made incredible advances. But it also remains true that many still teach Bach from<br />
poor editions, or ones that are so heavily edited you lose track of where to look.<br />
<br />
The answer to all this is to set a plan of self directed study, and work from an urtext<br />
score. Take advantage of all the main editions, especially suggestions for fingering.<br />
I found a copy of Gabriel Faure's Well Tempered Clavier which has the most incredible<br />
fingerings, and as he was very adept at the organ, a lot of these fingerings are<br />
based on organ techiques. Another rather lost edition is by Alfredo Casella, published by Ricordi. I find his edition comforting and brilliantly realized. <br />
<br />
In conclusion, I find there is always intense interest from teachers in the execution<br />
of ornamentation, but rarely any interest in articulation. That is because to get<br />
interested in articulation, you have to develop your own criteria, or for want of a<br />
dangerous word, PHILOSOPHY. You must go back and study the earlier writings of Forkel,C.P.E. Bach, Schweitzer, Tovey, Landowska, Edwin Fischer, et alia, and be amazed at the completeness of their vision and boldness of approach. Only then can one begin to dig into the present.<br />
<br />
(to be concluded..<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-79020152974951114672012-06-25T12:44:00.000-07:002012-06-25T12:44:06.372-07:00John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-36760001924753425402012-06-25T09:21:00.003-07:002012-06-25T13:35:18.921-07:00Hail to Thee...Master CLass!Remember that scary play "Master Class", all about Maria Callas tormenting young<br />
singers while flipping the channels of her life story? The thought of it went through<br />
my mind more than once the past couple of weeks, while doing master classes for the<br />
South Eastern Piano Festival at USC Columbia, as well as at the Charleston Soutern<br />
Piano Camp at Charleston Southern University. There was one thread that seemed to run<br />
through all the students, and that was the high level of preparation and concentration on the task at hand. I am not a tormentor I hope, but I do think most anyone in that<br />
situation is already nervous and apprehensive and it is my duty to relax them in every way possible so they can open up and do their best.<br />
<br />
A master class for me is more about encouragement more than any other single aspect. Obviously the students have worked hard to get to the stage, and I certainly cannot decide in a single sitting if they have the type of talent to go to the top, or perhaps that they might be headed the other way! All one can deal with is what is heard at that moment, be it an up day, or a down day. So it is more like asking the same question over and over..."Are you aware that you are.......?" Once made aware, then one has to offer a solution. That's where the fun starts. <br />
<br />
It is certain there are things best not addressed in a master class. Top of the list<br />
would be fingerings. The moment you draw attention to fingering the pianists tend to freeze up. Then there is the quesion of changing a basic technical aspect. Other than just casual remarks that can cause the participant to at least think about technical solutions, it is again best to not try to teach technique in front of an audience. The same goes for pedaling. Many pianist unfortunately have poor pedal techniques, most using a rather generic pedaling technique that has very little room to manuveur. <br />
<br />
So just what CAN one do in a master class. I find the most important one thing is to get a hold of the student's imagination by whatever means possible. This is where a limitless vocabulary by the master teacher comes into play. One plays against the personality of the student, probing here and yon for clues to how they THINK! As they relax one can begin to judge how they use their body, how they tend to think musically, and what are their strongest/weakess links to the score at hand. <br />
<br />
Its all rather like Plato..."Study the Object at Hand", the object being the STUDENT!<br />
Just the pointing out of a few simple laws of music can transform a performance in<br />
a matter of minutes into a whole new vista of what is possible. I often think that<br />
the things that have helped me the most to be a better musician, have occured by <br />
almost idle comments from others, professionals as well as amateurs. At the top of the list is a "salient example" by a master teacher at exactly the right moment for permament absorption! <br />
<br />John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-42640190891603055762012-05-31T02:19:00.000-07:002012-06-17T03:54:54.528-07:00Letter From London<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnO_CV-wVb_yWzWENZ3Fbae1w_t02gMIfNp7YwU_T4IzNmJ64i4Wx7U0akSiY-Lk7XgOq2mbgGEO75Hn6bKUlfgPth3zNjt07p0PcRpjV9Cyc1q5-L9yLse7V3PmUxF0Ya5KBXR6DMz3A/s1600/46460017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="212" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnO_CV-wVb_yWzWENZ3Fbae1w_t02gMIfNp7YwU_T4IzNmJ64i4Wx7U0akSiY-Lk7XgOq2mbgGEO75Hn6bKUlfgPth3zNjt07p0PcRpjV9Cyc1q5-L9yLse7V3PmUxF0Ya5KBXR6DMz3A/s320/46460017.jpg" /></a>
London in May was suddenly hot, which makes Mad Dogs and Englishmen seem quite true. Looking out my window onto Green Park found masses of people trying to make it into
the Riviera, or at least the Costa Brava. The days leading up to the Jubilee seemed to
find the English happy with their Queen, and indeed, photos of Elizabeth and Phillip showing them walking up or down airplane stairs without so much of a holding on, instead straight down the middle, would seem to say they are both amazingly fit. There was not so much decoration around, the thought being on village parties, especially
"The Long Table" set for this weekend, where everyone in the UK sits down to celebrate with Coronation Chicken, that famous Constance Spry recipe from the Queen's Coronation Celebration....seems like yesterday. You would have to enjoy that blend of curry, apricot, mayonaise, chicken and rice...rather a dated affair, but I still fix it, and will do so this weekend.
I visited my friends at Attadale Gardens in Scotland. Nickie Macpherson has the artist;s eye, and has transformed this estate into the most popular garden in Scotland. Taking a chalenging landscape of hillsides, rock cliffs, meadows and bogs, she has created a series of gardens witnin a garden. I like best the original rhododendrum planting, all brought from the Himalayas in the 19th Century. They are all towering trees now, and looking ar the tops full of bloom, the eye is carried up rock cliffs, where all firs and decidious trees tower at the top...over 150 feet above you. It is rather like a Chinese scroll painting from ancient times.
This part of Scotland is very wild, and one goes miles at times with only barren hills and lochs, with great penensula jutting out into the Atlantic, even wilder still. I love the little train that goes from Inverness to Attadale, having to request a stop at Attadale, where the estate station sits beside Loch Carron. You have to make sure you are at the head of the train when you alight, as the platform is only one car in length, otherwise you plunge into the void. I noticed many Japanese are now discovering this area to tour, and in fact, Attadale with its Japanese Garden is a magnet.
This was not a musical trip for once, and I didn't see a piano the whole time, which is
good for the body in general. I never seem to have to search again for my fingers after a break, and I attribute this to the Matthay technique of relaxation. When I have a moment in the days ahead, I will comment on Stephen Siek's new bio of Matthay, which reveals an astounding amount of detail about his life, and the politics of music in London at the turn of the last century. Thought provoking, and worthy of a long article. Be back soon!John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-91431162399112396552012-05-29T01:56:00.001-07:002012-05-29T01:56:54.839-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgzo_PvqQrLUSBBScZ8mZeNBfz2-47PH1oiUfsXvyR4aUXriNWwTQryyDv3osucd9ZPeNNdbUolaaMmQKb3uBbxiHrQ3BteRgCrBQ0_AslK-SjmgZMNxVA5gq54SJiGOLdKemPPuepbrw/s1600/16__124-1199.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgzo_PvqQrLUSBBScZ8mZeNBfz2-47PH1oiUfsXvyR4aUXriNWwTQryyDv3osucd9ZPeNNdbUolaaMmQKb3uBbxiHrQ3BteRgCrBQ0_AslK-SjmgZMNxVA5gq54SJiGOLdKemPPuepbrw/s320/16__124-1199.jpg" /></a></div>John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-40918724994447525332012-03-03T02:05:00.003-08:002012-03-03T03:20:17.799-08:00"La Mer" in CharlotteA wild, wind-swept drive to Charlotte March 2 found me fighting pounding rain and black clouds trailing omnious fingers. I was a month earlier than expected, when a last minute cancellation brought a call the day before, asking if I could trade places with the March 2 presenter, rather than coming March 30, as planned. Since I had just been in Charlotte the week before, and stopped by Miller Pianos to try out the piano, I decided I was ready...so go for it. I last played for the Charlotte Piano Forum about 40 years ago!...right after I came to USC. At that time we were a very small music departmant, with a low profile. What a surprise to find our USC School of Music is a recognized force; many people told me of family members or friends who have attended USC, and several had students there at present. The best thing was the respect for our piano program, and several teachers told me they had students planning to audition for scholarships. So I felt at home, and could communicate easily with the group assembled to hear Debussy's "La Mer". <br /><br />Audiences are surprised with this Lucien Garban arrangement of the orchestral score. As I may have mentioned before, Garban was an editor for Durand and Sons, the Paris publishing house for Debussy and Ravel, and a host of other famous French composers. He was a close friend of Ravel, and there is a letter from Ravel to Garban in my Collection of French Music in the USC Music Library. He made this arrangement in 1938, and I had never heard it performed publicly when I started learning it about one year ago. I am sorry now I didn't learn it years ago, as i could have enjoyed introducing it over the years. <br /><br />Judging from the comments I received, i think many teachers are somewhat uncomfortable with teaching Debussy as he does not give any pedal indications, and certainly no fingerings. It's all up to "the ear" and one's sense of style. I promised to return and give a class on these points, with approachable literature for intermediate students. It is so interesting to me how Germanic our approach to muisc remains in the USA, but that was the early prevailing influence. <br /><br />The Charlotte Symphony will perform "La Mer" this coming season in honor of the 150th Anniversary of his birth.John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-25397760547239056082011-11-01T08:38:00.000-07:002011-12-06T04:00:15.874-08:00The Genius of LisztGetting around to Liszt has always been difficult for me. Not that I haven't taught most of his larger works to students the past 50 years. Now the opportunity has arisen to prepare a new Piano Portrait for next year. I did one on Liszt at the Villa d'Este some years ago, and a friend sent stunning slides of all the fountains, gardens and other water features of this fabulous villa in the hills outside Rome. <br />Now I am reworking the original Portrait, and returning to some of the scores he was inspired to write during his years there. <br /><br />I think as a young pianist I made a detour around Liszt as I was not drawn to this type of overt virtuosity. I think the thing that held me back was my (then) inablility to wade through so many notes that seemed to be there only for <br />display. Later studies, and teaching experiences, awakened me to the need to look at his compositions organically, trying to place each note, whether in small print or large, into the whole. Well, at this stage of life that sounds elemental "Dr.Watson".<br />If I could penetrate the most complicated Bach and Beethoven, surely I could conquer Liszt. Still the spirit was willing, but the flesh.....! <br /><br />The thing that turned the trick was my ear for sound. I began to see that a clear need for aural color, inflection and timbre was vital, as it unlocked the technical <br />side. In other words, the vision had to come first, and then the rest would follow. Suunds rather easy doesn't it. Often one sees a half-page cadenza, full of tiny notes. I have watched many students try to encompass these passages, only to fall apart halfway through. Only by breaking these passages into manageable cells of notes...not simply drawing imaginary measure strokes, but actually finding the small melodic gem that is used to hold the whole thing together, will you find the necessary guideposts for your ear. Hence, small cells lead to the whole cell. As always, the ear is the great detector. <br /><br />Octaves abound in Liszt, and finding your way through them can be at your peril. I studied the Kullak octave studies while a teenager, and this helped tremendously. Also, listening for the melodic core will help, keeping one's ear open to inflection, so you don't play every octave with the same intensity. In an octave passage the hand has to recover the best it can from the strain, so keeping a flexible wrist behind a firm hand is mandantory. Also, weaving in and out between black and white notes means subtle adjustments of the angle of the hand itself. Forcing your hand into an octave mold and just blazing away can lead to injury. You have to think of octave passages as MELODY..two melodies in one hand. To find the inflection and curve of it, play the passage with both hands, so you just hear the line, and not tax your technical powers before you are ready to make music from it. <br /><br />Not to digress...but I will, naturally!...I heard a most interesting discussion on PBS Nightly News last evening, probing why we have failed in our efforts to improve student achievement. The gist of the argument centered around the fact that we have resorted to holding the stick too high, and pushing everyone to jump over it. Of course, this is proving to be a failure. The correct psychology is to find where the student actually is in their development, and start from there. Well, I am sure that more than we would like to recognize fall into the bottom of the barrel. This is where teaching piano can solve the educational crisis. Good teachers make an ASSESSMENT, then prescribe the cure. This seems so logical, but apparently is unsaleable in Washington D.C. The parallel thought is the same for solving problems at the keyboard. Start with a great teacher, then proceed with caution, and a path will open before you. <br /><br />Back to Lizst. I am convinced that Liszt made his points as a performer with great clarity of line, and an overall eveness in execution. The only person I studied with who was a descendent of his teaching was Ilonka Deckers Kuzler in Milan. When I knew her she was in her late seventies. She was Hungarian and had studied in Budapest with a teacher named Arnold Szekely. She traced his roots back to the Liszt/Czerny/Beethoven tradition that many claim, rightly or wrongly. Ilonka also taugh Edith Farnardi, who recorded an enormous amount of Liszt for Westminster Records in the late 1940's-early 1950's. Quite a few of these are in the University of South Carolina Music Library, and are real treasures. They exhibit the qaulities I remember from Ilonka's teaching. She also taught the great Annie Fischer as a young prodigy, Annie going on to become one of the greatest pianists of the last century. <br /><br />When I listen to so many young pianists today play Liszt, I feel the energy and bravura of their playing, but usually notice a lack of pianistic color and expert pedaling. Of course, it is all too fast for words, and can end up sounding like a stunt. Sometimes the sound is just too black...without depth or timbre. Paul Ulanosky said it best .."Speed is a poor substitute for spirit and nicity of detail".<br /><br />So, dear readers....to be continued. John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-74634119500568482662011-09-29T04:47:00.000-07:002011-09-29T05:04:32.514-07:00La Mer...."Bring an umbrella!"Many Thanks are due to Charleston Southern and USC for two splendid venues for the first performances of "La Mer" in the transcription by Lucien Garban. Charleston Southern has been generous in inviting me, and this year we had a full house. I presented my new Piano Portrait "Debussy and the Sea", and I found the audience entirely receptive and involved. At USC I returned to the "September Concerts", still going after almost 35 years, first as the Fall festival I organized for 5 years, and then, in the same format, September Concerts since the early 1980's. Columbia audiences can be difficult to predict, but this series draws out the best in the concert going public. You can tell when you walk on stage that this is a very special atmosphere, and that has existed since the beginnings. I have decided to document the genesis of this unique festival, and place this with my papers in the USC Music Library. <br /><br />As for "La Mer", the thing that struck me was the many comments about the power of this score, even in the smaller frame of a piano solo. It transcends the medium, and comes across as a musical drama on its own terms. <br /><br />I was amused when leaving USC to see a tremendous storm approaching. Indeed, parts of the city had a terrifying hour of pounding rain and wind. Such is the peril of playing "La Mer"....don't mess with Mother Nature! John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-385092123175773962011-09-17T08:07:00.000-07:002011-09-17T08:36:06.743-07:00"LA MER"JOHN KENNETH ADAMS performs "La Mer" by Claude Debussy<br /><br />September 20, Charleston Southern University Band Hall, 7:30 PM FREE<br /><br />September 25, September Concerts, USC Columbia, 3 PM Tickets required<br /><br />December 11, Heritage at Lowman, 3PM FREE<br /><br />March 30, 2012 Charlotte, NC Piano Teachers Forum (more info to follow)<br /><br />(additional dates in progress)<br /> <br /><br />Quite a few months preparation has gone into getting this score ready for performance. "La Mer" by Claude Debussy was first performed in 1905 in Paris, and was not an unqualified success, perhaps due to the advanced nature of its form and harmonic complexities, but also dragged down by Debussy's bad publicity for leaving his wife for another woman. That is a story within a story, but the work slowly made its way, and now is considered a landmark in 20th Century music. <br /><br />The transcription is by Lucien Garban, an editor at Durand in Paris, and close friend of Murice Ravel. This transcription dates to 1938. Surely it is a daunting task to try to squeeze onto the keyboard the sweep and power of an orchestra, and Garban has not tired to do this in any overt way. Instead, he concentrates on the melodic and harmonic inventiveness, and in so doing, shows us the framework and the inventive ideas is a startling clarity of expression. <br /><br />In preparing this score, I have concentrated on the sonority of the piano, and treated the score as an extension of his piano repertoire. When I performed all of Debussy's piano music in the 1980's I often looked at orchestral scores, and also that of "Pelleas and Melisande", his opera produced at the same time as "La Mer". <br />The fact that Debussy found the piano his muse in creating the bulk of his compositions makes this a logical path to follow.<br /><br />I often think, after rehearsing this score, how very beautiful it is in this transcription. The Art of the Transcription has a long, distinquished history, and I hope to add to that with these upcoming performances. John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524932150352617323.post-84379478304982701042011-06-12T03:48:00.000-07:002011-06-12T06:51:10.093-07:00Back Home in Alabama - June 2011An invitation to play and lecture for the Alabama State Music Teachers Convention in Jacksonville made for a great visit to the land of my youth. Having lived in Birmingham until the age of 13, I was eager to see if any traces of those years still abounded. The weather was hot...and that means hotter than Columbia, which is a stretch. The plus side is that the Jacksonville State campus is surrounded by some of the tallest mountains in Alabama, so everywhere you look brings a new vista. But.. those cooling mountain breezes were on vacation. <br /><br />I was asked to speak about how I go about finding a concept in a piece of music, one that I could pass on to the student in such a way as to help them learn useful learning tools. That seems logical enough in concept..(no pun intended)..but in reality was a great challenge. I opted for the deeper route, hoping my reliance on simple tools to solve complex issues would hold up. The other thing was, it was a richly illustrated presentation, meaning hands were on the keys the whole time, yet the audience had no score. So every example had to be clear and focused, and not too long. I choose the Brahms Intermezzo in B Flat Minor, Opus 117 as the opening work. <br />It didn't take me long to discover that it was a complex piece, hidden under a beautiful, moving melodic line. Finding just that small cell of notes at the beginning lead me on a journey of discovery that I was able to share. It always amazes me how complex Brahms really is, and yet how approachable. <br /><br />I moved on to the Schubert Impromptu in G Flat Major, and by contrast it could not have been more different from the Brahms. The main themes of my presentation began to clarify, and here one has to draw dramatic contrasts between major and minor, with mood changes very introspectively introduced. The repetitions in Schubert are an opportunity to expand not only the emotional content, but also challenge the player to find infinite variety of details to bring out or subdue. <br /><br />The "Ondine" by Debussy finished up the presentation, and it proved a child of the Brahms in more ways than one. Like Brahms, Debussy's technique is very Beethoven in that he works with the smallest cells available, but they become transformed in an almost kaleidoscopic world of instant variation and new coloristic discoveries. <br /><br />I had a rather plodding Steinway concert grand, that only yielded what I hoped for in short flashes. The main problem was a very uneven action, where every key seemed to have a different tone spot. I soon forgot about it and things went along acceptably, but I am spoiled by my own Steinway concert grand which is kept in excellent order. <br /><br />Comments were surprising. Almost everyone spoke about the Brahms, and how moved they were by its profound spirit yet haunting melodic appeal. The comment about repetition in Schubert caused comments about my take on repeating sections in a Beethoven sonata, and how important they are in giving the proper weight to the depth of the composition. Viewing repeats as opportunity seemed to be a new insight to many. A prominent teacher from Birmingham made the comment that she was delighted to hear someone lecture and play with such obvious love for the music, and the relief she felt in being challenged intellectually. "Far too many come and say..do this, do that..don't do this.. but you avoided the commercial aspect with just good old fashioned common sense and love of the art" Thank you kindly, lady!<br /><br />The comment that touched me most was from a long time Alabama teacher who said I should have never been allowed to leave Birmingham. That really touched me to the core. Thanks, Alabama, and God Bless.John Kenneth Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15596769686272500067noreply@blogger.com0