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Music, Books, and Music Books
Shake it down, evaluate, let it lie
Thursday, November 25, 2021 by LaDona Ahenda | Books
There does come a time when the assimilation of new knowledge must temporarily come to a halt. All the knowledge has to be shaken down, evaluated, and let lie, so that it can produce the fermentation needed to generate an inner response to it.
Stewart Gordon, Etudes for Piano Teachers
Music for the health of a nation
Thursday, November 11, 2021 by LaDona Ahenda | Performances
On this Remembrance Day, it is fitting to reflect on the gift of a great performer during wartime in London, 1939. London was in a "cultural blackout" with the closure of concert halls and galleries. Dame Myra Hess, known especially for her interpretations and transcriptions of Bach, offered to play a concert for a few friends in the hall of the National Gallery.
The arts, she believed, played a powerful spiritual role in the health of the nation at the best of times - and would play an (even) greater role now during wartime. National Gallery
She expected maybe 50-60 friends would show up. Organizers were amazed when over 1000 people lined up to hear live music.
As we come out of the COVID drought and live performances resume with masks and reduced capacity, I remember how much I craved live music during all the shutdowns brought on by COVID. And I live in a time and place where there is no shortage of music. I can listen to the radio, watch YouTube videos, and stream anything on a whim. It's hard to imagine a time when almost the only music people could hear was either on the radio (program-dependent) or, if they were lucky and wealthy, on early recordings that sound terrible to our tech-spoiled ears.
Nothing communicates the range of human emotion the way a live performance can - the despair, angst, hope and joy that was surely felt that October day in 1939. We have felt much the same in the last eighteen months. Myra Hess gave this gift to Londoners that day in October, 1939. She ended her recital with a performance of her famous transcription of Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring.
You can read more about the National Gallery concerts here.
YouTube video found on the pianopera channel.
Masterclasses
Friday, November 5, 2021 by LaDona Ahenda | Masterclasses
Things have settled down enough that we have been able to enjoy small masterclasses in the studio. This was the first time in almost two years that students had the opportunity to perform live in front of their peers. The nerves showed a bit, as I expected.
After each performance, I give students the opportunity to say something positive and something that could be better. Inevitably, "dynamics" seems to be the go-to answer. Sometimes I think that maybe this part of the class is worse for the students than the actual performance! It is challenging enough to pay close attention to the score during a performance, let alone to verbalize it. With time and maturity and more classes, the answers come to have more substance.
Once students are advanced and have been in my studio for a few years, these classes run themselves. Some of these moments have been among the best in my musical career. They have been eager to share what they observe and offer valid suggestions, sometimes suggestions that I hadn't even thought of. This tells me they have been listening and absorbing well in the lessons. I am always a little sad when these students move on.
So we start at the beginning with the young students. At that stage, I am happy if there is a wide enough range of dynamics that this can be clearly heard by others. And class by class, lesson by lesson, they hear more and become more aware. My satisfaction grows, and I trust theirs' does as well.
