Studios Are Not Just in Living Rooms Anymore
September 2017; Vol. 9, No. 5
Sometimes the world brings people into your life who ignite your energy and restore your passion for teaching. Last February, on a sunny morning in Austin, Texas, last February, I met two such individuals, Wendy Kuo and Klondike Steadman, the executive directors and owners of The...
Cliburn 2017
September 2017; Vol. 9, No. 5
Every four years, piano fans gather in Fort Worth, Texas, for one of the piano world’s biggest parties: the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. At this year’s Cliburn—the fifteenth—Yekwon Sunwoo, 28, earned the Gold Medal. Although a native of South Korea, Sunwoo has degrees from Curtis...
September/October 2017: Poetry Corner
September 2017; Vol. 9, No. 5
Music Lesson Play the notes Not as they are (Dots on the page In patterns, trailing Over neat bar lines) But as they are meant to be. The composer is dead And so are the dots Till the player comes, Breathes life into them And...
September/October 2017: New Music Reviews
September 2017; Vol. 9, No. 5
Happy Holidays! (S1-4) We Three Kings, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and Deck the Hall Hoedown, arranged by Wendy Stevens. For teachers wanting some fun and creative options to spice up their holiday recitals, three new arrangements by Wendy Stevens are fantastic choices. “We Three...
September/October 2017: CD Reviews
September 2017; Vol. 9, No. 5
Outhere Music Ravel, Scriabin: MiroirsAndrew Tyson, pianoAlpha-Classica ALPHA 277[Total Time 58:39] www.outhere-music.com/en/albums/miroirs-alpha-277 Twenty-year-old Andrew Tyson is a native of Durham, North Carolina, and the rising star’s second CD features piano works of Ravel and Scriabin. This highly-recommended release was recorded on a Bechstein over four...
November 2018: Winds of Change
November 2018; Vol. 10, No. 6
In the last two columns I have danced around acknowledging that I have retired from university teaching. Now it seems the right time to retire this column as well. There are many reasons for the decision, and with a new editor at Clavier Companion, I step aside to make room for new ideas...
This is What Diversity Sounds Like
November 2018; Vol. 10, No. 6
In her book Hidden Figures (the basis for the 2016 movie of the same name), Margot Lee Shetterly observed, “The electrified fence of segregation and the centuries of shocks it delivered so effectively circumscribed the lives of American blacks that even after the current was turned off, the idea...
Celebrating Leonard Bernstein at 100: An Exploration of His Solo Piano Works
November 2018; Vol. 10, No. 6
Bernstein’s Musical Legacy As the Leonard Bernstein centennial draws to a close, it is an ideal time to consider the extraordinary career of one of the most significant musical figures of the last century. A prodigious multi-talent, Bernstein became a renowned composer, conductor, pianist, author,...
To Play and to Study: The Thrill of Discovery
November 2018; Vol. 10, No. 6
Learning is thrilling. As we feel our own potential expand, we seek to develop our capabilities even further. We feel excitement when a concept clicks into understanding. Our curiosity is piqued when a new challenge reveals itself. The satisfaction of learning is amplified when we are thoroughly engaged in discovery and exploration. Watching...
2018 Clavier Companion Collegiate Writing Contest Winner: Between the Lines: Lasting Lessons from the Studio
November 2018; Vol. 10, No. 6
During late Spring 2018, Clavier Companion held the eighth annual Collegiate Writing Contest. Collegiate students were invited to submit 1,500-word essays on a pedagogical topic of their choice. The winning essay is published in the print edition of Clavier Companion. Undergraduate through graduate students, from institutions in the United States...
More Than Notes: Teaching Musicality Through Movement
November 2018; Vol. 10, No. 6
What is musicality? Who has it and can it be taught? According to noted music educator and researcher Edwin Gordon, “Everyone has some level of music aptitude, is musical, and can learn to listen to and perform music with some degree of success.”1 However, most people do not reach their full musical potential, and...
Adults on the Move with Dalcroze!
November 2018; Vol. 10, No. 6
Say the word “Eurhythmics” to a group of age-forty-plus adults and they would likely define it as a pop music group from the 1980s. College students might even give the same response. The same word given to a group of music educators would likely be defined as movement-based music instruction, primarily used in general music...
Preparing Students for Peak Performance Through Centering Practice
November 2018; Vol. 10, No. 6
Healthy Playing, Healthy Teaching, Vanessa Cornett, Editor Many teachers are unsure of the best way to respond when a student first utters the words, “I feel nervous!” Young students experiencing anxiety for the first time may mistakenly feel that their symptoms should be eliminated entirely. Yet, in order to perform well,...
Revisiting Long-lost Gems: American Folktunes in Nineteenth-Century Piano Music
November 2018; Vol. 10, No. 6
In the nineteenth century, classical music was in its infancy in the United States and uniquely American musical voices were few and far between. Although there were some notable exceptions—such as pianist Louis Moreau Gottschalk—most American musicians flocked to Europe “only to return with pale imitations of Wagner and Brahms.”1 The music of...
November 2018: Pupil Saver
November 2018; Vol. 10, No. 6
Rev It Up! David Karp’s Toccatina in D Minor (FJH) is a high-energy intermediate piece that will rev up any student. Written almost entirely in the treble clef, the rapid sixteenth notes, syncopated cadences, and interesting mix of major and minor sounds add up to an exciting and riveting contemporary piece. To introduce the toccatina,...