Spencer Myer: A 21st-Century American Pianist
January 2019; Vol. 11, No. 1
Setting the Scene Spencer Myer emerged as a concert pianist of note upon winning three important competitions shortly after the turn of this century. In 2004, he placed first in the UNISA International Piano Competition in South Africa, then in 2006 he won the Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship from the American...
January 2019: Questions and Answers
January 2019; Vol. 11, No. 1
Q: What professional development opportunities are available online? Are any of these offered by the Frances Clark Center? A: Your biggest challenge is not finding opportunities for professional development but selecting the opportunities that are relevant and meaningful to you. All resources are not created equal...
January 2019: New Music Reviews
January 2019; Vol. 11, No. 1
(S3-4) Nocturnes in Minor: An Artistic Intermediate/Late Intermediate Collection for Solo Piano, by Jeanne Costello. As a young pianist, I remember playing my first Chopin nocturne and thinking, “Now I’m really playing some difficult piano music.” The piece left a lasting impression that, in many...
January 2019: Book Reviews
January 2019; Vol. 11, No. 1
Managing Stage Fright: A Guide for Musicians and Music Teachers,by Julie Jaffee Nagel. Julie Nagel possesses a rare combination of skills. She has two music degrees from The Juilliard School, three psychology degrees from the University of Michigan, and further training at the Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute. I...
January 2019: Book Review: A Dictionary for the Modern Pianist
January 2019; Vol. 11, No. 1
By Stephen Siek: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017, $89.98 After the excellent reception for his biography of Tobias Matthay (England’s Piano Sage, Scarecrow Press, 2011), Stephen Siek took on a different challenge: writing a piano dictionary. The word “Modern” in Siek’s title does not refer to pianists who...
The Neglected Consolations of Franz Liszt
January 2019; Vol. 11, No. 1
Franz Liszt’s beloved Consolation No. 3 in D-flat Major from the Six Consolations S.172, is a character piece frequently performed by the advancing pianist in recital and festival adjudications. Reminiscent of a nostalgic nocturne, Consolation No. 3 features a stunning melodic line and unpredictable harmonic nuances...
January 2019: Poetry Corner
January 2019; Vol. 11, No. 1
Contributing Editor: Richard Zimdars Poem by Virginia Hamilton Adair The Birds Preach to St. Francis [Variation on a Theme by Liszt] What could he tell them they did not already know? Their wings were beating the airlike tongues at Pentecost,their beaks unrolling ribbons of fire....
Whose Assignment Is it Anyway?
January 2019; Vol. 11, No. 1
It happened again this week. I had used the word “heartbeat” to suggest the way the left- hand chords in the B section of Burgmüller’s Ballade should sound. Every teacher knows the usual klunk-klunk sound most students first make when playing them. Owen had immediately...
The Road to Kindness: Encouraging Greater Generosity of Spirit in an Overly Competitive World
January 2019; Vol. 11, No. 1
The habit of comparing ourselves (and being compared) to others is not restricted to the world of music. Starting shortly after birth, our physical attributes, talents, and achievements are constantly compared to those of our peers. The age at which first words are spoken and first...
January 2019: Pupil Saver: The Thrill of the Risk
January 2019; Vol. 11, No. 1
My student Katie, 17, enjoys playing the piano as much as she loves playing soccer. From what I hear, she is an aggressive, risk-taking soccer player. The same could be said for her piano playing: she is adventurous with tempo and sometimes aggressive with sound. I...
Clara Schumann: Role Model for the 21st Century
Autumn 2019; Vol. 11, No. 4
Clara Josephine Wieck was born two hundred years ago on September 13, 1819, in the German city of Leipzig. Her father Friedrich chose the name Clara, which meant bright, shining, or famous, and from her birth was determined to turn her into a piano virtuoso....
Elementary and Early-Intermediate Piano Music by Women
Autumn 2019; Vol. 11, No. 4
Every piece students play creates an opportunity to make an emotional impression on themselves and others. Experiencing a variety of well-chosen literature helps students to further their studies more artistically and joyfully. Teachers often wisely select literature based on students’ technical and musical needs. By...
Brazilian Dance Music For Intermediate and Early Advanced Students
Autumn 2019; Vol. 11, No. 4
Francisca (Chiquinha) Gonzaga is one of the most important Brazilian composers from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Born in 1847 in Rio de Janeiro, her personal life was considered scandalous for her time. Her father never forgave her for leaving her husband, and she was...
Undiscovered Gems of Canadian Pedagogical Piano Literature: The Works of Violet Archer, Jean Coulthard, and Barbara Pentland
Autumn 2019; Vol. 11, No. 4
Canadian composers Violet Archer, Jeanne Coulthard, and Barbara Pentland were three amazing women composers representing different parts of Canada: Archer from Quebec, Coulthard from British Columbia, and Pentland from Manitoba. Even though they came from and represent the broad, expansive country of Canada, they did...
Diversifying Concert Programming: Introducing Works for Solo Piano by Asian Female Composers
Autumn 2019; Vol. 11, No. 4
As a performing musician, I am always looking for ways to expand my concert repertoire, not only to promote diversity in music programming but also to spark interest in both students and audiences by introducing fresh voices into traditional classical repertoire. In my search for...