Today was the last day of class
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Our final performance class for the spring. It went well. I played the last of the three op post Nocturnes by Chopin. I've learned a lot in this class and spent most of it outside of my comfort zone, for sure. I'm hoping to record myself playing all three Nocturnes in the not too distant future, either on one of the school grands or maybe my friend's Bosie.
I feel a mix of emotions tonight, from sad that the class is over, to relief that the class is over. LOL. Definitely going to miss it over the summer and hope to have something a bit bigger to work on in the fall.
There are a handful of possibilities at hand. I can probably get Debussy's "Reflets dans l'eau" prepped in time. I'd love to be able to have Chopin's "Polonaise Fantaisie" ready, but that's a long shot for this fall. I could do another Chopin Nocturne; one that he published during his lifetime, or one of his waltzes. I will most probably start the fall with the first Polonaise, which I did play once in class last fall, and then move on to something else. All to look forward to.
In the meantime, it's spring! And then summer!
@Bernard that’s wonderful! And Congratulations!
I look forward to a recording whenever you have it.
I’m listening to the Debussy piece now, I think I’ve heard it before but it’s not a piece I know well. it’s lovely! Also sounds devilishly heard! Do you have a favorite recording?
I remain curious about and inspired by this performance class!
I know I’ve asked you about it before, but it’s just for “performance,” right? In other words, it’s not like when someone takes one-in-one lessons and they work with the teacher on all aspects of playing and learning? Actually now that I type that out, it doesn’t make sense to me what I’m asking 
I guess I’m just curious about how the class works, what it would be described as in a blurb advertising for students. I wonder if it’s like the “studio classes” here at the uni music school, in which I think the main point is for students to play for each other learn (improve) perfomance skills.Ah, so that helps me articulate my questions! Are you expected to have a piece prepped or mostly learned by the start of the class? And how many pieces does a student work on over the course of a semester?
Are most of the people in the class intermediate or above? Do they all play pieces like what you’re choosing, in the “standard” classical repertoire?
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I love that Debussy piece.
There’s a fabulous Stephen Hough master class on that piece on YouTube. Totally worth watching.
There’s a fabulous Stephen Hough master class on that piece on YouTube. Totally worth watching.
Thanks, jon-nyc. I will look it up.
I’m listening to the Debussy piece now, I think I’ve heard it before but it’s not a piece I know well. it’s lovely! Also sounds devilishly heard! Do you have a favorite recording?
I would say it has some difficult passages, but even though it is not 'easy' (is anything 'easy'?) it's a little more manageable than it sounds and looks, to me. My favorite recording (mind you, there are a lot of recordings I have not listened to) is Michaelangeli's:
Link to videoYes, the class is for performance practice. One needs to be able to play a piece as if it is ready for performance, and as I've learned, it's usually not ready.
We are lucky that there are only 2 of us students this semester which means we each get half an hour at the piano. After we play through our piece as well as we can, what with nerves and all, the other student(s) and teacher point out areas they feel might be lacking. That could be anything from rhythmic issues to dynamics to rubato to clarity etc. etc. etc. The one thing that is not officially part of the class is technical how-to, however the teacher is generous in making suggestions if he feels some technical difficulty might benefit from his knowledge.The other student is at a good level. She worked on the Prelude and Menuet from Debussy's Suite Bergamasque this semester.
The industrial revolution cheapened everything.
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There’s a fabulous Stephen Hough master class on that piece on YouTube. Totally worth watching.
Thanks, jon-nyc. I will look it up.
I’m listening to the Debussy piece now, I think I’ve heard it before but it’s not a piece I know well. it’s lovely! Also sounds devilishly heard! Do you have a favorite recording?
I would say it has some difficult passages, but even though it is not 'easy' (is anything 'easy'?) it's a little more manageable than it sounds and looks, to me. My favorite recording (mind you, there are a lot of recordings I have not listened to) is Michaelangeli's:
Link to videoYes, the class is for performance practice. One needs to be able to play a piece as if it is ready for performance, and as I've learned, it's usually not ready.
We are lucky that there are only 2 of us students this semester which means we each get half an hour at the piano. After we play through our piece as well as we can, what with nerves and all, the other student(s) and teacher point out areas they feel might be lacking. That could be anything from rhythmic issues to dynamics to rubato to clarity etc. etc. etc. The one thing that is not officially part of the class is technical how-to, however the teacher is generous in making suggestions if he feels some technical difficulty might benefit from his knowledge.The other student is at a good level. She worked on the Prelude and Menuet from Debussy's Suite Bergamasque this semester.
That was lovely!
Yes, the class is for performance practice. One needs to be able to play a piece as if it is ready for performance, and as I've learned, it's usually not ready.
What an interesting model, esp. outside of a conservatory or similar setting.
The one thing that is not officially part of the class is technical how-to,
That’s interesting. So the students really have to be self-sufficient in many ways. It’s almost like an extended master class.
Anyway thank you for sharing all those details!
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That was lovely!
Yes, the class is for performance practice. One needs to be able to play a piece as if it is ready for performance, and as I've learned, it's usually not ready.
What an interesting model, esp. outside of a conservatory or similar setting.
The one thing that is not officially part of the class is technical how-to,
That’s interesting. So the students really have to be self-sufficient in many ways. It’s almost like an extended master class.
Anyway thank you for sharing all those details!
What an interesting model, esp. outside of a conservatory or similar setting.
It is at the music school where a number of students take one-on-one lessons. This class is meant to augment those lessons. In fact, the teacher mentioned that he thought it was time the school started thinking of implementing a comprehensive program starting from beginner level to diploma. It would be cool if that happens. They teach many instruments in many music styles, and have classes on theory and analysis.
I have been giving some thought to signing up for one-on-one lessons with the teacher but I've been told that he is fully booked and one may well end up on a waiting list. I'm not interested in lessons with any of the other teachers there.
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What an interesting model, esp. outside of a conservatory or similar setting.
It is at the music school where a number of students take one-on-one lessons. This class is meant to augment those lessons. In fact, the teacher mentioned that he thought it was time the school started thinking of implementing a comprehensive program starting from beginner level to diploma. It would be cool if that happens. They teach many instruments in many music styles, and have classes on theory and analysis.
I have been giving some thought to signing up for one-on-one lessons with the teacher but I've been told that he is fully booked and one may well end up on a waiting list. I'm not interested in lessons with any of the other teachers there.
@Bernard said:
It is at the music school where a number of students take one-on-one lessons.It sounds like a really great music school! I wish our community music school was a little better. That’s where I took lessons for about a year and a half (after we moved here) until I figured out I could take lessons through the university music program. This community music school is relatively inexpensive, but somehow their model seems… like it’s missing some important pedagogical elements. (For lack of a better way to describe it). And there’s one other private music school in town, but their lessons are super expensive and the way they set up their trial lessons, it felt scammy and gross so I never actually went there.
This class is meant to augment those lessons.
And it sounds like a fantastic way to do that! I meant to ask you, is it expected that you’ll only work on one piece for the duration of the term (for the performance class)? How long is the term? If you wanted to, could you switch to a different piece after several weeks?
They teach many instruments in many music styles, and have classes on theory and analysis.
It sounds like a really big school! I remain impressed!
I have been giving some thought to signing up for one-on-one lessons with the teacher but I've been told that he is fully booked and one may well end up on a waiting list. I'm not interested in lessons with any of the other teachers there.
No reason not to get on the waiting list!
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@Bernard said:
It is at the music school where a number of students take one-on-one lessons.It sounds like a really great music school! I wish our community music school was a little better. That’s where I took lessons for about a year and a half (after we moved here) until I figured out I could take lessons through the university music program. This community music school is relatively inexpensive, but somehow their model seems… like it’s missing some important pedagogical elements. (For lack of a better way to describe it). And there’s one other private music school in town, but their lessons are super expensive and the way they set up their trial lessons, it felt scammy and gross so I never actually went there.
This class is meant to augment those lessons.
And it sounds like a fantastic way to do that! I meant to ask you, is it expected that you’ll only work on one piece for the duration of the term (for the performance class)? How long is the term? If you wanted to, could you switch to a different piece after several weeks?
They teach many instruments in many music styles, and have classes on theory and analysis.
It sounds like a really big school! I remain impressed!
I have been giving some thought to signing up for one-on-one lessons with the teacher but I've been told that he is fully booked and one may well end up on a waiting list. I'm not interested in lessons with any of the other teachers there.
No reason not to get on the waiting list!
I meant to ask you, is it expected that you’ll only work on one piece for the duration of the term (for the performance class)? How long is the term? If you wanted to, could you switch to a different piece after several weeks?
Yes, it's entirely up to us what we want to work on during the semester and how many weeks we want to work on it. We can also mix it up, bring the same piece in two or three weeks in a row then switch to a different piece then go back to the original piece and so on. The teacher will encourage further work on a piece if someone says they want to set it aside yet he feels they might be on the cusp of a breakthrough, but it's ultimately up to the student. This past semester I worked on 2 Nocturnes, half a semester each. The other student went back and forth between the 2 Debussy pieces.
The term is 10 weeks, I think. Didn't pay too much attention to that. The class is very affordable, coming to about $22 a class. Considering the teacher's CV, it's quite a bargain in my mind.
The school is not all that big. It started very humbly by one or two Vermonters who had a dream and a vision for a music school in the Upper Valley. When I got here thirteen years ago, it was cramped into a smallish place not far from its current location. But their enrollment kept growing and a year or so before COVID they purchased a mansion on the city common and are now expanding that. It continues to grow and they have lots of community outreach, and bring in some very good guest teachers and performers.
Here is their "about" page: UVMC
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I meant to ask you, is it expected that you’ll only work on one piece for the duration of the term (for the performance class)? How long is the term? If you wanted to, could you switch to a different piece after several weeks?
Yes, it's entirely up to us what we want to work on during the semester and how many weeks we want to work on it. We can also mix it up, bring the same piece in two or three weeks in a row then switch to a different piece then go back to the original piece and so on. The teacher will encourage further work on a piece if someone says they want to set it aside yet he feels they might be on the cusp of a breakthrough, but it's ultimately up to the student. This past semester I worked on 2 Nocturnes, half a semester each. The other student went back and forth between the 2 Debussy pieces.
The term is 10 weeks, I think. Didn't pay too much attention to that. The class is very affordable, coming to about $22 a class. Considering the teacher's CV, it's quite a bargain in my mind.
The school is not all that big. It started very humbly by one or two Vermonters who had a dream and a vision for a music school in the Upper Valley. When I got here thirteen years ago, it was cramped into a smallish place not far from its current location. But their enrollment kept growing and a year or so before COVID they purchased a mansion on the city common and are now expanding that. It continues to grow and they have lots of community outreach, and bring in some very good guest teachers and performers.
Here is their "about" page: UVMC
it's entirely up to us what we want to work on during the semester and how many weeks we want to work on it. We can also mix it up, bring the same piece in two or three weeks in a row then switch to a different piece then go back to the original piece and so on. The teacher will encourage further work on a piece if someone says they want to set it aside yet he feels they might be on the cusp of a breakthrough, but it's ultimately up to the student.
That sounds perfect! I would love that, to be able work on a few different pieces across the semester, and hear others' progress etc. What a great idea!
The class is very affordable, coming to about $22 a class. Considering the teacher's CV, it's quite a bargain in my mind.
Wow, that is definitely a bargain!!
Thanks for sharing the link, it looks like a really great place!!
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So does this mean @shirokuro will be house hunting near @bernard soon?
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