Taught by renowned instructor
Ursula Oppens
Join five-time Grammy nominee Ursula Oppens for an illuminating lesson on Elliott Carter’s most popular piano work, Caténaires ("chains"). Anyone attempting to master this thorny, single-minded modernist work will need expert insights, and Oppens is ideally equipped to help untangle the difficulties: her 2009 Grammy nomination was for a recording of Carter’s complete piano works.<br><br>In the lesson, Oppens begins with a look at the work’s origins and stylistic influences, showing Carter’s interest in jazz and the classical canon, in particular Caténaires’ connection to the tradition of piano études stretching from Chopin to Debussy to Ligeti. These contextual insights are followed by practical tips on achieving consistent non-legato articulation, choosing a tempo, slow practice, and redistribution.<br><br>Oppens also sheds light on the structure of the piece, walking you through each section so you never feel lost in the ceaseless stream of sixteenth-notes. By delving into Carter’s unexpectedly slow harmonic changes (through an obsessive emphasis on various sets of pitches), use of different registers, and unrealistic dynamic markings, Oppens shows how Carter demarcates different sections, creates narrative flow, and arrives at climactic moments.
Caténaires
Join five-time Grammy nominee Ursula Oppens for an illuminating lesson on Elliott Carter’s most popular piano work, Caténaires ("chains"). Anyone attempting to master this thorny, single-minded modernist work will need expert insights, and Oppens is ideally equipped to help untangle the difficulties: her 2009 Grammy nomination was for a recording of Carter’s complete piano works.
In the lesson, Oppens begins with a look at the work’s origins and stylistic influences, showing Carter’s interest in jazz and the classical canon, in particular Caténaires’ connection to the tradition of piano études stretching from Chopin to Debussy to Ligeti. These contextual insights are followed by practical tips on achieving consistent non-legato articulation, choosing a tempo, slow practice, and redistribution.
Oppens also sheds light on the structure of the piece, walking you through each section so you never feel lost in the ceaseless stream of sixteenth-notes. By delving into Carter’s unexpectedly slow harmonic changes (through an obsessive emphasis on various sets of pitches), use of different registers, and unrealistic dynamic markings, Oppens shows how Carter demarcates different sections, creates narrative flow, and arrives at climactic moments.
Ballade (Performance)
Watch 2013 Van Cliburn Competition gold medalist Vadym Kholodenko perform celebrated Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho's 'Ballade' for solo piano, composed in 2005 for Emanuel Ax. Saariaho describes the intention behind her composition as follows: "In this short piece I wanted to write music with a melody that grows out of the texture before descending into it again; a work that constantly shifts from a complex, multi-layered texture to concentrated single lines and back again."
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