Music Instrumental: Piano (MPAPE-GE)

Designed primarily for master’s candidates in music performance &/or composition. Synthesis for learning based on performance. Recital & a master’s final written project are required.

Rehearsal techniques and special problems in ensemble performance.

Students will examine the theoretical & practical issues that continue to influence the training of pianists. By exploring historical pedagogical & performance practices, students will come to understand the core principles & diversity of pianistic performance traditions. Topics include the evolution of the piano & its repertoire over three centuries & pedagogical approaches that evolved concurrently regarding articulation & pedal; physical technique & virtuosity; & expressive timing.

Course is designed to trace the dominant traditions in contemporary American piano pedagogy. Focuses on the philosophies, methods, & techniques associated with major pedagogues including Heinrich Neuhaus , Konstantin Igumnov, Alexander Brailowsky, Vladimir Horowitz, Sascha Gorodnitzki, Adele Marcus , Clifford Curzon, Beveridge Webster, Rudolf Firkušný, Leonard Stein, & David Burge. Students will examine the lasting influence of Artur Schnabel & Ferruccio Busoni on American pedagogy. Students will perform a final solo recital & produce a statement of teaching philosophy.

Students will analyze collaborative piano repertoire including instrumental chamber music, concertos, songs & arias, gaining an understanding of potential ensemble challenges & interpretive solutions. Text translation & analysis, techniques of orchestral reduction, musical theatre accompanying, & coaching will be investigated using specific methodology readings, listening assignments, class presentations & performances. Each student will give an in-class coaching demonstration at the beginning & end of the semester.

​This course will focus on historical writings and recordings; practices will be examined from ca. 1750 to the present, focusing in detail on the pianists and pedagogues of the recorded era who have significantly influenced contemporary performance aesthetics. Class discussions will examine pianists’ biographies, discographies, and individual traditions, as well as their performance aesthetics, pedagogical methods, and influence on contemporary culture. ​

The emphasis on this c lass is on the historical and aesthetic analysis of the development of piano literature in the Classic, Romantic, and Impressionistic traditions. Compositions by pianist/composers including Hayden, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms, Scriabin, Rachmaninov and Debussy are studied to reconstruct and analyze the development of harmonic practices, genres, and styles. Students demonstrate their knowledge of the repertoire in research papers, related written assignments, and listening exams. Student performance in class is required.

The emphasis in this class is on the historical and aesthetic analysis of the development of piano literature in the Contemporary period. Compositions for piano that represent atonality, serialism, extended techniques, multimedia and interactive electronic techniques, the influence of jazz and popular music, Darmstadt and the New York School, and Spanish and Latin American music are performed and analyzed in class. Scholarship that examines ?the new complexity?, minimalism, and postmodernism is reviewed. Students demonstrate their knowledge of the repertoire in research papers, related written assignments, and listening exams. Student performance in class is required. [03/28/2008]

A seminar/master class format will provide the context for the exploration of contemporary performance practices, interpretative strategies, extended techniques, & the incorporation of multimedia in 20th- & 21st-century piano music. In-class performances & critiques will facilitate discussion of related aesthetic issues, programming strategies, & the entrepreneurial & administrative skills relating to audience development.

It should be noted that independent study requires a minimum of 45 hours of work per point. Independent study cannot be applied to the established professional education sequence in teaching curricula. Each departmental program has established its own maximum credit allowance for independent study. This information may be obtained from a student?s department. Prior to registering for independent study, each student should obtain an Independent Study Approval Form from the adviser.

Open to department graduate students majoring in music. Private piano lessons covering repertoire from all styles and forms, supplemented by extra assignments. Attendance at recitals and master classes required