Birthday boy beats Mozart

When we think of a child-genius, it is natural to think of Mozart. He was performing and composing at the age of five. But other composers also began very early. And some even surpassed his considerable feats.

Did you know that Chopin wrote pieces from the age of seven that were much more demanding to write and play than many of the pieces that Wolfie wrote, even in his maturity?

But the one who really impresses me is Camille Saint-Saëns, born on 9th October, 1835.

Consider this: at the age of two he could already read and write, and was picking out melodies on the piano. He began composing shortly after his third birthday, and by the age of five had given his first piano recital.

At seven he was reading Latin, studying botany and investigating butterflies (the last of which he continued to do for the next eighty years).

When he was ten he made his formal debut as a concert pianist, performing a Mozart piano concerto in B flat and Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto in C Minor. For an encore, he offered to play any of the thirty-two Beethoven piano sonatas from memory!

What day is your birthday?

Frédéric Chopin and his family always said that he was born on 1st March, 1810. However the church baptismal records state that he was born a week earlier, on 22nd February.

What day would you like your birthday to be? My name's David and I think I would quite like to have been born on 1st March too, as it is St David's Day, patron saint of Wales.

When we think of a child-genius, it is natural to think of Mozart. He was performing and composing at the age of five. But other composers also began very early. And some even surpassed his considerable feats.

Did you know that Chopin wrote pieces from the age of seven that were much more demanding to write and play than many of the pieces that Wolfie wrote, even in his maturity? In fact, if you were to purchase a copy of Chopin's Earliest Pieces and compare it with a copy of Chopin's Easiest Pieces, you would find that there is not much overlap, because some of Chopin's earliest pieces are quite difficult to play and are written in quite complex, and accurate notation.

Chopin is also quite a different composer from Mozart in another way: while Mozart wrote in all musical genres of his day (as several of the great composers have done), Chopin wrote almost entirely for the piano. Even when he wrote for orchestra, it was for piano and orchestra.

There is a lot of wonderful music to enjoy from the twenty-seven or so years that Chopin was composing music. But the Scherzo in B Flat Minor is a particular favourite of mine, played here in a very resonant acoustic, by Konstantin Bogino.

Roger Woodward recommends ...

When Roger Woodward came to Mitchell Conservatorium and conducted a piano masterclass, he recommended several books.


When Tara Chan, seen in this candid shot during the master class, asked me for information about them, I thought I should post it here for everyone:

Chopin, pianist and teacher - as seen by his pupils by Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger. The link  takes you to Google Books, currently enabling you to read at least a substantial part of the book online. The cheapest place to purchase one at the moment seems to be The Book Depository

The Art of Piano Playing by Heinrich Neuhaus has been on our book shelf for about 30 years or more. My wife, Joan bought it and liked it - now, I'll have to read it, too.

He also recommended C P E Bach's Essay On The True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments.

Roger Woodward told us that the Chopin book gives inside information on how this master performer and teacher taught. Neuhaus' book refines this. The book by Bach's most productive and most famous son gives insight into how Bach should be played by the great master's biggest fan.

A master class with a master

Roger Woodward with Fiona Thompson

Roger Woodward led an inspiring master class at Mitchell Conservatorium today. Seven piano students played pieces for his evaluation by Elissa Milne, Gurlitt, Chopin, Liszt, Prokofiev, Haydn, Grieg and Farrenc.

The students who participated were Tara Chan, Eliza Chudleigh, Anthony Tran, Raymond and Maggie Chan, and Namaste Ossig-Bonanno. They were amazed when Mr Woodward played Tara's difficult Prokofiev and Liszt pieces without knowing beforehand what pieces were being presented.

I was also interested that he took the opportunity to practise for his concert tour in the  half hour before the program started. Others would have wanted to rest from their journey, have a cup of tea, or engage in small talk. It was most enlightening to be a fly on the wall and watch him at work.

When Ailie McGarity performed Chopin's Nocturne in E Minor, Mr Woodward told us that it was the second nocturne Chopin ever wrote. And he said that mastering the nocturnes of Chopin is an entry point to all of Chopin's other works.

He recommended Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger's Chopin: pianist and teacher [as seen by his pupils] for information on how Chopin taught. He also said that this book and C P E Bach's Essay On The True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments give lots of essential information about playing the piano, including useful tips on fingering and hand position.

He also highly recommended Heinrich Neuhaus' Art of Piano Playing as a more recent record of teaching piano Chopin's way.

What an interesting afternoon! Roger Woodward graciously gave us an hour of his time and was generous in his praise of our students and our Bechstein grand piano.

It's a bit blurry, but I do love this photo of Roger Woodward and Tara Chan interacting, as he talked with her about the Prokofiev sonata and the Liszt piece which she performed.

Tara Chan is a talented pianist and violinist. She has already been awarded an Australian Music Examinations Board A Mus A diploma, and is currently working towards her licentiate L Mus A diploma, and is not yet 16 years of age.

Tara enjoys playing violin with fellow violinist Chloe McCormick, violist and pianist, Ailie McGarity and cellist,Nicola Ball in the delightful Bella Forte string quartet.

On Sunday, 28th August, 2011, Tara will perform her L Mus A program in a 12.30 PM concert in The Orchard Room at Mitchell Conservatorium. The concert is free of charge and includes J S Bach's Prelude and Fugue in G Minor, from his Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Mozart's Sonata in A Minor, K.310, Chopin Prelude in C# Minor, op 10 no 4 and Prokofiev's one movement A Minor Sonata.

A splended time is guaranteed for all.

U3A?

Cheryl McKellar and David McKay, with Joan and Bill Bergen in the corner

U3A, or University of the Third Age, is an organisation for people over fifty, no longer working full time. The Bathurst branch is very popular and always has lots of different programs to appeal to a wide range of interests.

The Music Appreciation program has been going for over ten years. It is currently run at the beginning of the fourth school term. Each week we listen to some live music, hear some fascinating information about an aspect of Music, and also listen to some recordings to complement the talk and live music.

Over the past eight years we have explored

J S Bach
Mozart
Chopin, Schumann and Mendelssohn (all born within a year of one another)
the beginnings of Russian classical Music
British Music of the Twentieth Century
G F Handel
Australian Classical Music
French Music

Proposed future topics include:

Haydn
Beethoven
Bach's sons

Beat That!

When we think of a child-genius, it is natural to think of Mozart. He was performing and composing at the age of five. But other composers also began very early. And some even surpassed his considerable feats.

Did you know that Chopin wrote pieces from the age of seven that were much more demanding to write and play than many of the pieces that Wolfie wrote, even in his maturity?

But the one who is impressing me at the moment is Camille Saint-Saëns. Consider this: at the age of two he could already read and write and was picking out melodies on the piano. He began composing shortly after his third birthday, and by the age of five had given his first piano recital.

At seven he was reading Latin, studying botany and investigating butterflies [the last of which he continued to do for the next eighty years].

When he was ten he made his formal debut as a concert pianist, performing a Mozart piano concerto in B flat and Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto in C Minor. For an encore, he offered to play any of the thirty-two Beethoven piano sonatas from memory!

Sunday, 31st October Bicentenary Tribute

Elena Day-Hakker, at a previous Mitchell Conservatorium recital

This year is the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of Chopin and Schumann, two of the most-performed composers for the piano. On Sunday, 31st October, Elena Day-Hakker will perform some of their most beloved compositions, as well as works by Moskowski and Shamo.

Starting at 2.30 PM, the concert is free for Mitchell Conservatorium students and costs just $20 for adults and $15 concession. There is also a two-for-one deal for U3A members.

Please join us for some delightful music at our first Spring Season concert, at West Wing, Court House in Russell St.