Chinoiserie, Jenny Lin perf.

I wish to just add some information to the CD liner notes. The author of the notes, Jacqueline Waeber-Diaz did a fine job giving the background of the pieces. In fact, the CD lists the publishers for the music, enabling one to contact the publishers directly.

Pieces that are based on folk songs:
Percy Grainger, Beautiful Fresh Flower & Anton Arensky, Etude sur un theme chinois
These two pieces are based on "Jasmine Flower" or "Morlihua", a folksong from the Jiangsu province. My paper presented at CMS was based on these two pieces and Puccini's setting of the folk song. You may read the abstract here in the April archives. The Grainger piano score is a little difficult to find. I wrote to the Bardic Edition publishers and received my complimentary score.
The Arensky score is published in "Nineteenth Century European Composers: Unfamiliar Masterworks" by Dover.
Buy 19th-C European Piano Music: Unfamiliar Masterworks

Jacqueline Waeber-Diaz, Improvisation on a Chinese Folk Song
The composer writes that she has based this piece on Ravel's Le Gibet from Gaspard de la Nuit and Jeux d'eau. The piece is distinctly reminiscent of Ravel obviously. The composer neglects to mention the name of the folk song she used as the basis for her work: Kang Ding Love Song. It is a beautiful song with lyrics mentioning horses on a hill or pasture. The score has recently been published and it is available at Theodore Front.

Alexander Tcherepnin, Five Concert Etudes, op. 52
This is a most interesting set of pieces which were composed in the 1930s. Tcherepnin toured China and stayed there for two years and taught composition there. By this time, he was estranged from his wife. In Shanghai, he met a lovely pianist, Li Xian Min, whom he later married. The third piece in this collection is dedicated to her. The last piece, Chant, is dedicated to Louise Tcherepnin, his ex-wife. Some of the pieces are very evocative of two Chinese instruments. guzheng and pipa. He successfully captures the essence of Chinese music and presents very sophisticated settings of pentatonic melodies. A good publication of the score is available here. This edition gives the background information for the pieces.

Abram Chasins, Rush Hour in Hong Kong 
I believe the score is now available through Alfred's Masterwork Edition series. It is published in the collection "Three Chinese Pieces".   

Chinese Piano Music

Dragon Songs, Lang Lang
Already mentioned in another post. Pretty good selection of Chinese pieces.

Chinoiserie, Jenny Lin performer. BIS #1110
This CD is a compilation of Western piano compositions influenced by the Orient. I found the two pieces that I performed on my graduate recital on this CD. Some of the pieces bear more similarities to Chinese music than others. Composers like Arensky, Grainger, Busoni, Cyril Scott, John Adams, Tcherepnin and Rossini are featured. I will discuss what I know about the pieces on other posts. I love this collection of pieces. Buy Chinoiserie CD at Amazon.





Three Chinese Piano Concertos, Eileen Huang. ASV 1031

This CD contains the Yellow River Concerto and the Chinese Youth Piano Concerto. The Chinese Youth Piano Concerto is hilarious.. I can't stop laughing when I listen to it. It is a quite the cliche piece of traditional Chinese orchestra and the piano. The third concerto "The Moon's Reflection of the Second Springs" Abing/Chu Wanghua is not really a concerto but an ensemble of Chinese instruments with the piano. I performed the piano solo version of this piece on my graduate recital. Also found on this CD is the "Autumn Moon Mirrored in the Lake" which was programmed on my senior recital at Southwestern College. Buy Chinese Piano Concertos at Amazon.


 

Ancient & Modern Chinese Music, Eileen Huang. Appassionato #69306
A collection of piano works by 20th century Chinese composers. These pieces are a good sample of the compositional styles and are considered to be famous works. Most of the pieces are suitable for college or advanced pianists. There is a second volume but I have not been able to obtain it. Available here.

30 Famous Chinese Piano Pieces, 中国钢琴名曲30首

30 Famous Chinese Piano Pieces, edited by Wei Tingge. 中国钢琴名曲30首. Publisher: The People's Music Publishing.

Several of the pieces in this collection have garnered attention due to Lang Lang's recording, Dragon Songs. Be careful of what iTunes lists as the composers as the information is inaccurate or incomplete. It only lists the original composer of the tune and not the composer who transcribed the pieces. Below are the correct piano composers/transcribers for the pieces.
1. Autumn Moon On Calm Lake, Chen Peixun
2. The Cowherd's Flute (aka A Buffalo Boy Playing His Flute), He Luting
3. Colored Clouds Chasing the Moon (aka Silver Clouds Chasing the Moon), Wang JianZhong

There is a piece which Lang Lang performs, which from the Mermaid Suite, called "Straw Hat" by Du Mingxin. This book does not have the piece but has two other movements from the same suite, "Dance of the Coral" and "Dance of the Waterweeds." They would be late intermediate to early advanced levels.

Some other nice pieces in this collection are:
1. Flower Drum, Qu Wei. This is the famous Anhui folk song. There are English lyrics to this song too.
2. The Second Spring Bathed in Moonlight, Abing/Chu Wanghua. Originally composed for erhu.
3. A Hundred Birds Paying Respect to the Phoenix, Wang JianZhong. I believe this was a pipa solo
4. Ode to Plum Blosson, Abing/Wang JianZhong.
5. Music at Sunset, Li YingHai.

There are two transcriptions of music from the revolutionary ballet of the Cultural Revolution, "The Red Detachment of Women" by Du Mingxin. They are aptly titled, "The Happy Women Soldiers" and "Forging Ahead." Some day I will be as brave as these women and will program them on a recital.

I also want to update some information regarding where to purchase this piano collection. It is no longer available at China Sprout. Amazon.com has a few very overpriced copies, but I have found another seller, Science Press USA.The book is priced at an affordable $12.00 plus shipping at this website.

If you are just intending to browse the collection, I do have a pdf copy. Please leave me a comment and I will email that copy to you. For my friends near Kansas State or Wichita State, there are genuine copies at their libraries. I believe the copy at Wichita State was donated by yours truly. I have annotated dates for the pieces and the composers in my own copy. Please do not hesitate to ask for that information if you need it for a program.

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June 2005:
This book offers a good selection of Chinese piano music by current composers. The score for the pieces I chose for my senior and graduate recital are found here. The paper quality of the book is rather poor. It would be advisable to make photocopies when learning a new piece. Markings would easily damage the score. I'm sorry I don't know whether it is an acid-free edition since it is published in China.

I do intend to talk about each piece and composer in brief, with the hopes that this would be a source of information for pianists and teachers alike. In my research I have found that the little information is scattered in many different websites and references. And of course it would also help me keep track of the information I have found. There is just too much note paper scattered in my apartment too.

The only website that sells this book for a decent price is China Sprout. While you are at this site, check out some of their other offerings. I will be investing in a couple more books later this year.

Getting Used to the Steinbuhler Smaller Piano Keyboard

        There is always a fear of the unknown and stepping out into any new paradigm. I knew I would have to jump into the world of adapting between two instrument sizes, like switching between violin and viola.  I had read the research of Dr. Carol Leone and other researchers who said it only takes an accomplished pianist about 2 weeks to learn to switch back and forth.

        The size of an octave on a 7/8 is about the size of a 7th on a full-sized piano. I found that to be the most challenging switch. I play for a church regularly and I started running through those pieces at home. There were some Sunday mornings when the first few octaves I intended to play came out as 7ths during the pre-service rehearsal. This occurred mostly in the left hand. It usually lasted for a minute before my brain fixes it. The time lapse reduced over a few weeks where I could switch back and forth.

        The ultimate test came when I accepted a challenge and a gig for a friend who is performing his graduate recital this spring. The piece that is requested is the Prokofiev Violin Sonata no. 2. I have to admit that I have not played any of Prokofiev's works in my recitals, but I was up to taking on this project since I have to the time to practice. The first question was whether I was going to learn the piece on a full-sized keyboard, which, of course, I would have to perform on eventually. I decided I was going to learn and practice this piece solely on my 7/8 Steinbuhler DS Standard. Prokofiev's composition has wide spacings and some awkward passages for the piano. I would not say it was an easy piece to read or learn.

           We had our first rehearsal in December to get a rough idea of what we had to concentrate on. The rehearsal was on a rather uncooperative grand piano and a cold room. I found out quickly how much I had to adjust from the 7/8 to a full-sized piano. The answer was NOT MUCH.

          I observed that I had learned the piece more securely than I thought. Because of this security, I was able to make those wide leaps and play with greater confidence and accuracy. I wondered why this was the case. I come to the conclusion that I had learned the piece in a relaxed manner, with little tension and in the most ergonomic positions possible. This taught my muscles to return quickly to its optimal stage after every stretch or leap. I had to adjust the degree and speed of movement for leaps and wide chords.

          When I played on a full-sized piano, I finally realized how uncomfortable it was to play octaves. I could feel a difference with my stamina and level of muscle fatigue when playing on these different keyboards. It makes me wonder what it would have been like if I practiced all my graduate recitals on the 7/8 especially Brahms, Beethoven and Chopin.

            I hope more and more small-handed pianists have the opportunity to try out these Steinbuhler keyboards. It is a world of difference and it has definitely rekindled my love for playing.

Now, onto teaching children on the 7/8 keyboard. That is for another post ... Stay tuned!





 

Summer Camps 2009

Here are some summer camps which I am really interested in attending BUT I spent all my money on China last year. So if you feel sponsoring a poor international graduate student or have possibilities for a job, please leave a comment. The next thing I'm learning to do is fix a car. Jill of all trades, master of several!

Barbara Lister-Sink, Author of "Freeing the Caged Bird"
Intensive Workshop, June 22-27, 2009. Salem College, NC.
This would be good for anyone who is open to exploring bio-mechanics and ergonomic piano playing techniques. Barbara is a bundle of energy and has a great personality. I appreciate her down-to-earth approach and her teacher's heart. After a quick session with Barbara, I noticed one thing about my playing and she noticed plenty. I changed my sitting posture slightly and have reduced neck/shoulder tension. I am a little more coordinated but I have a long way to go. Her brief workshop at UA reminded me of my years in Kansas when my teachers were focused on injury prevention and better technique for me. Now that I don't have any injuries or maladies, I would love to fully explore my potential at the piano without recital requirements hanging over me.

Malcolm Bilson, David Breitman and Andrew Willis
"Knowing the Score", Summer Fortepiano Workshop August 9-15, 2009. Cornell University.
Another one of my favorite topics is historical performance.
I have not had the chance to explore this too much in the past couple years, because I've been buried in my dissertation research. I have been "Bilsonized" (an example of the American process of verbification) as I have followed some of his work, conference presentations and such. I have met these three wonderful people in person so I would highly recommend this workshop. If all I get to do is see the range of fortepianos they are going to have, I'll be satisfied. I don't think I want to play or perform but just be in the presence of great scholars & performers. I am reminded again of my college years when I had to do research into performance practice and review different recordings, different score editions and produce a written journal on my findings. (Did I become lazier in my DMA?). So if you don't know the difference between fortepianos and the modern piano, and want to find out about notation practices, be there. No excuses!

Summer Plans 2009

Things I look forward to when I finish everything at UA:

1. Job applications: Quite a few decisions to make on what career path I would like to take. I'm looking for a job combining music, cultural studies or Chinese studies. Very few can claim to have lived in and taught the Hokey Pokey to two remote villages in China!

2. Read: I'm more interested in non-fiction so I will probably keep reading books on Chinese history and Beethoven. Maybe I'll start some work on tracing Beethoven in Chinese music history?

3. Piano: I want to attend Barbara Lister-Sink's workshop but that depends a lot on $$ and transportation. I'm toying with the idea of playing through more Beethoven stuff or I'll return to Bach.

4. Chinese: I have all my Chinese textbooks with me and I can't wait to dig into them again. I will continue translating Madame Mao's speeches and possibly prepare them for publication. I have several Chinese versions of English texts I would like to start working on like the "History of Western Music" Palisca-Grout and the bible.

5. Car: Yes, it's time to let go of my car or I can attempt to fix it again on my own with a friend's help. Distributor cap, I officially dislike you! Where's the lifetime warranty? I'm getting around in a borrowed vehicle these few weeks (or months).

6. Beading: I'm thinking of expanding jewelry making to beading embroidery. I'm a little concerned as the last time I did such intricate work, I inflamed a nerve in my right wrist. No permanent effects, but it sure hurt! I long to work on stained glass again.

7. Dance as much as I can.

8. Secret! You'll find out when it happens.

Small Hands, Hand Span and the Piano

Abstract: Pianists of smaller physique have been grappling with the issue of hand span. Throughout history, pedagogues and pianists have attempted to develop special techniques, exercises and stretches to widen the hand span. Most of these techniques would currently be deemed risky and dangerous to the point of ending a pianist’s career. With the advances in scientific research particularly in the fields of music medicine, ergonomics and biomechanics, new experiments have lead to new insights regarding this issue. This lecture aims to provide insight into the world of the small-handed pianist and the adaptations of playing and pedagogical techniques for this particular group. The lecture will focus on research performed in the 21st century with a brief account of historical approaches and methods.

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This was the topic of my doctoral lecture. It's a great feeling to have one more requirement behind me. There were a few things I learned while researching this topic. I had to learn some of the finger gymnastics exercises and etudes which were described by other researchers. I had lots of fun learning the origins of the Vulcan salute and found a way to greet my audience with "Live long and prosper!" LOL.

In response to the question from the floor concerning the risk of injury in practicing finger independence and extension exercises: (Note: My hand span is 7.5 inches from thumb to fifth finger. You shouldn't try these without a teacher unless you have very sharp observation skills and great mental control as well.)

I found the finger independence exercises of Pischna, Philipp and Dohnanyi interesting. I would advocate playing the first few exercises in which the hand remains in fairly compact position (5 or 6 key-span) but would not pursue the ones which stretch or abduct the fingers constantly (octave, full diminished chords, etc). I have also tried these on the table top away from the piano keys. This reduced arm/finger tension when I returned to the piano with the same exercise.

As for the other exercises which develop stretch between fingers, I played them while observing the angle of my wrist and thumb. Most of the stretches span an interval of a 4th or 5th. I noticed that when playing these exercises, my arm had to follow my fingers carefully and I had to compact the hand or return the wrist to neutral as quickly as possible. Wrist deviation & split section neutralization is part of the game here which cannot be avoided. (Just like the Chopin Etude op. 25 no 1 in A-flat major.) I just played them at no particular rhythm or tempo, not practicing them and stopped once I felt discomfort.

I do not think one necessarily needs to master these exercises to reap its benefits. These gave me keen awareness of the structure of each finger and its relation to the wrist. I also found that a combination of a doing stretching exercises (Adele Marcus & Alicia de Larrocha) and the Josef Gat finger gymnastics improved my coordination overall. If for nothing else, my friends were very entertained by these exercises. Both Marcus and de Larrocha cautioned that these stretching exercises could be dangerous if abused. I had less trouble playing the finger independence and extension exercises, since my mind was prepared. The brain is amazing in its ability to adapt.

As a teacher, I do not think etudes and finger exercises should be prescribed as a cure all. I heard this being said about etudes: it is like medicine, you take the correct dose as too much would kill you! Scales and arpeggios are just as dangerous. I have heard cautions about practicing Hanon but for me, adapting those exercises, playing them as musically as possible and finding a way to play them at ease has been beneficial to me. I realized there were parts of my fingers which I had not utilized prior to this. I discovered I have fairly good finger joint mobility which I now intend to develop further.

I rest my case.

see more crazy cat pics

Beethoven links

Here are some links for Beethoven that have been wonderful for my Beethoven piano music survey class. Since the books about Beethoven's piano sonatas were checked out, I had to be very creative in how I came up with the scholarly resources for my presentation. I had to say I started off with Wikipedia, not that I'm proud of it but I found a gem.

The Raptus Association has information about Beethoven's pieces. The creation histories contain a section about the piano sonatas and quotes some major authors on Beethoven (Solomon, Kinderman, Cooper, Kaiser). The information is drawn from books by those authors and the page nos are given. This is absolutely fantastic as you can read all about a work without having to flip through a couple books.

The other website that is just wonderful is the Beethoven Haus website. This is the house where Beethoven was born in. Navigate the digital archives for music manuscripts, first editions and letters. It is interesting to see all these posted on the web and you don't need to go to Bonn. There is also a page about the museum and a live webcam.

Taking a year's survey of Beethoven's music has really deepened my appreciation for his music and his genius. I would love to play and listen to more of his sonatas now than ever before.

Electronic Music in China

I received this weblink today and perhaps would be of interest to 20th/21st C music fans. Traces a background of electronic and computer music in China beginning in the 1980s to current.

Electronic Music in China

Chinese Music - Recommendations

Some books to read:
Jonathan Stock - Musical Creativity in 20th Century China
Life of Abing, the folk musician.
Richard Kraus - Pianos and Politics in China
Written by a sociologist about the turmoil during the Cultural Revolution.
Sheila Melvin & JinDong Cai - Rhapsody in Red
A colorful history of how Western Classical music became Chinese.
Liang Mingyue - Music of the Billion: An Introduction to Chinese Musical Culture
Socio-historic background, instrument descriptions, instrumental & vocal music including the Chinese opera.

Some websites:
For sound samples on Chinese instruments, visit http://www.chineseculture.net/ Enter the “Music Store”. Excellent resource for Chinese sheet music although overpriced so buy those from China Sprout!

30 Famous Chinese Piano Pieces

This book offers a good selection of Chinese piano music by current composers. The score for the pieces I chose for my senior and graduate recital are found here. The paper quality of the book is rather poor. It would be advisable to make photocopies when learning a new piece. Markings would easily damage the score. I'm sorry I don't know whether it is an acid-free edition since it is published in China.

I do intend to talk about each piece and composer in brief, with the hopes that this would be a source of information for pianists and teachers alike. In my research I have found that the little information is scattered in many different websites and references. And of course it would also help me keep track of the information I have found. There is just too much note paper scattered in my apartment too.

The only website that sells this book for a decent price is China Sprout. While you are at this site, check out some of their other offerings. I will be investing in a couple more books later this year.

Chinese Piano Music: a beginning post

I have been approached many times by people wanting to know more about Chinese music. I have to admit that my knowledge of this subject is limited and I am researching more into this genre. To save me from repeating myself too often, I am going to start posting on this subject and if applicable, post links as to where the information, scores, CDs can be found. Hopefully this will be of help to people researching orientalism or Chinese music.

Some good CDs to start off with are:
Chinoiserie, Jenny Lin performer. BIS #1110
This CD is a compilation of Western piano compositions influenced by the Orient. I found the two pieces that I performed on my graduate recital on this CD. Some of the pieces bear more similarities to Chinese music than others. Composers like Arensky, Grainger, Busoni, Cyril Scott, John Adams, Tcherepnin and Rossini are featured. I will discuss what I know about the pieces on other posts. Buy Chinoiserie CD


Three Chinese Piano Concertos, Eileen Huang. ASV 1031
This CD contains the Yellow River Concerto and the Chinese Youth Piano Concerto. The third concerto "The Moon's Reflection of the Second Springs" is not really a concerto but an ensemble of Chinese instruments with the piano. I performed the piano solo version of this piece on my graduate recital. Also found on this CD is the "Autumn Moon Mirrored in the Lake" which was programmed on my senior recital at Southwestern College. Buy Chinese Piano Concertos

Ancient & Modern Chinese Music, Eileen Huang. Appassionato #69306
A collection of piano works by 20th century Chinese composers. These pieces are a good sample of the compositional styles and are considered to be famous works. Most of the pieces are suitable for college or advanced pianists. There is a second volume but I have not been able to obtain it.

CMS Paper "Jasmine Flower in Three Different Lights"

Abstract:

The East has always held a seductive grasp on the West. Considered unusual, yet highly regarded, many artists looked to the East for inspiration, blending the exotic and their own authenticity. The famous Chinese melody, “Jasmine Flower” or “Mor Li Hua” has been used by at least three different composers as the basis for their works. It is the only authentic Chinese melody in Puccini’s opera. “Turandot” and Australian-American composer, Percy Grainger and Russian composer, Anton Arensky both have piano settings of this tune. The simple tune, based on the pentatonic scale is raised to a higher level of art by elaboration and/or harmonization. Percy Grainger’s work successfully captures the authenticity of the Chinese theme through pentatonic harmonization, but Arensky’s and Puccini’s works display the exoticism of the melody through diatonic harmonization. Grainger, who based his work on Joseph Yasser’s earlier harmonization of the tune, proves that even the most superficial use of the Chinese pentatonic scale has beauty in its simplicity. Arensky displays the more sentimental aspect of this tune, but elaborates it into a sparkling display of piano technique. Puccini associates the main character, a foreign princess, of his opera with this melody. The three different settings of “Mor-li-hua” display the three different approaches to the assimilation of orientalism into their compositions intended for Western instruments and audiences.

A complete understanding of orientalism in art and music in the Western world remains incomplete even though much research has been done. Much of the research on this topic has been slanted by Edward Said’s view that orientalism is a form of imperialism fraught with political agendas. Even though I am Asian and am aware of some instances where the East has been exploited, I approach this research project with an opposite focus that the West does not always mean to deprecate the East when it adapts Oriental idioms. Artists and composers are frequently uninterested in politics and would probably prefer to remain uninvolved. On the other hand, this does not mean they are unobservant of the times and the social issues that are at hand; sometimes they are simply caught in between art and politics. I would argue that the composers I wish to discuss today used an oriental tune in their compositions, but had no political agendas and treated this melody respectfully.

“Jasmine Flower” or “Mor-li-hua,” a famous Chinese melody, has been documented by many, transcribed by many, and creatively used by several different composers. This tune, a simple melody based on the pentatonic scale, was performed at the closing ceremony of the Olympics in Athens last year to anchor the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympics––thus is the popularity and patriotism this melody symbolizes for the people of China. Opening with a Chinese instrumental ensemble, accompanied by a modern techno beat, and closing with an unaccompanied version of this song sung by a child, the melody retains its charm. It is unquestioningly one of the most famous Chinese folksongs today. There are about six known variants of this melody. The most famous variant, made well-known by Giacomo Puccini in Turandot is utilized by Anton Arensky in his Etude op. 25 no 3, by Percy Grainger in Beautiful Fresh Flower and in a more recent rendering by award-winning Chinese composer, Tan Dun, in the first movement of his Symphony 1997.


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For a copy of the paper, you can feel free to email me. If you know of any more resources that you think would be of interest to me, do contact me. Of course, you can feel free to post your comments and suggestions on this topic.

College Music Society Great Plains Chapter Meeting .. The Fun Stuff

I presented my paper entitled "Jasmine Flower in Three Different Lights" at the College Music Society Great Plains Chapter Meeting in Liberty MO. Unlike the previous week's trip to Kansas City, I brought my whole brain with me and had regained my sense of direction. I did not get lost and found William Jewell College easily.

I enjoyed the complimentary concert at the Music Hall immensely. The Prague Philharmonic is a great orchestra. The amazing feat performed by the substitute pianist at the last minute, was just awesome. We couldn't believe that he had not practiced and did not find out that he would be performing Dvorak's 2nd Piano Concerto until 5:30pm that day. There were hardly any mistakes.. maybe one or two notes that were a tad blurred. The audience gave him the applause he deserved and he played a Chopin Mazurka as an encore. However, the most amusing person was the timpanist. I have never seen a more enthusiatic performer, following and gesturing the conductor's every cue with his head (whom, by the way, had a dyed red mohawk). I could hear suppressed giggles in the audience. We knew when the timpani was about to appear since he flashes the biggest smile as his entrance approaches and he plays with such flair, no one would have missed him.

As far as my presentation went, I expected something to go wrong and yes, something did. My CD wouldn't play and I had to think very quickly. I wasn't prepared to play the excerpts without the approval of Dr. Trechak, my piano professor and certainly didn't want to read open score for the opera excerpt. The tech. had to plug in my laptop and play it from there. It was the first time that I walked on stage to a podium instead of the piano. Although I have no qualms about performing, I found out that I was nervous having to present a paper. I broke the ice by giving the background of my research and what it meant to me. Somehow you can always endear an audience when you talk to them about childhood. Yes, I learned the Chinese folksong "Morlihua" my first day at Chinese class when I was pretty young then. The presentation went nicely and I had to face the questions. I think I managed to give satisfactory answers to the ones posed.

I am certain I was the youngest participant and presenter at that conference. It gave me a chance to see what a musicology conference is like. I received many compliments about my paper and left calling cards with a few people. They are going to take my project back to their classes. I met someone from Italy who has the same interest in my topic. That is what I had hoped would happen so I believe I would be in contact with this person.