Presentations
J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier
A Listening Journey through WTC 1
The journey through the Well-Tempered Clavier 1 consists of an introduction, twelve lecture-recitals that cover all 24 Preludes and Fugues, and a final complete performance of the work. In the lecture recitals I present a “guided tour” through two Preludes and Fugues at a time, combining listening, analysis, historical background and connections to our lives today. Examples can be found on my blog, Music, Life and other Challenges, and on YouTube.
Listening Journey through Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier 1 on Facebook Live
J. S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1, Nos 1-14
J. S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1, Nos 13-24
While the series follows the chronological orader of Bach’s work, lectures can also be presented individually.
The project was first presented in 2019/2020 as a fundraiser, hosted by the Ethical Culture Society of Essex County in Maplewood, NJ.
J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 2
Lecture Recitals on selected Preludes and Fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier 2 are also available, following the same concept of combining listening, historical background and establishing a connection to our lives today.
I have presented lectures on Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier at the Ethical Culture Society of Essex County in Maplewood, NJ, at the Pianophoria piano camp for adult students in NYC, the Making Sense Symposium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC (with artist Terri Suess and the Syren modern dance ensemble), for the adult education program of the Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York City, the Unitarian Church in Summit, NJ, the Concord Community Music School in Concord, NH, the Sonata piano camp in Burlington, VT, the Association of Piano Teachers of Long Island (APTLI), the Pompton Valley Piano Teachers’ Association (PVMTA), and the Adult Music Student Forum in Washington DC.
Having Fun with Story Suites and Theme Recitals
Theme recitals group repertoire according to a topic (e.g. nature, animals, music history, music inspired by visual art etc). Story Suites connect individual pieces of music through a narrative – a well-known example is Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. Throughout my teaching career I’ve gathered a lot of experience with both types of recitals and always found them fun and rewarding. They stimulate the students’ and the teacher’s imagination, they create community among the participants and working together on a project that is larger than the individual performance can even help ease performance anxiety.
In addition to examples from my own studio, my presentation includes published materials and ideas how to create your own story suite or theme recital.
I’ve presented this lecture for the faculty of the Concord Community Music School and the Association of Piano Teachers of Long Island (APTLI).
Play, Practice, Perform – Ideas and Inspiration from Piano Studies with Seymour Bernstein
Seymour Bernstein’s book “With your own two hands” was my first introduction to the author and his work. It fascinated me as an approach whose point of departure is the individual human being, rather than an abstract concept of the instrument and the technique you need to develop in order to master it.
In 1997 I began to take lessons with Bernstein. Gradually, the disjointed elements of my playing came together: thinking and feeling, technique and expression, practicing and performing. As I learnt how to translate a score into music in my mind, and find the correct motions to express what I heard and felt, my technique became reliable at last, and a whole new world of possibilities opened up.
Referring to the author’s publications With your own two hands and Keyboard Choreography as well as my memoir More than the World in Black and White my presentation gives an outline of my learning process and describes the impact it has had on my teaching.
I’ve presented this lecture for the Adult Music Student Forum in Washington DC and the Minneapolis Piano Teachers’ Association.
Living with Uncertainty
This presentation is based on my memoir More than the World in Black and White – How Music came alive and my Life turned to Music. Like an extensive piece of music, the book has many themes: the chances and challenges connected with developing talent as a child and later in life; relationships between parents and children, education, “dysfunctional” families, friendship, love and living in different countries and cultures. There’s a lot about music, because music is my “thing”, but it can be replaced by anything that you feel driven to explore and fulfill. When I look back at my journey, I’m amazed at the risks I’ve taken, where that has led me and how experiences that were painful and challenging at the time have led to joy and fulfillment.
I’ve held this presentation at the Ethical Culture Society of Essex County and at the Bookhouse in Millburn, NJ.