ConcART IV (Farewell)

The past few months have been one wild ride.

If you're reading this blog, it probably means you're my mother or my father (hi mom, hi dad). And that means you already know that Johanne and I are leaving Texas for the unfriendly cold of New York. We leave mid-August, less than three weeks from now.

But we decided to try to squeeze in one last ConcART before going. This would give us a chance to see all of our great Texas friends one last time, play some music for them, maybe sell them some art. I haven't had time to pull together a full, brand-new recital program, so I thought I'd play the three new pieces I have, along with one favorite from each of the first three ConcART recitals. In fact, I couldn't decide on just one from ConcART III, so I chose two.

So ConcART IV (the "Farewell ConcART") will be Sunday, August 7, 2011. And here's the recital program:

1. Prelude I -- Gershwin
2. Sonata No.8 (Pathétique), 2nd movement -- Beethoven
3. Pastorale/Renaissance No.8 -- Corelli/Godowsky
4. Danza de la Pastora -- Halffter
5. Alt Wien -- Godowsky
6. Widmung -- Schumann/Liszt
7. Toccatina Op.36 -- Kapustin

The Beethoven is from ConcART I, the Halffter from ConcART II and the Corelli/Godowsky and Schumann/Liszt are from ConcART III. The Gershwin and Godowsky are both fun, short pieces that I was able to pull together fairly quickly. Putting the Kapustin on the program is sheer insanity. I'll be lucky to come out of it with no broken bones.

Wish us luck!

ConcART III

It's the most wonderful time of the year... ConcART time!

Our first art-show-slash-recital was in October, 2008. We followed that up with ConcART II in November, 2009. Both were more successful than we dared hope. Now we're just two weeks away from ConcART III, which will be held Sunday, November 14, 2010.

Johanne has been busy with pastels and oils (including some great explorations with the palette knife). I've been busy 'shedding for the recital part. There are some challenging bits, but I really, really like this program.

1. Hungarian Dance No.2 -- Johannes Brahms
2. Air and Variations (The Harmonious Blacksmith) -- George Frideric Handel
3. Pastorale/Renaissance No.8 -- Arcangelo Corelli/Leopold Godowsky
4. Tonadas No.24 - Muiñeira (Galicia) -- Joaquin Nin-Culmell
5. Myrthen Op.25 No.1/Widmung -- Robert Schumann/Franz Liszt
6. Danza Ritual del Fuego -- Manuel de Falla

Come to Austin, see the show!

Coming Home Again

Various uninteresting events kept me from traveling home to Ottawa in 2009. But I made sure to hard-schedule a visit in 2010. As in 2008, I made sure to take advantage of Paulette's invitation to play her young Steinway B. My small audience was mom, dad, Johanne, Paulette, mom's friend Louise and my first piano teacher, Edith Orton. It was a very casual gathering and I made sure to play the pieces I'm working up for this year's ConcArt recital. I also played a couple of "oldies", a couple of "requests" and one piece on Paulette's Baldwin L1. Here's the list:

Friday, July 16, 2010:

• Quejas, ó La Maja y el Ruiseñor (Enrique Granados)
• Danza de la Pastora (Ernesto Halffter)
• Air and Variations: The Harmonious Blacksmith (George Handel)
• Widmung (Robert Schumann/Franz Liszt arr.)
• Muiñeira (Joaquin Nin-Culmell)
• Hungarian Dance #2 (Johannes Brahms)
• Ritual Fire Dance (Manuel de Falla)
• Danza del Gaucho Matrero (Alberto Ginastera)
• Impromptu Op.90 No.4 (Franz Schubert)
• Sonetto 104 del Petrarca (Franz Liszt)

I think everybody had a good time. I had two very nice comments and one good piece of constructive criticism. Paulette asked when I bought my piano because it sounded like my playing had matured and become much more expressive since 2008. She attributed it to having my own piano to play every day. Edith asked if I practiced technique (scales, etc.) regularly. I explained that with my limited practice time, I practice technique in service of the pieces I'm learning/playing only. But I do practice the runs, arpeggios, trills, etc. from the pieces as though they were technical exercises in order to get them as clean as possible. Her impression was that my technique and articulation were strong.

The constructive criticism came from my mother's friend Louise. She suggested (and everyone agreed) that it would be nice to have more tranquility in my repertoire, since most of the pieces I played were quick or fiery or energetic (or all three!). I do have slower, calmer material, but didn't play much of it. The comment reminded me that even in a casual gathering, you shouldn't ignore program-level considerations. It also convinced me that I really need to add one more piece to this year's planned ConcArt program. Now I just have to find a new piece that's a slow/tranquil foil for the rest of the program, something that's melodic and beautiful, something that's not too trivial, and that I can learn and get up to performance level for the Fall.

Having fun at Paulette's Steinway B

ConcART II

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you may remember Johanne and I had a combination art show/piano recital last fall. We enjoyed it so much we decided to try to have one once a year. Well, the time has come! ConcART II will take place Sunday, November 15, 2009.

Johanne will be showing the pastel paintings and oil studies she's done this year, as well as a few older paintings that won awards in 2009.

To kick off the show, I'll give another recital of classical piano music. I wanted to mix things up a little this year. Last year's recital was very heavy on Romantic and Spanish music. I think this new program is more varied, and maybe a little more accessible.

1. Twelve Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman" (Wolfgang A. Mozart)
2. Etude Op.10 No.3 (Frederic Chopin)
3. Sonata No.84 (Antonio Soler)
4. Arabesque I (Claude Debussy)
5. Danza de la Pastora (Ernesto Halffter)
6. Prelude Op.23 No.5 (Sergei Rachmaninoff)

If you can make it to Austin November 15, let me know and I'll send you the Evite.

Spring Recital Review

It's been two weeks since the Spring Recital at Steinway. I'd meant to post a review right after the recital, but never got around to it. Luckily, I checked the rulebook and there are no restrictions on how long after an event you can still blog it. So....

The Spring Recital took place May 31, 2009 at 5pm in the recital hall at Steinway Piano Gallery, Austin. The program had twelve performers: eleven students of Steinway Guy and me at the very end. The students played two pieces each. I played three:

1. Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
2. Danza de la Pastora (Ernesto Halffter)
3. Danza del Gaucho Matrero (Alberto Ginastera)

The students were mostly quite young, the audience mostly camera/camcorder-toting parents. As the program wound on, some of the younger students in the audience started getting quite restless. The rising temperature in the hall didn't help either. So by the time it was my turn, the room didn't seem interested in hearing three pieces by some guy. But there was nothing to do about it except get up there and play what was printed in the program.

The piano was not their usual model D Steinway. It was a glossy D. (By default, the New York Steinways have a satin finish, the Hamburg Steinways a glossy finish... so it looked like a Hamburg D). Turns out it had recently been rented out by the Steinway Gallery to Diana Krall for a private event, and she had autographed the plate. I thought the sound was gorgeous, but the action felt a little spongy.

I gave a little opening spiel then launched into the Mozart. It was nice to hear the audience's noises of recognition when they realized the theme was "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". And to my surprise, the videos and still cameras didn't stop. I'd assumed the parents would put away the cameras when their kids were done. I think this is the first time I've ever played a recital with flashes going off while playing.

To keep things moving, I shortened my verbal introductions a little, and skipped the repeat I usually play in the Halffter. But it turns out that my concerns were unfounded: everybody seemed to enjoy the performance. And the Ginastera at the end is always a big hit.

So there you have it. I'm grateful to Steinway Guy for another opportunity to perform. I feel like I'm slowly narrowing the gap between the quality of public and private performances, though it's still much wider than I'd like. I just have to keep at it!

Impromptu Recital

My good friends Bruce and Claudia Porter saw their youngest (Ben) get married last Saturday. Johanne and I went to the wedding, which was held at The Mansion in Austin. It was a great ceremony, dinner and party and we're really happy for Ben and his bride Alejandra Rodriguez. (As an aside, Alejandra, who goes by "Ale" for short, has just inherited the best beer name ever: "Ale Porter").

The Mansion, as you'd expect, has several big rooms with pianos. They have a little Hardman baby grand (one of the huge cast of decent early twentieth century American piano makers). Another room has a Steinway M or L (couldn't quite tell which just looking at it -- it was old enough that the model stamp wasn't in the usual place and the L is only 3.5" longer than the M). But the star is a Baldwin SD10 9' concert grand. The photo shows the actual piano in its room at The Mansion.


After the bride and groom left, we were standing around and somebody suggested that it wasn't too late for me to check out the SD10. So a few of us went in for an impromptu recital. I played Ernesto Halffter's Danza de la Pastora, Alberto Ginastera's Danza del Gaucho Matrero and the second movement of Beethoven's Pathétique Sonata. It was late and I was tired, but it went well. My small audience insisted on one more, so I played Enrique Granados' Laments, or the Maiden and the Nightingale (Quejas, ó la Maja y el Ruiseñor).

Everyone seemed to enjoy the performance. As much as I did? Maybe. :-)

Spring Recital

I've mentioned here that I'd like to find more opportunities to perform. So I jumped when Steinway Guy asked me to play at a recital of his students on May 31. It's a great opportunity to play for a larger audience and I thought it would give me a chance to test-drive a couple new pieces. The recital will be at the Steinway Piano Gallery, hopefully on the D!

I asked SG if he had any preferences, or if there was an overall theme to the program. He said I could play anything I like. But then a few weeks ago he mentioned that it would be good if I could play something the audience would recognize. But not Für Elise or the Moonlight Sonata. And the pieces shouldn't be too long, since there will be a lot of kids in the audience. But they should be technically challenging to show the students what you can do if you practice your scales and technique.

Of course, I have nothing that fits all those criteria. And it seemed a little late to learn something brand new. But then it hit me! The Mozart Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman" would be perfect. I've never really learned them, but I've noodled around with them enough over the years that I was confident I could put them together in time. I'll also play Pastora and Gaucho Matrero, which the audience surely won't recognize, but are short, fast and very entertaining.

1. Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
2. Danza de la Pastora (Ernesto Halffter)
3. Danza del Gaucho Matrero (Alberto Ginastera)

I sent the program to SG and he loves it. So there you go. I'm committed.

ConcART!

On Sunday, October 19, Johanne will be having her first solo Art Show at our home here in Austin. The show will feature her latest pastel painting series on Rocher Percé, her new wood burnings and a couple of new wood sculptures.

To kick off the show, I'll be giving a recital on my new piano. We're expecting 40-50 people. (If you're in Austin, or think you could make it and didn't receive an invitation, let me know. I'll get one out to you).

I wanted to give a longish recital. Most other opportunities involve multiple performers where each is limited to one or two pieces. This is an opportunity to stretch out a little and design a nice program with some variety. The problem is that when I laid it out, it was too long. And removing pieces is a sad thing. But after much hair-pulling, I've whittled it down to...

1. El Puerto (Albéniz)
2. Sonetto 104 del Petrarca (Liszt)
3. Sonata No.8 (Pathétique), 2nd movement (Beethoven)
4. Impromptu Op.90, No.4 (Schubert)
5. Quejas, ó la Maja y el Ruiseñor (Granados)
6. Danzas Argentinas (Ginastera)

There are a couple of glaring omissions, but even still, I'm worried it's a little long. I figure it runs about 40 minutes. Make it 45, since I plan to tell a little story to introduce each piece. But I think the flow/variety of the program would suffer if I removed any more. (Not to mention... it would break my heart).

So what do you think? Would you sit through those 45 minutes? Even if you were coming mainly to view the art?

Recital Recap

I played my second recital at the Orpheus Academy Saturday evening. They have pretty regular recitals for their students. One of my neighbors studies classical guitar there, and she talked to the owners about letting me participate in their "Adult Impromptu Recital" series.

The first recital was last Spring, and I played El Puerto (Albéniz) and Sonetto 104 del Petrarca (Liszt). The piano in their recital hall was an older Petrof and when I got up to play I noticed that it had only two pedals... no Sostenuto. I use the Sostenuto all over the place in El Puerto, so I offered to play something else. But they had a nice Kawai (probably an RX-2) in another room, so I played there. I'm sure they were all thinking "Who is this ass... thinks he need three pedals!". Anyway, it went well, and I really liked the atmosphere and the attitude of the organizers and students.

This time I played the three Danzas Argentinas (Ginastera). We used a different room again. The piano was an old Sohmer & Co. It belonged to the owner's grandfather. The strings were pretty dead, but I snuck the lid open before the recital and it was fine. I thought the performance went really well. The Danzas are a challenge to perform. If you can maintain calm, they're fine. If you tense up at all, you lose the handle and it's a trainwreck. I'm glad to say no trains left the rails.

And while I'm recapping recitals, I might as well mention my Ottawa recital, too. I guess it wasn't really a "recital". I thought it would be fun to get my Ottawa music teachers together and play for them. My mother's friend Paulette offered her new Steinway B for the event. What a gorgeous piano. In attendance: mom, dad, Johanne, Paulette, my piano teacher (1978-1985) Edith Orton and my Music History teacher (1983-1986?) Sandra Cooke. I played most of the old pieces that I've worked back up, but also threw in an unripe performance of Granados' Quejas, ó La Maja y el Ruiseñor from Goyescas.

Me at Paulette's Steinway B (next to Paulette's Baldwin L1)

I'd like to keep a record of these performances, and the blog seems like as good a place as any, so...

December 21, 2007: Cal Janacek's Christmas Recital

• Étude Op.10 Nr.3 (Frédéric Chopin)
• El Puerto (Isaac Albéniz)

May 24, 2008: Orpheus Academy of Music Adult Impromptu Recital

• El Puerto (Isaac Albéniz)
• Sonetto 104 del Petrarca (Franz Liszt)

August 8, 2008: Paulette's House

• El Puerto (Isaac Albéniz)
• Arabesque I (Claude Debussy)
• Sonetto 104 del Petrarca (Franz Liszt)
• Danzas Argentinas (Alberto Ginastera)
• Quejas, ó La Maja y el Ruiseñor (Enrique Granados)

September 27, 2008: Orpheus Academy of Music Adult Impromptu Recital

• Danzas Argentinas (Alberto Ginastera)

Piano 101: Coming Out (Again)

When I started practicing again I had no idea how much pure joy I would get out of just playing. I'm excited every time I step out to practice at the University or a friend's house, or even when I play bits and pieces on pianos at the store. And when I'm done my head is so full of music that walking and talking and chewing and breathing all feel locked to some rhythm. (I probably look like a dork).

But my goal of all this was to be able to play piano again in public on demand. And my target was Christmas. Well, today is December 22... and yesterday I played in a little Christmas recital at the home of a friend who teaches. I think that counts for "in public", even if the public was pretty small.

I performed two pieces: a Chopin Étude (Opus 10, Number 3) and a piece from Isaac Albéniz' Iberia Suite (El Puerto). They're kind of challenging to play, but I think it went pretty well. I hope to record these two over the next couple of weeks and post the recordings on this blog.

Afterwards, the host of the recital suggested I might be able to perform at one of the upcoming recitals at a music school she's involved with here in Austin. If it works out, I might be able to find leads to other recitals, too.

Hm... better get back to practicing!