Piano and voice studio, Louisville, KY

20th century composers for piano

stitchywitch — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:59:59 +0000

Most musicians (yes, even teachers!) have a favorite period of music. In high school I was introduced to the piece Claire de lune by Claude Debussy, and ever since then my heart has belonged to the Impressionists. In fact, I still play that piece at least once a week, and it counts as perhaps my favorite work. Musical impressionism was a reaction to the romantic period, which had tended to be rather overblown and bombastic at times. The pieces are simpler, and aim to evoke a mood rather than necessarily tell you a story. Many works make extensive use of the whole tone scale. Below is a recording of the piece that began my love for 20th century music (note to fans of Twilight – this piece may be familiar!)

Debussy also composed more playful pieces – here is Golliwog’s Cakewalk, from his Children’s Corner – a collection of pieces not necessarily for children, but evoking childhood. This piece is so much fun to play!

Another of my favorite 20th century composers is Aaron Copland. Copland was greatly influenced by American folk music. I have fond memories of singing his arrangement of I Bought me a cat which attending Indiana University! One of my favorite works for piano by Copland is The Cat and the Mouse – see if you can identify each animal!

Sergei Prokofiev will be familiar to anyone who has ever enjoyed a performance of Peter and the Wolf. I love Montagues and Capulets, from Romeo and Juliet.

One last video… Metamorphosis one by Philip Glass. Used on the new Battlestar Galactica, if you are a fan (as I am!) I have the sheet music for this on order, as I have been listening to the recording non-stop lately. Glass is something of a minimalist (though he would prefer not to be called one!) so this piece is not showy. It may seem rather spare, but listen to the sound each chord makes as it begins to die off. What words would you use to describe the emotions this piece evokes for you?

As you can see, 20th century music isn’t all dissonant and ugly (as I have often heard in my studio!) Take some time to explore and you may be surprised! I’ll have a similar post coming up soon for this singers on 20th century vocal composers.

New Website

stitchywitch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:21:50 +0000

We have a new studio website! Please visit http://www.millsmusicstudio.com and check it out – I’m very pleased with the results!

Welcome to the studio blog!

stitchywitch — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:05:06 +0000

The studio – piano by Yamaha

Welcome students to our new studio blog! This space will serve as an easy way to post announcements and congratulations, and allow us to keep in touch more easily. Should we be closed for bad weather, I will try to post the announcement here as a backup for the usual phone calls – scroll down to below this post for the newest info.

Welcome also to any potential students who may be reading this page. I am located in the Highlands area of Louisville, Kentucky (KY) and offer lessons in both piano and voice. I am a working professional musician in both fields, and I also have years of private teaching experience in both areas. I offer reasonable rates on lessons, and discounts for families or for one student taking both types of lessons.

Waiting area

Lessons are for 30 minutes a week, 48 weeks out of the year. You can begin lessons at any point. I have a waiting area for parents (above.)

If you are at all interested, please give me a call at (502) 802-8564 to discuss a time, or you can email me at jmills01@gmail.com or by using the comment link below. I offer your first lesson free of charge, so that you may assess whether the lessons are right for you. I look forward to helping you through your musical journey!

Hello world!

stitchywitch — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:58:32 +0000

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