Technology for modernization of Opera

I genuinely think, classical opera should be staged and performed as much as possible. The music for operas is good and will never sound old… *if* the opera’s director adjusts libretti to modern days. Music becomes similar to some very exclusive and distinguish movie sounds on a background of actions on the stage that are comprehensive by people living today. I absolutely admire Peter Sellars and the concept that he brought to classic repertoire. I don’t think Mozart’s or Handel’s music should be modernized, but the plot should:

I write about this because of die Fledermaus staged by professor Jeffrey Gall at Alexande Kasser theater last weekends. I didn’t laugh that much for a long time; it had been in your face, sharp and brilliant from each and every angle. Selfie of the maid on Eisenstein’s lap had been a central point of the II act:

Photo credit: David Witten

All the action was transfered to Manhattan, all characters behaved accordingly to modern lifestyle and modern interests: taking pictures, working on laptops, sniffing “coffee”, etc. The II act was interrupted as well by insertion of Beat Box of Tin Ho, performed by prof. Robert Cart and Joshua Arcilla as “musicians invited to play in private drunken party”:

I just love it and desire to watch more operas in this style. It’s a pity there are just a few in world’s repertoire.

Music for Cosmos

The second Branderburg Concerto by J.S. Bach had been sent to cosmos to reach other civilizations. I guess, if those civilizations exist, they would of known about our good music anyway. However, one of my favourite pop-groups, Pink Martini, made their own contribution for men in the cosmos, but of our very human race: astronaut Paolo Nespoli, from Italy, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Kaleri for their ATV docking in 2011:

I admire another guy no less, possibly even more. He just makes it up (down? whatever) there, and makes a great deal out of playing in opened space!

Perfect combination of Music and Technology, isn’t it?

Weed and Performance

Well, some scabrous topic to talk about. I really appreciated to hear in class a passage about how it works. Performers are so common to smoke ganja, because it ostensibly makes them enjoy music more and care about audience less. Well. A certain number of years had passed, and I can confess publicly: I know what it is and it is not what is believed to be. You enjoy music, only because you enjoy music, hashish and marijuana don’t open you any new talents and don’t bring you any high. Any drug can’t help making talent more obvious. Though a drug can knock the body off to a certain level of sleepiness that one really stops caring about what happens around. But, performers start to play slower (way slower), leisurely and vacantly. In some music styles it is acceptable, but mostly – this just fails.

Number of years ago I learned my graduation recital program in Jerusalem within one month; part of the recital was Brahms cello sonata. My cellist had graduation recital in the same day in a different part of the city, and I played there as well. So, a clever friend of ours brought us a cigarette “to reduce the stress”, and cellist and I shared it before both recitals… I have no idea what and how we played, though we were calm and relaxed. We got some nice reviews, but everything we played in our performance was sooo slooow… and pointless.

Technically, weed doesn’t bring any pleasure as well. Listening to good music does. With no connection to drugs. I’ve seen so many dudes from Eastern Music department smoking ganjas and practicing their oudes days and nights in Jerusalem. I wonder, in this world, where almost nobody cares for almost nobody, why would one wish to become even less caring? As an escape from the world it doesn’t help much: like if you don’t see people around yourself, they don’t see you back… Not that I have something against drugs, I just see no point of it. And I don’t recommend to others things that I don’t find any point in. It feels the best to accomplish good performance level consciously! *Means, just work hard. [self-reminder before recital 😛 ]

Immortal Ofra & Im Nin’alu

I don’t believe that there is one Israeli in entire planet, who believes and agrees that Ofra Haza had passed away. 16 years after, she remains the top pop-star of Israeli music, musical and poetic symbol of the state. Her performances of “Jerusalem of Gold”, “Chai”, “Im nin’alu”, songs for Israeli movies (“Kisses on a beach”) and songs in English like “You”, internationally renowned, stay as a portrait of Israeli culture and national hope for technological evolution in arts. Exquisite voice, compound of all Western, Arabic and electronic instruments, harmonic textures used on the very verge of logic, high poetry with ethnic roots, well set visual show and more make this singer and composer unique in world’s culture. Here is one of Ofra’s famous songs that haven’t yet been sampled, and it’s a bit of a pity:

Ofra is mostly renowned worldwide for her song “Im nin’alu”, which opened her album “Yemenite Songs” on religious poems of Rabbi Shalom Shabazi of early XVII century. Original song was remixed couple of times by Ofra’s team. I believe, the most musically well setting is the 1984 version:

Pomplamoose

In class I didn’t have a chance to present this wonderful bright creative duo – Pomplamoose. And, surprisingly and frustratingly, nobody else spoke of it either. Multi instrumentalists, experimentalists, super talented musicians that cover old songs and perform new ones – they are a real pearl of modern California culture. Now, less of words, and more of good music!

More about pedagogy: the concept of freedom

I started studying piano at the age of 4. We had the upright “Ukraine” at home, and my mom, who completed Musical school program in piano, insisted that I would study some of it too, rather than hang around freely. My first Music school was next to our house, and I was signed into the class of a random young piano teacher Nelli. During first year there I was hiding under Nelli’s writing table while she’d been chatting with my grandparents. When I grew up and the space under the table became uncomfortable to me, I first touched instrument with a meaning to elicit some comprehensive sounds.

As it is usual in [post] Soviet Union, kids are being taught to read only treble clef during first year. Next year we started with the base clef. As I became comfortable with it, we put away Russian method books and started to gain an actual repertoire with sonatines (Haydn, Mozart), etudes, Children’s album of Tschaikovsky etc. Nelli was giving me lots of freedom to make with an instrument whatever I wanted, and she skipped insisting on counting. So I got use to play by ear instead of following set metric prescriptions. As I was growing and participating as a young virtuoso in piano competitions, this problem started getting serious. Also, I didn’t have neither passion nor patience to practice at home, unless my mom seat down and made me to. I think giving a child freedom is a very important issue in teaching, though this freedom should be directed carefully. Otherwise the actual freedom turns out into a total anarchy that I experienced under Nelli.

When I was teaching in Israel, small kids demanded their freedom. And I was giving it to them, though tried to put some knowledge into their heads in a playing-games way. First, I learned, that kids before the age of 7 should not seat at the piano at all, but stand, run around it, or seat but with the teacher on the same bench only. Secondly, playing by ear is the only thing kids are capable to do! It’s fun for them, it is easy to understand and repeat, rather then have their noses in score books. However, this doesn’t work well with advanced pieces… but couldn’t teachers just keep “repertoire” requirements for elders and let kids enjoy what they have, learn to improvise and to appreciate music rather than be scared of tough teachers and have their hands shaking? If a kid who studies music can love it in his 5yo, he will love it all his life, but if he got trauma from music at this age… it will be very hard to cure ever. Every teacher has to set his very own limits of freedom he can give to little ones, and I think there are tones of ways to arrange this freedom to efficiency. Thanks God there are so many toys and apps to use.

Admiration of Yoda is post this about.

Here I’m thinking how to create my own website as a piano teacher. Technically, it’s my “grand assignment” for Piano Pedagogy course. So I have got to sit and think hard: what does my studio need? Let’s start from the beginning. It needs piano. I guess, computer and a tablet with all kind of cool applications for theory – that we talked about this semester. Most likely, some average stereo system. Collection of notes for beginners. Is that all you would ask? No way! Every piano studio can not be a studio if there’s no referee! Literally, I’ve studied with Russian teachers all my life before coming to MSU, and none of them had a referee! That’s the least professional thing one can think about!

First, the Referee is a listener. Students can play for him. The, Referee is an observer. Teacher can operate much better with a silent helper. And, after all, the Referee is just a cool guy to seat next to. Here is one of referees from David Witten’s studio at Cali School:

What I’m thinking about… Not so sure I want to teach kids to read notes right away. Most likely, I would go for Suzuki methodics with small ones. So, I can definitely start without any “professional” score libraries! But a Referee will be the first one to enter my future studio. My referee will be no more no less – Master Yoda. I hope to get him in full height and able to move around or at least say couple of frases. Like this:

  And, of course:  

A letter that might have been written by a famous composer, but is written by me!

To Jules Zarembski, Brussel Conservatoire

My very dear friend,

The sincere pleasure caused me by your letter, which reached me at Paris on March 13, 1861, was increased tremendously with your kind remembrance of October 22. Accept my thanks in the 24 major and minor keys for your kind lines, and excuse my not having written to you so long. Karoline and myself arrived at Via Felice in Rome just a day before, and various matters detained me from sending you greetings straight away. My latest encounter with his Holiness Pius IX brought to myself as many sorrows as Tannhauser brought appreciation to Paris this spring. Although I might somewhat prolong my stay here till the middle of February – and then go directly to Budapest, on the account of appointments made by the Musik-Akademie.

Orfeo in India: criticism

Newage dance-opera

The Orphan theme began to be increasingly popular in the second half of XX century. C. Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo was presented in the most of large opera houses around Europe, and, consequently, many new Orphan operas came into sight. Some artists even searched for non-traditional ways of comprehending this well-enlightened topic. Such, in 1959 French director M. Camus makes a film in Brazil “Black Orpheus”, which becomes a modern Brazilian adaptation of Greek myth with the action happening during the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro.

AC and musicianship

Yesterday night there had been 3h long Chamber music concert in Alexander Kasser theater. Outside was pretty warm, but the stuff of the theater felt ultimate nostalgy for snowy winter, and so decided to freeze both performers and the public, which dissolved gradually. Those who seat still till the end, should receive an award of the Ice Age squirrel.

I was playing harpsichord. First, this instrument is mentally outaged – keys responce to touch as they want, strings tear all the way; it requires tuning all the time. Definitely, there is a number of improvements that modern instrument makers could add to harpsichord. One I would definitely add: build-in heating system in the keys! Players already suffer from medieval noting system (figured base, etc), why not to make their lives a tiny bit easier by providing comfortable conditions?

The same happens a lot in Leshowitz Recital hall. AC usually works in order to prevent listeners bodies from decomposition for quite a few hundred of years… And try to move your fingers on your instrument in that freezing cold, and wear your short-sleeve concert outfit at the same time. Brrr.