harpsichord

There is nothing Christophe Rousset hates more than routine: even with the most commonly played, centuries-old works, "there is always something new to say." One of the most respected figures in the world of Baroque music, the master harpsichordist and conductor who founded the gold-standard ensemble Les Talens Lyriques over thirty years ago speaks with Gramophone's James Jolly about bringing music to life, why conducting his own orchestra is like driving a Rolls-Royce, restoring the reputation of Antonio Salieri in the wake of Miloš Forman's Amadeus, the sensation of time stopping in the space of the concert hall, the operatic qualities of Bach's big works, his fascination with archeology, and much more.

Presented with the generous support of Madame Aline Foriel-Destezet.

Coming up as a teenager playing piano in Washington, D.C. gay bars, Tori Amos has always had a special connection to the LGBTQ community - particularly gay men. For this week's guests, 'Drive All Night - The Songs Of Tori Amos Podcast' co-host Efrain Schunior and Tori super-fan Kenny Franklin, that connection was only deepened with the release of her 1996 tour de force 'Boys For Pele'. Recorded primarily in a church in rural Ireland, the album combines her typically virtuoso piano playing with more experimental instrumentation and sometimes stark, sometimes expansive songs about casting emotional demons aside and reclaiming one's fire.

Songs featured in this episode: Mr Zebra, Professional Widow (Armand's Star Trunk Funkin' Mix), Strange Little Girl, Cornflake Girl - Tori Amos; Sonata for Harpsichord Four Hands in C major - Mozart; Beauty Queen/Horses, Blood Roses, Father Lucifer, Professional Widow - Tori Amos; Violet - Hole; Marianne, Caught a Lite Sneeze, Caught a Lite Sneeze (Live sessions at West 54th 1998), Muhammed My Friend, Muhammed My Friend (Live feat. Maynard Keenan), Hey Jupiter - Tori Amos; Wish You Were Gay - Billie Eilish; Little Amsterdam, Doughnut Song - Tori Amos; Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover - Sophie B Hawkins; Vibeology - Paula Abdul; The Springtime of His Voodoo, Putting the Damage On - Tori Amos; The Tourist - Radiohead; Time (Live on David Letterman, 2001) - Tori Amos

In this bonus chat, harpsichordist extraordinnaire, Andrew Appel, joins Beth and Matt to discuss Hannibal's preference for the harpsichord (as expressed in S3 E5 - Contorno), the "Goldberg Variations," pigs in blankets, and keyboard anatomy.

Nice links:

• Four Nations Ensemble
• Francois Couperin Cinquième Ordre Book One of Pieces de Clavecin -  Andrew Appel
• Bach - Aria mit 30 Veränderungen Goldberg Variations BWV 988 - Jean Rondeau
• Bach English Suite No 3 BWV 808 G minor - Béatrice Martin
• Johann Sebastian Bach Fantasia BWV 922 - Marco Mencoboni

We've heard different performers play different parts of the Goldbergs. Now, we're putting them together. This is the complete 30 Bach version of the Goldberg, through 15 separate performances. It's Bach's Goldberg Variations, with some twists and turns.

Musical recording credits available at https://www.thirtybach.com/podcast-episodes/the-complete-30-bach-goldbergs

At last, we bring it all together with the return of the aria. It's the same place we began, and yet it feels different, colored by the journey. A journey through many different worlds, different places, different people's lives. Lowry Yankwich plays the final aria.

Variations 26, 27, 28, and 29. These variations vibrate with joy, energy, excitement. We explore the times when Bach could let loose and lose himself in play within his music.‍

First interview conducted on November 10, 2017, over Skype. Second interview, and recording of performance conducted on August 6, 2018.

Musical recording credits available at https://www.thirtybach.com/podcast-episodes/hie-yon-choi-so-much-fun

Variations 19, 20, and 21. Pianist Rachel Breen didn't have an ordinary classical music education; guided by her father, not himself a musician, Breen began with a diet exclusively of Bach. This episode delves into what it's like to learn Bach's music as a student -- the practice, the errors, the experimentation -- and what Bach was like as a teacher himself.

Musical recording credits available at https://www.thirtybach.com/podcast-episodes/rachel-breen-my-musical-education-was-painful

Variations 13, 14, and 15. Bach's faith was central to his music-making. This episode explores the spirituality of Bach's music with Angela Hewitt, internationally-renowned interpreter of Bach, who has performed all of Bach’s keyboard works across the world.

Interviews recorded April 30, 2019 and February 28, 2020.

Photo credit: Maiwolf.

Musical recording credits available at: https://www.thirtybach.com/podcast-episodes/angela-hewitt-lifted-up-into-a-different-world

Variations 10, 11, 12. It's impossible to tell the story of the Goldberg Variations without mentioning Canadian pianist Glenn Gould. Gould's two recordings of the variations, one in 1955, the other in 1981, forever changed the place of the Goldbergs in our culture. In this episode, we explore Gould's legacy -- and the idea of musical idols -- through the eyes of Ben Laude, a concert pianist and pedagogue who relied on Gould in a period of musical crisis.

Photo credit: Rebecca Blair.

What do a nanoscientist, an architect, a Brazilian guitarist, and Silence of the Lambs all have in common? One inspiring piece of music: J.S. Bach's "Goldberg Variations". Podcast coming soon!

We got through this entire episode without making an instrument = penis joke.

Apparently, after 300 episodes, we have become complacent. For that, the Gorillamen apologize.

So...this week we talk about hard wood(en) instruments and playing flutes. (But not skin flutes...another opportunity squandered...) It's all about musical instruments.

Specifically, here's what we discuss:

• What's your first memory of someone playing a musical instrument?
• Do you play any instruments? (What...and how long have you played?)
• Did you ever take any kind of musical training?
• How do you teach yourself new musical skills?
• Have you ever played live music for an audience?
• Who is the best musician you personally know (and what do they play)?
• If you could snap your fingers and play any instrument very well, what would you choose?
• Is there an instrument you feel you'll never play that you still think is very cool? What is it? (And why?)
• Do you believe playing a musical instrument benefits the person playing? If so, how?
• How has social media and YouTube changed the way people play music?
• Would you ever want to build an instrument from scratch?
• If sci-fi has taught us nothing else, it's that musical instruments will evolve. So...What is the future of musical instruments?

I’m thrilled to introduce my guest today, Harpischordist and Organist Professor Nicoleta Paraschivescu! She teaches the organ at the Academy of Music in Basel (AMS) and is organist at the church of St. Theodor in Basel.

 In 2015 she received her PhD from the University of Leiden for her doctoral dissertation about Giovanni Paisiello’s Partimenti. She was awarded the hibou-Stiftung Prize in 2016 in recognition of her outstanding research on partimenti. She is an expert in partimento realization and has contributed to partimento research. Her latest album is Partimenti napolitani, featuring her realizations of the partimenti of Paisiello, Durante and Doll.

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0:57 When did you start playing the keyboard?
2:42 Do you have Absolute or Perfect Pitch?
2:52 Did you take lessons from the age of 6 all the way to university?
4:14 Did you always improvise in your life?
5:43 What year did you discover partimento?
7:00 How did you teach yourself to realize this music authentically?
8:58 How did you come to choose Giovanni Paisiello as your main focus?
10:25 Paisiello’s high profile professional career
12:38 On Catherine the Great not being really a great lover of music
14:02 Do we have alot of documentation on Paisiello’s life?
16:00 The amazing discovery of a 2nd book of partimenti by Paisiello
18:13 Paisiello’s use of partimenti as counterpoint exercises
21:07 Partimenti as genre types
21:46 What did you mean by the bass line needing to be filled out?
24:25 Does the counterpoint notebook by Talleyrand have evidence of Paisiello himself correcting or giving model answers?
26:52 How extensively were intavolature used at the Neapolitan conservatories?
29:38 On the contrapuntal “mistakes” in the intavolature?
31:13 How should someone start learning partimento?
33:05 What’s good collection of partimenti for beginners?
36:33 What are some common mistakes that you’ve found students make when learning partimento?
37:59 How has been the reaction to your development in improvisation and partimento in the classical world?
41:29 What’s the difference in popularity of partimento today vs when you discovered?
42:48 On her album “Partimento napolitani”
44:31 What is your realization style?
46:28 What’s the best way to learn counterpoint?
47:36 On her recordings of Marianna Martines’ music
49:18 Can you give recommendations of good music that people can listen to
50:59 If you could change music education, how would you change it?
53:37 Do you find that you look at modern music differently now with your partimento training?
56:01 Do you have any use for roman numerals or harmonic functions?
57:22 So you don’t really use roman numerals?
58:14 Wrapping Up

I’m so pleased to introduce my guest today Harpsichordist, Improviser and Conductor, Professor Ewald Demeyere.

Professor Demeyere studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp obtaining his master’s degree for harpsichord in Jos van Immerseel’s class. On completion of his studies in 1997 he was engaged as a teacher of harmony, counterpoint and fugue by the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp. In 2002 he succeeded Jos van Immerseel as Professor of Harpsichord and he is also a professor at IMEP in Belgium.

A specialist in Early Music, Partimento and counterpoint, he was the winner of the CPE Bach Counterpoint Contest. As a recording artist he has recorded many albums including Tears, Harpsichord Laments of the 17th century, 18th century flemish harpsichord music, Telemann Les nations - Overture & Oboe concertos, Mozart’s Gran Partita, and many more.

Ep. 78: Harlan Glotzer, Piano Technician, Luthier and Musician.

Harlan Glotzer talks about his passion for building and repairing instruments, love for the bandoneon, and toy pianos. He talks about his approach to building instruments and his unique perspective on building toy pianos. 

For more information about Harlan Glotzer visit his official website: http://www.harglo.com/