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The Piano Has Friends – Explorations of Chopin, Debussy, Bach and Beyond
Price range: $80.00 through $150.00
- Loo Bang Hean
- 4 x 60mins sessions every Monday
- Starting 3 November, 8.30pm
Description
In this series, Bang Hean discusses what aspects one could learn from other instruments, and how to adapt them to the piano to achieve a more imaginative interpretation. Examples will include the connections of Chopin Nocturnes and Bel Canto opera; learning about articulations in Bach Keyboard pieces from his violin pieces; Debussy melodies in his pieces and their evocation of wind instruments.
The piano is, more often than not, a solitary instrument. We spend hours practising in isolation and typically perform solo pieces on the stage. Unlike the voice and other instruments like the strings and winds, the piano has some unique characteristics. When collaborating with other instruments, a pianist would often find passages that interchange with the others, and often the individual attributes of the piano would necessitate some rather different approaches or techniques. Are there, however, instances when a pianist should strive to imitate or evoke the qualities of other instruments, even when playing a solo work?
Instructor
Since his return to Malaysia after studying at the Royal College of Music, London under an ABRSM scholarship as well as postgraduate studies in Italy, Bang Hean has made regular appearances in solo recitals, chamber concerts as well as concerto performances. He has appeared in most major concert venues in Malaysia and has been featured as a soloist with various local orchestras, the MalaysianPhilharmonic Orchestra (MPO). An active chamber musician, he collaborates frequently with various instrumentalists and vocalists, and is a frequent guest pianist at the MPO chamber concert series. Bang Hean has performed abroad in countries such as England, Italy, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Cambodia and Korea. Bang Hean has frequently been invited to adjudicate, examine, and conduct masterclasses and in various countries. A frequent presenter for ABRSM, he has presented seminars around South East Asia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and China, India and the Middle East.
Outline
Week 1: The Voice
Aspects discussed include cantabile, phrasing & breathing, rubato, bel canto, cadenza
Week 2: Strings & winds
Phrasing, tone colour, tessitura, techniques like (strings) bowing & articulation, tremolo, pizzicato & triple/quadruple stop, (winds) breathing, articulation
Week 3: The predecessors – the harpsichord and the fortepiano
Tone, technique, articulation, pedal, ornaments
Week 4: The orchestra
Orchestral textures and tone colours, orchestrating the piano piece, evoking other instruments
Standard repertoire from Gr 8 level and above will be used as illustration, and excerpts of annotated scores will be provided to the teachers. These include, amongst others:
Albéniz – Rumores de la Caleta
Bach – Partita no.2 in C minor, BWV 826
Bach – Prelude & Fugue in C major, BWV 846 (WTC 1)
Bach – Prelude & Fugue in B flat major, BWV 866 (WTC 1)
Beethoven – Sonata in C minor, Op.10 no.1
Beethoven – Sonata in C minor, Op.13
Beethoven – Sonata in E, Op.14 no.1
Beethoven – Sonata in C sharp minor, Op.27 no.2
Chopin – Nocturne in B flat minor, Op.9 no.1
Chopin – Nocturne in E flat, Op.9 no.2
Chopin – Impromptu no.1 in A flat
Debussy – Arabesque no.2
Debussy – La fille ceveux aux lin
Debussy – La plus que lente
Debussy – The Little Shepherd
Haydn – Sonata in E flat, Hob.XVI: 49
Haydn – Sonata in C, Hob.XVI:50
Liszt – Liebesträume no.3
Mozart – Sonata in A, K.331
Mozart – Sonata in B flat, K.570
Ravel – Pavane pour une infante defunte
Scarlatti – Sonata in B min, K.27
Schubert – Impromptu in G flat, Op.90 no.3
There will be excerpts of annotated scores distributed, and participants may suggest the inclusion of certain pieces to be discussed.
Related Course
FAQS
Each course has a planned start date, which may shift slightly depending on participant sign-ups. We will confirm the final schedule with all registered participants once enrollment is finalized.
Yes, they will be made available for participants until 6 months after the completion of each course.
E-certificates will be issued on course completion to Active Participants.
Active Participants will be involved in class participation: interacting with course instructors, receiving feedback on class assignments/submissions, and they will have playing opportunities in class etc. Observers will be observing these segments of the class.
Active Participants will receive an E-certificate of participation, and Observers will receive a certificate of attendance.
5 days before the course commences.
Yes, simply get your friends together and send us an email to request for a second round of the course! If we receive sufficient signups we will repeat the course.
We do not conduct make-up classes. Learners who miss a session can catch up on the class content by watching the session recording thereafter. If there are any class assignments, learners are to contact the instructor directly.
We at the Academy do our utmost to make courses proceed as planned. However, there are times when unforeseen circumstances force a class to be cancelled. When this happens, we are committed to refunding the total amount, in an efficient manner, including any costs of using third-party payment gateways.
Should a participant need to cancel, we will make efforts to accommodate refunds, though costs of using third-party payment gateways will be borne by the participant.
Late cancellations may not be able to be refunded, as they will have been factored into the confirmation of running the course. We will provide a full refund for cancellations up to 2 weeks before the start of a course, following this a 50% refund with up to 1 week of notice. Notifications of fewer than 7 days will most likely not be eligible for a refund. We thank you for your understanding.
