Temperament: How Music Became a Battleground for the Great Minds of
Western Civilization — Stuart Isacoff, July 13

This lecture-recital is based on Mr. Isacoff’s critically acclaimed book, Temperament described by The Economist as “immensely entertaining, original and informative,” and by National Review as “a whirlwind tour through the history of Western culture, told with flair and grace.” The New York Times Review declared “Isacoff untangles the complexities with the aplomb of a virtuoso pianist playing scales.”

Crossover Classics of Tin Pan Alley — Sara Davis Buechner, July 13

Gershwin, Friml, and Suesse — the Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms of New York in its Golden Day. Hear the original crossover piano music of the Jazz Age — music demanding the technique of a pro that captivated the ears of the multitudes. Ms. Buechner will talk about the life and works of the great pianist-composers George Gershwin, Rudolf Friml, Zez Confrey, Dana Suesse, Pauline Alpert, and others.

Can’t Buy Me Love: Functional Piano Skills in the Private Lesson — Alejandro Cremaschi, July 13

A practical presentation on playing by ear, improvising, and playing popular music from “fake books.” Obtain ideas on how to teach skills that are rarely taught in traditional lessons, but that may make a difference in whether a student continues with lessons or not. These skills should also be taught to “serious” piano students — they reinforce theory and give them a glimpse into a different aspect of making music beyond learning, memorizing, and playing the classics.

Remembering the Future — Jeremy Denk, July 14

Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” Sonata, Op. 106, and Ives’s “Concord” Sonata are two larger-than-life icons of the piano repertoire: works of grand scope that seem to deal with forces and themes beyond themselves, almost beyond the piano’s capabilities. Both address the beyond. But while they stake out new, “modern” artistic territory, they wrestle obsessively with the unshakeable past, seeking revelation: in Proust’s words, “something that, common both to the past and to the present, is much more essential than either of them.” Using readings from Joyce’s Ulysses and Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, Denk will playfully explore this modernist obsession with time, the dissolution of memory into fragments (and its reassembly), and the counterpoint of past and present, with the hope that Beethoven and Ives will not seem as far apart as you think.

Tangos in Your Studio — Alejandro Cremaschi, July 14

This lecture-recital will introduce several little-known, attractive Latin American piano pieces appropriate for all levels of instruction. From nursery and Christmas tunes to modal and pentatonic native melodies, from tangos to Gaucho dances, all the pieces presented are currently in print and available in the United States. Discover musical gems by Villa-Lobos, Ginastera, Piazzolla, Pinto, Guastavino, and more. Handouts with information on how to obtain this music will be available.

Classical–Jazz Connections — Stuart Isacoff, July 14

How are Chopin and Duke Ellington alike? Which Baroque composer was a closet gospel pianist? How do musicians improvise? This musically illustrated lecture will pierce the veil that often separates the worlds of classical music and jazz, with examples ranging from Bach, Scarlatti, and Scriabin to Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern, and African drumming performed by Stuart Isacoff.