Collegiate Writing Contest - Runner Up Essay

 

In the Spring of 2011, Clavier Companion sponsored its fourth annual Collegiate Writing Contest. College students at any level from any country in the world were invited to submit a 1,500 word essay on any pedagogical topic. The grand prize was publication of the winning essay in the Nov/Dec 2011 issue of Clavier Companion. The esteemed panel of judges was comprised of Reid Alexander, Martha Hilley, and Frances Larimer. We extend our congratulations to Steven Brundage, author of the winning essay. We also want to congratulate Michelle Wachter, author of the runner-up essay published below.

Collegiate students are the teachers of tomorrow and the future leaders of our profession. Clavier Companion is proud to provide them with an outlet for their ideas, and we will again sponsor this contest in 2012. The entry deadline for the 2012 contest will be June 1, 2012, and complete rules and regulations can be found here:

2012 Collegiate Writing Contest Rules and Regulations

Chamber music for the elementary and intermediate student

by Michelle Wachter

For elementary, middle, and high school students, opportunities abound for ensemble participation. Bands, orchestras, and choirs provide young students with musical experiences that foster listening skills, expand knowledge of musical styles, and allow musicians the opportunity to communicate both with each other and with large audiences.  But for the young pianist, opportunities for ensemble participation are often limited, and these students rarely have the chance to work in collaboration with other instrumentalists or vocalists. Yet the skills students learn from participation in chamber ensembles are invaluable, and not only translate to the pianist’s solo repertoire, but also to future professional or recreational musical endeavors. Therefore, adding a chamber ensemble component to a piano student’s education can aid in the development of the young student’s musicianship, prepare for future musical careers, and also offer an invigorating option for students who enjoy group work and collaboration.

Participation in chamber ensembles, which includes piano trios and quartets, as well as larger instrumental groupings, can expose students to a wide variety of functional, musical, and interpretive skills. Involvement in these small ensembles can therefore foster many of the following abilities:

• To learn practice routines and effective rehearsal techniques
• To read a score, including one that may contain other clefs or transposing instruments
• To interpret and discuss the musical score, and collectively arrive at a satisfying musical interpretation
• To achieve appropriate balance and blend among instruments
• To achieve unity of rhythm and articulation
• To learn the idiosyncrasies of each instrument
• To learn skills of communication and cuing, including collective breathing and eye contact
• To listen and respond to other players instantly during a rehearsal or performance

Piano trios and quartets in particular give students a manageable environment in which to learn the above skills. A small, but high-quality, body of literature exists for the elementary and intermediate student and can easily be used as a supplement to the private lesson repertoire. The following annotated list may serve as an outline of the piano trios and quartets available and accessible to the young performer. These pieces were chosen for their potential to foster the above skills in the young pianist, as well as for their musical characteristics and highly engaging writing.ⁱ

SAMUEL APPLEBAUM, Editor

Chamber Music for Two String Instruments with Piano Accompaniment
Melville, New York: Belwin Mills Publishing Corp.

This collection contains seventeen different works by well-known composers, such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Pachelbel, and Georg Philipp Telemann. Pieces range from one to six pages, and all compositions are manageable for the early- to mid-intermediate pianist. Keys stay within two flats or sharps and the harmonic language is conventional, staying within closely related keys. The book is published for any combination of the following instruments, with piano accompaniment: two violins, two violas, two cellos, or two basses.

Two representative works from this collection are the “German Dance” by Mozart and the “Fugue” by Pachelbel.

In minuet and trio form, the “German Dance” by Mozart requires strong rhythmic continuity among players.

This Pachelbel “Fugue” gives players the opportunity to pass the fugal subject to each other. The piano provides harmonic and rhythmic support to the melodic players.

GEORGES BLANCHET

Petites Pièces très faciles en trio
Paris: Editions Max Eschig

Three short pieces, titled “Vieille Chanson,” “Tempo di Minuetto,” and “La Boîte a Musique,” respectively, are contained in this set. The “Tempo di Minuetto” (below) is especially appropriate for a late elementary or early intermediate pianist. Here, the violin and cello are in imitation, while the piano provides harmonic support. The harmony is conventional and accessible to the young performer, while the technical challenges are few. This is not only an excellent early ensemble for the young musician, but it also doubles as good preparation for the chamber music of Mozart and Haydn.

FRANK BRIDGE

Miniatures for Violin, Violoncello, and Piano. Sets 1-3
London: Goodwin and Tabb

In three sets, Frank Bridge’s Miniatures are appropriate for the late intermediate pianist. Each set contains three different pieces, and keys stay within three sharps or flats. These short pieces are excellent preparation for the chamber music of Brahms and Mendelssohn.

This “Minuet” will help students learn about balance among parts, especially where the instruments share the same register.

ADAM CARSE

Miniature Trios for Violin, Cello, and Piano
London: Stainer & Bell Ltd

Carse’s set contains four separate trios, titled “Minuet,” “Rondino,” “Carriage and Pair,” and “Follow My Leader,” respectively. Each trio has a distinct flavor and features engaging and high-quality writing for every participant. The texture is generally light and manageable for all performers.

The “Minuet” is the most demanding of the four trios, as it contains adventurous harmonic language and sophisticated phrasing.

An effective piece, the “Rondino” not only exposes students to rondo form, but also gives each player the opportunity to perform the melodic material of the rondo theme.

The slow movement of the set, “Carriage and Pair,” features arpeggiated chords in the piano part throughout most of the work. In this movement, students will gain experience in score study as they determine which player has the melodic material in each phrase.

The final piece, “Follow My Leader,” contains imitative writing in the string parts, while the piano provides harmonic and rhythmic support. Only three pages in length, this movement is highly manageable in performance.

CÉSAR CUI

Five Pieces for Flute, Violin, and Piano, Op. 56
New York: International Music Company

Appropriate for the late intermediate performer, these five pieces provide a fitting introduction to Russian nationalistic music. Each piece is highly effective in performance.

The two-page “Berceuse” begins with a simple ostinato figure in the right hand of the piano, which then expands to full chords.

JOANNE HAROUTOUNIAN, Editor

Chamber Music Sampler, Books 1, 2, and 3
San Diego, California: Neil A. Kjos Music Company

An excellent addition to any music studio, this collection combines lesser-known works by Clementi, Köhler, and Klengel with easier movements from trios by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Not only have these works been carefully selected and edited, but Haroutounian also adds performance ideas and rehearsal tips, as well as a section on basic string information and bowing. The books are organized in order of progressive difficulty.

This “Allegro,” from Julius Klengel’s Kindertrio in G Major, Op. 35, No. 2, will promote effective listening skills as question and answer phrases are passed among the instruments.

ISTVÁN MÁRIÁSSY, Editor

Chamber Music for Beginners, for Two Melodic Instruments and Bass, with Continuo
London: Boosey and Hawkes

This collection features several short pieces by different composers, including Paul Peurel, Heinrich Schütz, and Johann Erasmus Kindermann. With some pieces only two lines in length, this anthology provides a manageable and appropriate introduction to chamber music for the young performer.

The “Intrada” is the first of four dances from “Hungarian Dances from the Seventeenth Century.” Pianists will have to bring out left hand melodic material throughout this one-page work.

PETER MARTIN

Miniature Trios for Violin, Cello, and Piano: Rumba
London: Stainer & Bell Ltd

“Rumba” is the third selection in Martin’s Miniature Trios. Filled with syncopations and off-beat accents, this is a challenging, yet exciting, undertaking for late intermediate performers. Rhythmic security is necessary for performance.

ÁRPÁD PEJTSIK and LAJOS VIGH

Music for Piano Quartet, for Beginners (First Position)
Budapest: Editio Musica Budapest

This anthology contains simple piano quartets by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, and Ludwig van Beethoven, among others. These quartets expose students to the Classical and Romantic chamber music styles, while simultaneously preparing all participants for the standard chamber ensemble repertoire by these composers. This collection is appropriate for the early- to mid-intermediate student.

Deutscher Tanz, by Beethoven, gives students a manageable outlet to explore the style of Beethoven’s chamber music. Performers will have to match articulation and rhythm exactly in this effective piece.

EUGÉNIE R. ROCHEROLLE

A Christmas Tableau of Piano Trios for Piano, Violin, and Violoncelloⁱⁱ
San Diego, California: Neil A. Kjos Music Company

This collection features excellent arrangements of Christmas tunes for piano trio. Students will greatly enjoy this anthology, which contains an exciting version of “Jingle Bells” (pictured at right), as well as arrangements of “The First Noel,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” and “O Holy Night,” among others. This collection is an excellent addition to the late elementary and early intermediate performer’s repertoire.

NICHOLAS VAN SLYCK

Czech Mates: Songs and Dances based on Czech Folk Tunes for Violin, Viola, and Piano
Cincinnati: Willis Music Company

Czech Mates is a set of eight pieces based on Czech folk tunes.
Each piece ranges from one to five pages in length. Filled with imitative writing and adventurous harmonic language, these pieces are appropriate for the late intermediate pianist. Through study of these pieces, students will learn how to cue entrances, as well as learn the importance of rhythmic stability within the ensemble.

In conclusion, small ensemble collaboration is highly beneficial for the budding musician, and attractive, quality literature exists specifically for the young performer. To integrate chamber music into a student’s education, studio teachers can partner with instrumental and vocal teachers in the area and at local schools, or even encourage siblings who play different instruments, to form ensemble groups. By playing chamber music, students will learn the joy of playing with others, while also being exposed to a wide variety of stylistic and interpretive ideas that can transfer to their own solo repertoire, as well as to their future professional endeavors.

References

ⁱ For further listings of chamber music for elementary and intermediate students, see the following sources:

• Diana Marie Anderson, “Chamber Music in Early Piano Study: A Guide to Repertoire” (DMA thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2004).
• Intermediate Chamber Music Repertoire Database, Music Teachers National Association, http://www.mtna.org/Resources/IntermediateChamberMusicRepertoireDatabase/tabid/314/Default.aspx (accessed April 15, 2011).

ⁱⁱ For further piano trios by Eugénie Rocherolle, see the following source:
 Eugénie R. Rocherolle, A Tableau of Piano Trios (San Diego: Neil A. Kjos Music Company, 1995).