
WRMTA Member Meeting - 10:00 April 1, 2022
Navigating the Big Questions Posed by JS Bach's Little Preludes: Guiding our Students Toward Stylistically Informed and Artistically Convincing Performances of these Little Masterpieces
While JS Bach's Little Preludes are a cornerstone of the intermediate teaching repertoire, they present unique challenges to student and teacher alike. The absence of tempo, dynamic and articulation markings opens up many interpretive possibilities and presents the student and teacher with greater stylistic leeway than would be encountered in much of the other intermediate repertoire. But with freedom comes responsibility! This presentation explores matters of style and interpretation in these little masterworks: how to decide on tempo, articulation, dynamics and other related questions.
Sean Schulze, presenter
Sean Schulze is on the piano faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music where he teaches piano pedagogy and piano literature to conservatory graduate and undergraduate students and serves as Chair of CIM’s nationally recognized Preparatory Piano Department. In addition, Schulze is on the faculty of the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music where he serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Piano Literature. After receiving his early training in South Africa where he studied with two of that country’s most renowned pedagogues, Moira Birks and Isabella Stengel, he was invited to pursue a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Arizona on full scholarship where he studied with Nicholas Zumbro (a student of the famed Rosina Lhévinne). He undertook further studies with Brazilian pianist Caio Pagano and has performed in masterclasses for many of today’s leading pianists and pedagogues including Yoheved Kaplinsky, Bela Siki, Nelita True, John Owings, Martin Canin, Tamás Ungár, and Joseph Banowetz. He has appeared as a concerto soloist with many orchestras – the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra, The Natal Philharmonic Orchestra, The University of Arizona Symphony Orchestra, the Suburban Symphony Orchestra and the Eastern Arizona Symphony Orchestra – and has performed as a solo and chamber musician throughout Ohio and the US, collaborating frequently with violinist Stephen Sims and pianist Shuai Wang. A sought-after teacher, adjudicator and clinician, Sean Schulze’s students have performed as concerto soloists with various orchestras and continue to win prizes regularly in competitions throughout the United States. In 2015 Schulze was invited to serve on the International Jury of the Cleveland International Piano Competition’s Young Artist Competition. Schulze continues to direct Summer Sonata, an intensive program of lessons and masterclasses for talented pianists aged 12-18 which takes place annually on the CIM campus and now entering its 12th edition.
Steinway Piano Gallery, 334 E. Hines Hill Road, Hudson
Gathering and conversation 9:30 - 10:00 (Bring your own coffee.)
Program 10:00 - 11:30
Join our Zoom meeting between 9:45 am and 12:30 pm
Click here
Meeting ID: 812-1362-8406
Passcode: 885139
If you have never joined a Zoom meeting, please download the installer ahead of time at:
http://www.zoom.us/support/download
Navigating the Big Questions Posed by JS Bach's Little Preludes: Guiding our Students Toward Stylistically Informed and Artistically Convincing Performances of these Little Masterpieces
While JS Bach's Little Preludes are a cornerstone of the intermediate teaching repertoire, they present unique challenges to student and teacher alike. The absence of tempo, dynamic and articulation markings opens up many interpretive possibilities and presents the student and teacher with greater stylistic leeway than would be encountered in much of the other intermediate repertoire. But with freedom comes responsibility! This presentation explores matters of style and interpretation in these little masterworks: how to decide on tempo, articulation, dynamics and other related questions.
Sean Schulze, presenter
Sean Schulze is on the piano faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music where he teaches piano pedagogy and piano literature to conservatory graduate and undergraduate students and serves as Chair of CIM’s nationally recognized Preparatory Piano Department. In addition, Schulze is on the faculty of the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music where he serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Piano Literature. After receiving his early training in South Africa where he studied with two of that country’s most renowned pedagogues, Moira Birks and Isabella Stengel, he was invited to pursue a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Arizona on full scholarship where he studied with Nicholas Zumbro (a student of the famed Rosina Lhévinne). He undertook further studies with Brazilian pianist Caio Pagano and has performed in masterclasses for many of today’s leading pianists and pedagogues including Yoheved Kaplinsky, Bela Siki, Nelita True, John Owings, Martin Canin, Tamás Ungár, and Joseph Banowetz. He has appeared as a concerto soloist with many orchestras – the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra, The Natal Philharmonic Orchestra, The University of Arizona Symphony Orchestra, the Suburban Symphony Orchestra and the Eastern Arizona Symphony Orchestra – and has performed as a solo and chamber musician throughout Ohio and the US, collaborating frequently with violinist Stephen Sims and pianist Shuai Wang. A sought-after teacher, adjudicator and clinician, Sean Schulze’s students have performed as concerto soloists with various orchestras and continue to win prizes regularly in competitions throughout the United States. In 2015 Schulze was invited to serve on the International Jury of the Cleveland International Piano Competition’s Young Artist Competition. Schulze continues to direct Summer Sonata, an intensive program of lessons and masterclasses for talented pianists aged 12-18 which takes place annually on the CIM campus and now entering its 12th edition.
Steinway Piano Gallery, 334 E. Hines Hill Road, Hudson
Gathering and conversation 9:30 - 10:00 (Bring your own coffee.)
Program 10:00 - 11:30
Join our Zoom meeting between 9:45 am and 12:30 pm
Click here
Meeting ID: 812-1362-8406
Passcode: 885139
If you have never joined a Zoom meeting, please download the installer ahead of time at:
http://www.zoom.us/support/download