For the Love of the Piano
Adam’s Music House is pleased to announce the fine pianist Ellen Foreman as the winner of our fellowship. She will perform in September for a meet and greet and in December for a lecture recital at the new Drayen Mason Hall at KMFA in downtown Austin. We are very excited to welcome Ellen!
We taped her audition and a short interview:
This week Dr. Tobin explores a bit about the order of the Debussy Preludes in Book I and some of the themes important to Debussy.
This week Dr. Tobin explores the influence of Pierre Louys in the isolated, melancholic world Debussy creates in “De pas sur la Neige” (Footsteps in the Snow.)
Dr. Tobin discusses ideas Daniel Pollack imparted for the iconic Rachmaninoff Prelude in g# minor, Opus 32#12.
Finger and hand technique based on the score and emotion are explored. The discussion ends with a performance on the piece from Davos, Switzerland.
Based on a story by Baron Friedrich de la Motte Foch, Ondine recalls the mythical half-mermaid creatures “Undine’s” and Debussy’s interest in the supernatural and fairy tales.
Dr. Tobin refers to his thesis about Debussy Preludes where he mentions Ondine, it can be downloaded as a PDF.
Dr. Tobin ends the discussion with a performance on Debussy’s Bluethner piano, in Brive la-Gaillarde, France.
