In this second video of our series, Dr. Tobin discusses the first Prelude from Book I. Planed chords, blocked tonal harmonies, and layers create a distinctive language. Debussy made many references to the art and culture of antiquity and ancient Greece, this Prelude is an interesting beginning to the set.
Tag: debussy
Dr. Tobin is starting a series of discussions about the Debussy Preludes.
In this first video, he discusses “The Girl With the Flaxen Hair” from Book I.
Adam’s Music House was thrilled to host the first concert of the Austin Chamber Music Ensemble’s 2019-2020 season!
Many thanks to Marti Ahern for arranging and inviting Dr. Tobin, Artistic Director at Adam’s, to play a solo recital and a lovely 4-hand piece by Clara Schumann with Marti Ahern!
We had a full house as Dr. Tobin played the late Mozart Sonata K. 570,. Estampes by Claude Debussy, the Chopin bb minor Scherzo, and a short piece Opus 15 by Clara Schumann. This concert was in honor of Chopin and Clara Schumann’s birthdays and the performers made connections among them.
Thanks for all who attended! Our next event is a master class Saturday November 16th from 2-5 with Brian Marks, Chair of the Piano Department at Baylor University.
After playing the Bach e minor Toccata, the Mozart c minor Sonata, and Book I of the Debussy Preludes at Adam’s Music House on Sunday May 12, Dr. Tobin embarked on a tour of Switzerland. He performed this program at the Musik Schule Zurcher Oberland in Wetzikon on May 18th, and Evangelisch-Methodistische Kirche in Davos on May 25th to appreciative audiences.
Dr. Tobin, a Steinway Artist, visited Steinway Hall Zurich and played a few of the pianos, on this one he played Debussy’s Minstrels:
In Wetzikon, where he has performed since 2006, Dr. Tobin played on a 1960’s Model A Steinway, this is a fugue from Bach’s e minor Toccata:
In Davos Dr. Tobin returned for the fifth time to perform in a 120-year-old church. This is the first movement of the Mozart c minor Sonata:
Dr. Tobin looks forward to his next performance at Adam’s Music House, Saturday June 29th at 4PM. This will be the first 2-piano performace at Adam’s, Debussy’s Petite Suite and the Mozart Sonata in D for Two-Pianos, with Soo-Jung Kwon, will be featured. Please join us!
Steinway Artist Zoyo Shuhatovich gave a her Austin debut recital and master class at Adam’s Music House Saturday April 27th.
The audience greatly enjoyed her program and were impressed by her wonderful control of the piano:
Schubert Impromptu Opus 142 f minor
Beethoven Capriccio Rage Over the Lost penny Opus 129
Chopin Nocturne Opus 72# 1
Chopin Five Mazurkas:
Opus 6# 4 c# minor; Opus 24 # 4 f minor ;
Opus 63 c# minor; Opus 33# 4 b minor; Opus 50 # 3 c# minor
Chopin Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brilliante Opus 22
Following a reception, Zoya taught three students. We heard the first movement of the Mozart C Major Sonata, Fluttering Leaves by Carl Kolling, and the Rameau-Godowsky Tambourin.
Thanks to all who attended and participated!
Our next event will be a recital by our Artistic Director, Dr. Anthony Tobin. He will perform the Bach e minor Toccata, the Mozart c minor Sonata, and Book I of the Debussy Preludes Sunday May 12th at 4PM.
Dr. Anthony Tobin, Music Director of Adam’s Music House, gave a double treat to a full house this past Sunday. Not only did he perform the first book of Claude Debussy’s Preludes for Piano, he also screened his short film “Le piano du reve”.
Dr. Tobin’s playing brought to life the shimmering world of Debussy’s pieces. From the majestic opening Danseuses de Delphes (Dancers of Delphi) to the playful Minstrels his control of sound and clarity held us all spellbound. Indeed, it felt as if we were experiencing a only vague representation of our normal senses hearing La cathédrale engloutie (The Engulfed Cathedral) and the ethereal De pas sur la neige (Footsteps in the Snow). My personal favorite, La fille aux cheveux de lin (The Girl with Flaxen Hair), left me simply breathless. The sound of the seven foot Bösendorfer that was just recently returned to the performance space rang with a true, rich tone that Dr. Tobin took every advantage of.
In “Le piano du reve” Dr. Tobin demonstrates how the construction of Debussy’s Bleuthner piano inspired him to create the sound-scapes in the Preludes. Not merely theorizing about this possibility from a distance, Dr. Tobin gained access to the Bleuthner now housed in the Musee Labenche in Brive la-Gaillarde. The film frames the period in Debussy’s life when he married a second time, became a father, purchased the Bleuthner, and wrote both books of the Preludes. Playing on both a modern piano and Debussy’s, Dr. Tobin demonstrates the sound quality and keyboard response the Bleuthner opened for the composer. The film closes with Dr. Tobin’s performance of the virtuosic Feux d’artifice on the instrument it was imagined upon.
Thank you to all who came to our event and we look forward to seeing you again at Adam’s Music House.
During a recent trip to New York, Adam’s Founder Joe Bratcher and Artistic Director Anthony Tobin visited Strand Books and found “Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens by J.M Barrie, illustrated by Arthur Rackham.
Claude Debussy read the stories to his daughter Chouchou and was inspired by the vivid, victorian color drawings which depict the fantastic scenes of fairies and other mythical beings Peter Pan encounters. The Book II Prelude, “The Fairies Are Exquisite Dancers, was inspired by this stunning drawing:
Hear Anthony Tobin playing “The Fairies Are Exquisite Dancers” in Steinway Hall Zurich, June 2018:
We are really excited to have this historic book in the collection at Adam’s Music House!
