Music of #protest kicks off new season

Thank you to everyone who answered my survey questions after the last class. I loved reading your comments and suggestions and have used them in shaping my next series of classes. I especially loved hearing about your connection to the music we explored, reminding you of your father, evoking a powerful memory or sending you to do further research.

As I mentioned at our last class, I've decided to cut back a bit this season, from one class each month to one every other month. Not because I don't love these classes, but because I have a couple of other projects I also want to pursue. We will continue to meet at Classic Pianos.

I posted the dates and class descriptions on the Classes page, but here they are, again. Thank you for your enthusiasm, comments and ideas. See you in October!

4 p.m., Oct. 7, 2018: Music of #protest

Protests are on the rise. There’s probably one near you, today. And while folk music is rich with songs of protest, so is classical music. We explore both popular and classical works that call out war, oppression, racism, abuse, even homelessness.

12:30 p.m., Dec. 2, 2018: Cool holiday music you haven’t heard a million times

Lo, I hear from afar, yule-time music I know you're going to love. These pieces are a tad out of the mainstream, so you probably don't know them. We’ll rejoice in the clarity of English cathedral singers, choral music that swings between Eastern Orthodox chant and American folk hymns and the sassy, swaying Navidad of Spain’s Joaquin Rodrigo.  

4 p.m. Feb. 10, 2019: What’s in a name?

Musical forms are like road maps. They tell us where we are and where we’re going. What’s a sonata? Why are symphonies in four movements? We dig into the most common forms of classical music — sonata, suite, tone poem, rondo, aria — and reveal their hidden, psychological power.   

4 p.m. April 7, 2019: Music in the Mirror

We compare different versions of the same piece, much like the Japanese film Rashomon revealed alternative versions of the same incident. The notes of these musical works may be the same, but we’ll hear startling differences in sound, tempo, touch and emotional impact, exposing how much leeway performers take in the name of interpretation.