Ides of March Concert

Branding begins with a name.

A relevant name makes it easier to remember than a non-relevant one.

Make the name easy to pronounce and spell. Then it’s easy to remember.

The 15th of March is traditionally known as Ides of March.

Ides of March first page by Anne Ku

For years, I celebrated the Ides of March, not for “bubble, bubble, toil and trouble” or the risk of it, but rather the fact that I launched my first website on the Ides of March.

One particular Ides of March in 1997, I drove my red Nissan convertible out into the wet streets of Houston. Actually, it was more than wet. It was flooding. At the wettest point, I found my car swimming in the waters of Upper Kirby. This ordeal left such an impression that, immediately upon my return, I wrote the lyrics and music to “Ides of March.”

For my Friday Piano Class, I decided to give their first recital a name — the Ides of March Concert. Doors open at 1:45 pm. The Concert begins at 1:45 pm on Friday 15th March 2013 — in Maui!!

A Thousand Years for easy piano

How do you teach complete beginners how to play the piano?

Start with a tune they want to play.

So I searched Pandora and Youtube for the most popular movie themes. Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years” is one of those sticky melodies that haunts me like the movie Twilight. Although I’ve yet to see Breaking Dawn, I can see why young people like it so much.

The short cut is to search for the sheet music online. However, it’s in a key too challenging for most beginners. Plus there are too many notes. Too much variety.

So I reduced it from 6/8 time to 3/4 time and transposed into the white key of C.

The result is something quite do-able, particularly with added fingerings. Of course, it’s always possible to simplify this further still. I will assign my students to figure how how it ends.

A Thousand Years for easy piano

Stolen music

After weeks of waiting for my missing sheet music to appear back on the book shelf, I’ve come to the conclusion, sadly, that nobody had borrowed it. Somebody had stolen it and never meant to return it.

How do I know?

I did not have my music in any order, yet a chunk got taken, which points to the person not really bothering which music. If I take sheet music to play, I would choose those that I can and want to play. This person was not selective. Perhaps he or she did not care to play the music.

Years ago when I was keyboard player in high school stage band, my music got stolen. I felt hurt and violated. I was certain that somebody hated me.

I feel something quite different now. I feel sad and stupid for trusting the system. I wish I could press the <control><z> buttons to undo that weekend frenzy of moving my music from my office to the music class room.

How to move on?  Replace the music with new ones. A friend said, it’s only $16 on ebay. Each day I remember another piece of sheet music I suddenly miss. Is that what regret is?

Missing sheet music

The boxes from Utrecht arrived on a daily basis. I anxiously opened the weather-beaten boxes that Robert had so meticulously packed in Holland.

For every shelf of books, we spent an hour on Facetime webcam video, Robert showing me each book, and I saying yes or no. Several weeks went by, we tried Facetiming morning and night, provided the Internet was working. We examined every shelf of four bookcases of books and sheet music.

I had spent 30 years collecting the sheet music, a pastime I rewarded myself. It was my prized possession, boxed and shipped from London to the Netherlands, and now facing a consequence of life or death. Whatever I wanted to keep would cost money to send or store. Whatever I was willing to let go faced exile in a music bookstore or library. Whatever could be sold fetched enough to pay the postage for what I wanted to have — now.

In the process of “letting go” I told myself that

1. It was time to let go.
2. I didn’t have time to practise piano, let alone sightread my collection.
3. I didn’t have any musician to play with.
4. I did not have access to the piano when I had the time to play.
5. Everything is on the Web nowadays, and I should be able to find whatever I want.

And so we threw away the photocopies and donated the library editions (I had paid for).

Shortly after I unpacked the boxes, I put my name on the first page of the music books I transferred to the piano classroom at the college where I teach. I made sure there was no gap between the books in the bottom shelf. It was tightly packed on  Saturday 22 September 2012.

The following Friday 28th September, I noticed a big gap. Who took my music without leaving a note? I put a sign up: “private collection of Anne Ku. Please do not take.” I patiently waited until the following Friday. The gap remained. I asked my colleagues if they’d help me. Did they have students who played at that level? Who would have taken my books?

Four bookcases reduced to two bookshelves was difficult. Discovering the books that went missing was painful.

Missing book: Grateful by John Bucchino, a present from my friend Tim in London

An album full of great arrangements to play at weddings and other occasions:

Dan Coates Complete Advanced Piano Solos

Ludivico Einaudi’s 3 albums all went missing. I had wanted to introduce his music to audiences on Maui.

Some day when I will have access to a piano to practise on and musicians to practise with and occasions to perform, I will regret not having that music. It’s not true that I can find them on the Web. Some piano solo arrangements, like Saint-Saen’s Carnival of Animals, are out of print. The photocopies were precious because I did not own the originals but wanted them. I took the time to photocopy them. The library copies that I had purchased at second-hand bookstores were sturdy and withstood the wear and tear of time. They could not be resold but should not be discarded.

Looking at the bare collection I have now just reminds me of all that I had to give up.

And those that went missing are the most painful to bear.

Writing to a deadline

“So, how much writing did you get done today?” asked my friend, concerned that I kept putting off the most important task of all.

“I’m just getting started,” I said at 7:30 pm.

“What? What did you do all day?”

“I had 2 loads of laundry to wash, hang, let dry, fold, and put away. I had to clean the bathroom, the fridge, and the floor. I still have to clear the paperwork on my desk.”

I was not complaining or procrastinating. While I was doing the house chores, I was thinking about how and what to write.

I wish there’s a magic wand to make all the words appear. I’ve drafted the outline. I’ve given myself and others a deadline. The raw material is totally here, in my brain, on my computer, in e-mails, and in printed form. All I have to do is copy and paste, write, rewrite, and polish it.

But there is a million other things on my mind. I can’t work in a dirty and messy space. My Brazilian friend admired how her German husband could plant himself anywhere, in the middle of a mess, and work away. She has to clean the entire house before she can begin to think. I am somewhat the same way. While cleaning, I am thinking. I am plotting.

When I wrote concert reviews, I forced myself to write and publish as soon as the concert was over. The longer I waited, the less compelled I was to write a review at all.

On my first day as magazine editor, my publisher said,”You know what a deadline is? If you don’t make it, you’re dead.” Since then, my life revolved around deadlines and word count.

The latest threat I received was compelling enough for me to meet my first deadline. “I will not talk to you unless you submit that chapter.” Thankfully, it was real enough that I submitted the chapter the day before it was due.

So now, I tell my friends, “Please do not bother me. Do not talk to me. I will not and cannot engage in conversation until I meet my deadline.”

The trouble is, I have set myself a deadline every week. It will be several weeks before I emerge to embrace the world again.

Sheet music for sale

Books on bookshelf for sale

When Robert told me a few weeks ago that he had packed my sheet music into 12 moving boxes, I mentally switched off. What he really meant was, “What are we going to do about your 12 boxes of sheet music?”

These books and scores were stacked in 3 huge Ikea book cases. Every time he mentioned my music, I fell silent. Already I had to let go of 400 CDs. sheet music was even more precious. I was not ready to decide.

To make space to photograph the house for sale, he declared that he’d move the boxes into the bicycle shed. Out of sight, out of mind.

I have nowhere to put those 12 boxes in Maui. I don’t want to pay for shipping. I simply don’t want to deal with it. Why not?

I had gone through my music in London before I decided to pack them into boxes and move them to the Netherlands in 2003 and 2004. Thereafter I continued my curious hobby of visiting music bookstores and music libraries to select sheet music to buy or copy. This unusual pastime of a person who loves to sightread started a long time ago. It accompanied my travels. Every time I visited a city that had a music book store, I would treat myself to buying sheet music.

Houston. New York. London. Amsterdam. Paris. Milan. Prague. Taipei.

I began by collecting music for piano solo. When I discovered the joy of piano duets with my piano teacher at Duke University, I started collecting music for 4-hand, 1 piano and then 4-hand, 2-piano. When I discovered the joy of chamber music, I started seeking scores for piano and other instruments whose players I befriended: clarinet, flute, bassoon, oboe, French horn, violin, viola, cello, harp, guitar, recorder. I bought the music so that I could play them by myself or with others.

Once at conservatory, I reasoned that it was important to learn about different instruments so that I could compose for them. While pursuing my teaching diploma in piano, I began collecting piano pedagogy, methods, techniques, and other related books. Collecting sheet music was no longer merely to feed my insatiable thirst for sightreading. It was necessary for teaching piano, my composition degree, and performance. I discovered the buzz of performing long before composing and teaching. In the Netherlands, the world of getting paid to perform with guitar, French horn, cello, and voice opened up — as did the need to expand my chamber music repertoire.

I knew that I was the most loyal client of second-hand sheet music stores. There were two I visited on a regular basis: one in London and the other in Amsterdam. I also knew that the owners regularly scanned the obituary column in local newspapers, looking for famous musicians that had died. They knew that they could get their sheet music for next to nothing. They’d get them in bulk and price each piece individually.

Second-hand sheet music are typically cheaper than newly printed scores. However, often second-hand sheet music is no longer in print and thus no longer available. As a graduate student in London, I’d go after second-hand sheet music. As a full-time magazine editor traveling between London and New York, I’d go for first-hand music books and collections. Over time, I built a sizable library of sheet music that included composers from A to Z.

With less than 2 weeks before Robert’s return to Boston, I finally gave in. “Let’s take a look at those boxes,” I said.

There were now 15 boxes stacked in the garden house bicycle shed.

The first box took half an hour to go through. The second box a little less than half an hour. By the 3rd box, we had gained momentum and criteria. Say good-bye to anything that can be found on the Internet, too hard to play, boring, old, falling apart, or duplicated. Keep the really interesting pieces that I can’t get anywhere else, including out-of-print editions and those I paid dearly for.

We are now half way through my music. I’m letting go of all chamber music except for piano & guitar duos that we’ve yet to try but want to. I’m parting with that collection of Dutch composers, piano duets, piano methodology and technique books, easy piano for students, and countless binders full of photocopied sheet music — which Robert said is illegal to sell.

Out of 15 boxes, I expect to extract enough for just 3 boxes to ship over.

That’s a lot of music to say good-bye to. A lot of music I won’t be playing. A lot of time spent choosing and acquiring the music.

I just hope what I don’t keep will find a home very soon.

FOR SALE:
400 CDs and sheet music for piano, duets, piano methods, piano technique, chamber music with piano, dictionaries, travel guidebooks, and more!!
Saturday 1 September 2012 from 1 to 4 pm
Keulsekade 25, 3531 JX Utrecht
or by appointment (REPLY BELOW)

Adieu to a Steinway

When we first received the Steinway, it took up a big corner of the house in Bussum. I was afraid it was too close to the fire place. Robert joked, “Well that’s a lot of wood to burn, for a long time.”

Throughout the years, from the Steinway Welkomfest in Bussum to our house concerts in Utrecht, visiting concert pianists brought out the depth and breadth of sound — warm nostalgic tones from the Romantic era.

As I scout the market for its next owner, I can’t help thinking that once again I am saying goodbye to a friend via cyberspace. I am unable to play it, caress it, or hear it. I am on the other side of the world, answering e-mail enquiries and writing to those who might have a hand in its future.

A friend sent me 4 consecutive e-mails of the following video from the New York Times. He really wanted to make sure I got it, I guess. It’s not a nice way to say goodbye, and I surely hope it will not be the death of mine.

Requiem for a Piano (video)

Another friend sent me the NY Times article that wrapped around the above video: For More Pianos, Last Note is Thud in the Dump.

For sale: 1908-1909 New York Steinway model A, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Listen to me playing my Adieu to a Piano on every one of the 88 keys of the Steinway, saying goodbye to its predecessor in London. [MP3]

Adieu to a piano by Anne Ku (3 page PDF)

For sale: Steinway grand piano

Asking price Euro 21,000     now euro 19,500

• Location: Keulsekade 25, 3531JX Utrecht, the Netherlands
• Steinway model A (188 cm = 6 ft 1 to 2 inches)
• New York
• Serial number: 134814
• Year built: 1908 or 1909  — the golden age of pianos
• Purchased in 2004 from Bilthoven;
• Inside: new strings; hammer felts; regulated, voiced, refinished (polished) euro 5,500
• Ivory keys, French polish
• Moved to Bussum & Utrecht (current location)
• Regulated and voiced in 2008
• Damp-chaser installed for euro 500
• Regularly tuned and maintained & used for professional recordings of Bekkers Piano Guitar Duo and intimate concerts in Monument House Concert Series (twice a year).
• Reason for selling: owner lives in Hawaii now
• Additional background information, including history and sound clips.
• Also available: 30 folding black chairs from the Monument House Concert Series and sheet music

Please use LEAVE A REPLY box below for enquiries & appointments. These will NOT be posted but owner will reply.

First time buying a Steinway? Download the Steinway Buyer’s Guide for free.

Steinway Grand at the Monument House, Utrecht, Photo: Fokke v.d. Meer, 2012

Steinway Grand at the Monument House, Utrecht. Photo: Fokke v.d. Meer, 2012

Steinway Grand at the Monument House, Utrecht. Photo: Fokke v.d. Meer, 2012

Steinway Grand at the Monument House, Utrecht. Photo: Fokke v.d. Meer, 2012

Sound clips:

Amaranthinesque – piano duet 4 hands, by Chip Michael, performed by Anne Ku & Brendan Kinsella, Utrecht, Netherlands July 2011

Fantasy Impromptu – Chopin – performed by Rie Tanaka, Bussum, Netherlands, June 2004 (shortly after purchase & restoration)

Piano synergy: music for many hands on many pianos

In preparation for my next concert in mid-July on Maui, I decided to check out performances of the selected works on the Internet. The interpretations are much faster, crisper, and cleaner. It’s really hard to play fast, crisp, and clean —– that is, with many pianists on many different pianos.

Darius Milhaud’s Paris: Suite for 4 pianos spans different arrondissemont of Paris. I try to remember the Paris I know but I only remember Montmartre, L’ile Saint-Louis, and the Eiffel Tower from the 6 movements. I could not find a video clip of this fantastic work against the different scenes of Paris though the 2 on Youtube are sufficiently interesting. This piece is by far the most demanding of our entire 1.5 hour program.

Next, I looked for Gerald Busby’s Four! a statement for 4 pianos. Instead, I found Plucked — 15 hands on one piano. It’s a most remarkable and funny piece. If you have time to watch it, do enjoy the performance art.

Another 4 piano 8 hand piece is Wallace DePue’s 16 Pawns. It’s a short and fast one page work. No videos on the Internet. No background description. Perhaps we can get our own recording at the concert.

We will be playing two multi-hand pieces by Robert Pollock, founder and artistic director of Ebb & Flow Arts, the non-profit organization that is putting together this concert of Sunday 14th July 2012. The titles reveal just how many pianists and pianos. Five for Four. Three for Six. Answer: Five pianists on 4 pianos. Three pianos for Six hands.

I finally get to play a work of Morton Feldman, a composer I have heard much about but never studied. His “Piece for 4 Pianos” is interesting in that all pianists have the same score. It’s up to each pianist to decide when to play each note. Everything is soft. The result? a kind of rippling, echoey effect. Watch the meditative result below.

John Cage’s “Music for Piano” is another aleatory piece (one which the composer instructs the performer to decide on duration or other aspects of the composition). We each chose two consecutive pages from the album. It’s prepared piano at its best, though it would take about 30 minutes to prepare. We each have a bag of black rubber and white felt objects to insert between the strings of the piano for those notes we need to mute. The result? Texture that we’d otherwise not hear. Again, we decide when and how long to play each note. Last time we had agreed on the piece to last 7 minutes, but some of us were too fast and others too slow. It does take some practice to get 4 pianists to end at the same time.

Below is one interpretation of John Cage’s “Music for Piano”

Sadly there is not enough music for many pianos. Ebb & Flow Arts commissioned composer Thomas Osborne to write one for us. The mp3 version of his “Canyons” for four pianos is very powerful. I will try playing it today.

Luckily there is plenty of fun pieces for two pianos and even two pianists on one piano. As 14th July is Bastille Day, we decided to choose works of French composers. Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite; Faure’s Dolly Suite; and Debussy’s Petite Suite.

I am so glad to be able to participate this time. Last year my multi-hands on one piano work “Three on One“ was performed in the Battle of the Pianists concert in Maui while I was in Utrecht. Ironically, rehearsing these multi-hand, multi-piano works with other pianists just makes me miss sightreading chamber music with string and wind players even more!

Free concert – no reservation required. Get there early — last year was standing room only!

PIANO SYNERGY FREE CONCERT

Sunday 14 July 2012

7:30 pm

Maui Music Conservatory
Queen Ka’ahumanu Mall (upstairs) 
Kahului, Maui, Hawaii

Pianists (alphabetical order): Lotus Dancer, Anne Ku, Peiling Lin, Ruth Murata, Robert Pollock, Beatrice Scorby

Ebb and Flow Arts North South East West Festival of New Music

Pachelbel Canon in C

Johann Pachelbel’s most famous work is his Canon in D. George Winston played his version of it in the key of C. Why not? C is 2 sharps easier than D major.

Is it possible to decompose it further? Simplify it so that even beginners can have fun with it?

I recall a post-concert spontaneous “jam session” in Houston, Texas where Robert on his guitar and I on the piano played the chords of Pachelbel and the host improvised on his flute. It was such fun that I wanted to do it again.

A canon, by definition, is a piece of music where one voice repeats the part of another, throughout the whole piece. Pachelbel’s Canon is often subtitled with “basso ostinato” — a repetitive bass. Once you know the bass line and the sequence of chords, you can repeat it over and over again.

Pachelbel's Canon arranged for solo and group playing by Anne Ku

In the above score, notice there are 4 parts. Four different players can play in sequence. The first begins. The second joins at the beginning when the first reaches rehearsal mark A. Similarly the third player joins at the beginning when the first reaches rehearsal mark B and the second reaches rehearsal mark A.  And so on.

Of course there is more development than these 16 bars, but at least beginners can play this.

I googled “Pachelbel Canon and C” and discovered that others have arranged simple versions for solo piano in the key of C. And there are plenty of free sheet music on the Internet such as this one.