Music Educators Association of New Jersey

 

MEA Presents...
Young Artist Master Class

Conducted by Irina Morozova
Master Teacher

June 13, 2024, at Elefante Music and via Zoom

 

MEA President Danette Whelan opened the meeting with a few announcements. She conducted the voting process and the slate of officers was elected. Then Annual Piano Auditions Chair and Master Class Coordinator Lisa Villamaria Casia recognized the contributions of Programs Committee Chairs Sophia Agranovich and Aziza Khasanova-Madaski before introducing Irina Morozova.

A graduate with honors of the Rimsky- Korsakov College of Music, Ms. Morozova began her musical education at the St. Petersburg Special Music School for Gifted Children. She performed in major concert halls in the former Soviet Union before earning a M.M. from the Manhattan School of Music. Having won the Artists International Auditions, she made her debut at Carnegie Recital Hall in 1996. Since then she has served on the faculties of the Mannes College of Music and the Special Music School at Kaufman Center in New York City. Ms. Morozova has performed in many solo recitals and ensemble programs. Her students have garnered over 40 prestigious awards in national and international competitions. See also: https://www.newschool.edu/mannes/faculty/irina-morozova/.

Third Place Winner Choco Chen, student of Stacie Yao, performed Dark Sky, Taiwanese Folk Song by Yi-Chih Lu. The piece opens with a keyboard fanfare racing over the entire keyboard, followed by a melody with a contemporary sound. A contrasting fughetta section follows. Initially dry in the exposition, it thickens in texture and expands to a more contemporary sound. The folksong is about an old farmer couple, who, having caught a fish, argue how to cook it. At the climax the cooking pot breaks. The fughetta, with the many voices, is the perfect form to tell this story, Ms. Morozova exclaimed. She was unfamiliar with this music and welcomed the opportunity to explore it.

She praised Choco’s performance and then homed in on specific passages. She asked Choco to play the melody and then examine the left hand flowing passage where the number of notes varies from beat to beat. She commented: “Although the speed of the left hand may vary from beat to beat, the notes must flow evenly within each beat. In the Andante tranquillo section, the beginning of the polyphonic fughetta passages, the entrances of each subject should be marked and their articulation should match. The staccato should not alter in length. In the few places where legato is indicated, is that for the subject, (a departure) or perhaps for the counterpoint? And remember to observe the notation for the counterpoint. Be sure to sustain secondary melodies to maintain the polyphony.”

This coaching closed with a discussion of pedaling: syncopated anddirect methods. The master teacher demonstrated syncopated pedalingby playing a series of triads in a legato fashion by resetting the pedalafter the beat, after the new chord was played. Direct pedaling might becalled “rhythmic,” since the damper pedal is depressed as the keys areplayed, matching rhythmically.

First Place Winner (Tie): Calvin Xu, student of Beatrice Long, performed Goldberg Variations #26-30 by J.S. Bach. BWV 988. When Ms. Morozova said that she would have appreciated a rendering of the original theme, Beatrice Long explained that the pianist could not include the theme because of time restrictions for the contestants.

The master teacher commented that playing music written for two manuals on an instrument with one manual was incredibly difficult and she praised Calvin for his courage and skill.

Variation 26: This is the rhythm of a sarabande, with the quarter note on the secondbeat for most of the variation. But that second beat is not to be accented; rather, it is to be slightly softer than the first beat. Variation 27: Determine the character; here it is flowing, so avoid accenting the first beats as it interferes with continuity. When the direction changes (m. 5)sing out, and where the end of a line is also the beginning of a line (bass in m. 7) choose to make it the beginning and detach the first beat from what had come before. This was practiced, eliciting “Beautiful! Excellent!” from Ms. Morozova. She added: “When you have a trill, work on it, but think of what is written against the trill and match the voices. Think about the counterpoint and forget about the trill!” Variation 28: “Follow the tune even with the hand crossings.” Variation 29: You must decide on the degree of legato or non legato. Bach does not indicate much.

Variation 30: “Think four voices; hold long notes and project resolutions; hear every voice, particularly during the stretto, think of the texture of the fugue, plan to balance the voices, and know what you wish.”

First Place Winner (Tie): Sathvik Subramanian, student of Beatrice Long, performed Scherzo Op. 20 by Frédéric Chopin. The master teacher began her instruction with general comments. “All the scherzi have about the same tempo; they are in three quarter meter, but, hearing phrases as groups of four measures, we count measures (1,2,3,4,) instead of quarter notes. We consider rubato as elasticity of rhythm, but, like a rubber mat, it will fall apart if stretched too much. The rubato must maintain the rhythm.” We were treated to many sparkling excerpts of this scherzo as Irina Morozova demonstrated.

Regarding pedal, if Chopin did not notate it, Ms. Morozova speculated, “it is either too obvious or too complicated.” One learns the principles of pedaling Chopin as one gains familiarity with his music. The opening phrase requires a direct pedal. Ms. Morozova cautioned against using the pedal to create a crescendo, as it can often obscure rests. Think about “harmonic rhythm.” How long does the music linger in one harmony? Polyphony in Chopin requires holding notes, particularly the inner voices, for full value and hearing the resolution of dissonances. To practice polyphonic passages, play the inner voice loudest and listen to its path.

Ms. Morozova thanked each of the pianists and praised them and their teachers for their achievements.

The meeting concluded with the presentation of the Adell Williams Certificates to these wonderful young pianists.

Then Hospitality Chair Rebecca Eng provided refreshments. Music books to be exchanged for donations to benefit the scholarship fund were also on display.

Bertha Mandel, writer
Beverly Shea, editor
Lisa Gonzalez, screenshots, layout, Zoom host