Professor Noam Sivan, a pianist, improviser, and composer, discusses his musical background, formal training, and the influence of Carl Schachter. He shares his experiences with improvisation and meeting Robert Levin. They explore the operating system behind his method of improvisation and how he chooses notes for his right hand. They also touch on the importance of extreme honesty in music and different starting points for improvisation.
Improvisation can help musicians develop a deeper understanding of music and expand their expressive range.
There is a growing recognition of the importance of improvisation in traditional music education, with emerging programs and master's degrees focused on it.
The culture surrounding classical improvisation has evolved in recent years, with more interest and incorporation of improvisation in performances and educational programs.
Deep dives
Importance of Developing Improvisation Skills
Learning to improvise can help musicians develop a deeper understanding of music and expand their expressive range. Improvisation allows for creativity and experimentation, helping musicians explore different tonal styles and expand their technical skills. By practicing improvisation, musicians can learn to connect melody and harmony, develop their own musical language, and enhance their ability to express emotions through their playing.
The Role of Education in Promoting Improvisation
Traditional music education has often overlooked improvisation, but there is a growing recognition of its importance. Improvisation programs and master's degrees, like the one at the University of Stuttgart, are emerging to meet the demand for formal training in improvisation. These programs provide opportunities for students to develop improvisational skills, explore different styles, collaborate with others, and become ambassadors for improvisation in their future careers.
Changing Culture and Improvisation
The culture surrounding classical improvisation has evolved in recent years, thanks to the efforts of influential figures like Robert Levin, Rudolf Lutz, and John Mortensen. There is a greater interest in improvisation, and more musicians and organizations are incorporating it into their performances and educational programs. However, there is still more work to be done to make improvisation a mainstream part of musical culture, and to emphasize its relevance in classical music repertoire and performances.
Importance of Musical Honesty and Personal Expression
One of the main ideas discussed in the podcast is the importance of musical honesty and personal expression in both composing and performing music. The podcast speaker highlights how the renowned composer Milton Babbitt exemplified extreme musical honesty, composing music that he genuinely wanted to hear. Babbitt did not enforce his own style on his students, allowing them to develop their unique musical voices. This emphasis on sincerity and personal exploration in music served as a valuable lesson to the speaker, giving them confidence to pursue their own musical path.
The Growth of Improvisation in Classical Music Education
Another key point discussed in the podcast is the evolution and acceptance of improvisation in classical music education. The speaker recounts their experience teaching improvisation at prestigious music institutions like Juilliard, where they helped develop improvisation programs for chamber music and historical performance. The speaker mentions that when they started teaching improvisation, it was a completely new concept for classical musicians, and they faced initial skepticism and opposition. However, they received encouraging feedback from students who found improvisation to be liberating, enhancing their interpretation skills and fostering a deeper understanding of music. The speaker also believes that improvisation can contribute to the development of a musician's artistic personality and bring a fresh perspective to traditional repertoire performances.
My guest today is Pianist, Improviser, and Composer, Professor Noam Sivan! He is Professor of Piano Improvisation at the HMDK Stuttgart, and we will talk about his remarkable journey, his method to his improvisational craft, his new exciting Master’s degree programme in classical piano improvisation that he has created, and much more!
0:35 What’s your musical background? 1:21 Did you naturally improvise as a child? 1:56 Mother’s influence on creativity 3:25 Tell me about your formal music training in university 4:10 The influence of formal composition study in your undergraduate studies 6:16 Examples of apply a compositional technique in different musical languages 8:26 Did you face any pressure to become a modernist composer 10:00 What was your dream, to be a composer or performing pianist? 13:00 Masters degree 15:27 Studying with Carl Schachter 16:39 An example of Carl Schacter’s lessons in improvisation 17:42 What did your professors and peers think of improvisation during your student years? 20:25 Improvising cadenzas 21:06 Meeting Robert Levin 21:31 What did Robert Levin say about your improvising at the time? 23:17 What were the technical things that you worked on to take your improvisation to the next level? 26:30 What is your operating system behind your method of improvisation? 28:18 How did you choose the notes for your right hand improvisation? 30:03 How do you make sure your right hand is not creating contrapuntal mistakes when improvising? 32:55 What’s a good way to learn figured bass? 34:35 Do you need to study modern harmony to do what you are doing? 37:24 Studying with Milton Babbitt 40:34 Was the culture at Juilliard supportive of improvisation in Classical music? 41:24 Were the students you taught at the time completely new to classical improvisation? 42:33 What did Milton Babbitt think of improvisation and what you were doing? 43:37 Anecdotes of responses to your improvisations and classes in the early days 45:33 Did you receive negative feedback to improvisation? 48:17 Does being a composer and improviser give you an additional insight into interpretation of repertoire 50:03 Do you any comment on academic or competition style interpretations of repertoire? 52:47 When you have change your system of improvisation to accomodate more modern or contemporary styles of improvisation? 54:34 Do you still maintain the consonance/dissonance framework in a contemporary setting? 56:52 What is anchoring your contemporary improvisations, is it keys or the progression? 58:00 Are you thinking of intervals? 58:19 What tips can you give to more traditional improvisers to broaden their tonal palette into modern music? 1:01:43 Vincent Persichetti’s 20th Century Harmony textbook 1:03:44 How does a music educator grade student musical improvisations? 1:08:43 Professor Sivan’s new Masters degree programme on classical piano improvisation 1:11:19 How’s the reception to the Masters programme? 1:13:07 Do you require incoming students to have a background in improvisation? 1:14:38 How has the culture around classical improvisation now changed compared to when you began? 1:17:49 Professor’s Sivan album “Ambiro’s Journey” 1:18:48 What’s a good ratio for a modern performer’s recital pieces for improvised music, original compositions and traditional repertoire? 1:21:30 A memorable experience from your solo improvised piano recitals 1:24:21 Up to this point, what has been your proudest musical moment? 1:27:11 How are you different as an improviser today vs 10 years ago and how do you see yourself grow in the next 10 years? 1:31:31 Wrapping Up
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