January 19: On This Day in Music

 

Join us on January 19 as we celebrate National Popcorn Day! Buttered, salted, kettled, drizzled with caramel, popcorn is one of those snacks perfect anytime, anywhere. It’s great on the go, in the theater, or in your living room! Just be prepared to dig some of it out of your teeth.

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. 1853 ~ Verdi’s opera “Il Trovatore” premiered in Rome

. 1884 ~ Jules Massenet’s opera “Manon” premiered in Paris

. 1908 ~ Merwyn Bogue, Comic singer, sang and played trumpet with Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge, big bandleader

. 1939 ~ Phil Everly, American rock-and-roll singer and guitarist, The Everly Brothers with his brother Don

. 1942 ~ Michael Crawford, singer. Some of his best-known roles have been in The Phantom of the Opera, Condorman, Hello, Dolly!, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Knack

. 1943 ~ Janis Joplin, American blues-rock singer and songwriter with Big Brother and The Holding Company and formed Kozmic Blues Band

. 1944 ~ Shelley Fabares, Singer, Nanette Fabray’s niece

. 1946 ~ Dolly Parton, American country music singer and songwriter, ACM Entertainer of the Year in 1977 and CMA Entertainer of the year, 1978

. 1949 ~ Robert Palmer, Singer, guitarist

. 1952 ~ Dewey Bunnell, Singer, guitarist with America

. 1953 ~ Sixty-eight percent of all TV sets in the U.S. were tuned to CBS-TV this day, as Lucy Ricardo of I Love Lucy gave birth to a baby boy, just as she actually did in real life, following the script to the letter! The audience for the program was greater than that watching the inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower the following day. The baby was Desi Arnaz, Jr., entertainer and singer with Dino, Desi and Billy

. 1970 ~ The soundtrack of the film, “Easy Rider”, the movie that made a star of Peter Fonda, became a gold record. It was the first pop-culture, film soundtrack to earn the gold award.

. 1971 ~ Ruby Keeler made her comeback in the play, “No, No Nanette”, which opened at the 46th Street Theatre in New York City. Keeler played the role of Sue Smith in the revival of the 1925 hit musical. The show played for 861 performances.

. 1976 ~ The Beatles turned down an offer of $30 million to play together again on the same stage. Rock promoter Bill Sargent still doesn’t understand why the group turned down his generous offer.

. 1980 ~ Richard Franko Goldman, composer, died at the age of 69

. 1998 ~ Carl Perkins, singer/songwriter, died at the age of 65

. 2014 ~ Udo Kasemets (November 16, 1919 – January 19, 2014) was an Estonian-born Canadian composer of orchestral, chamber, vocal, piano and electroacoustic works. He was one of the first composers to adopt the methods of John Cage and was also a conductor, lecturer, pianist, organist, teacher and writer.

Hanon Piano Exercises

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Since the first release of this classic Schirmer edition over 100 years ago, almost anyone who has taken piano lessons for more than two years has played from The Virtuoso Pianist.

Most anyone who has ever played piano has a love-hate relationship with the “Hanon”.

The Virtuoso Pianist (Le Pianiste virtuose) by Charles-Louis Hanon, is a compilation of sixty exercises meant to train the pianist in speed, precision, agility, and strength of all of the fingers and flexibility in the wrists.

First published in Boulogne, in 1873, The Virtuoso Pianist is Hanon’s most well-known work, and is still widely used by piano instructors and pupils although some teachers are getting away from the mechanical playing these can produce.

Personally, I’ve sometimes played these on “auto-pilot” since all one really needs is to get the first pattern going, then move up a step, up a step…

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Notes by C. L. Hanon: Preparatory exercises for the Acquirement of Agility, Independence, Strength and Perfect Evenness in the Fingers. For studying the 20 exercises, begin with the metronome set at 60, gradually increasing the speed up to 108.

From Wikipedia:

The exercises are intended to address common problems which could hamper the performance abilities of a student. These include “crossing of the thumb”, strengthening of the fourth and fifth fingers, and quadruple- and triple-trills.

The exercises are meant to be individually mastered and then played consecutively in the sections they are placed in.

Apart from increasing technical abilities of the student, when played in groups at higher speeds, the exercises will also help to increase endurance. The exercises are divided in three parts:

  1. Exercises 1 – 20: Labeled “preparatory exercises”, these are also the most famous exercises, and are used to develop finger strength and independence. Each exercise contains a sequence of 8 semiquavers, beginning on C, which is then repeated starting on D, and so on across two octaves. The exercise is then repeated in reverse down two octaves to the starting C. The exercises are intended to be practiced in groups of three, except for the first two which are practiced together.
  2. Exercises 21 – 43: Labeled “further exercises for the development of a virtuoso technique.” This more difficult section is meant to be played after the pianist has fully mastered Part 1. Part 2 includes scales and arpeggios.
  3. Exercises 44 – 60: Labeled “virtuoso exercises for mastering the greatest technical difficulties.” Since this section is considerably more difficult, Hanon recommends the mastery of both previous parts before proceeding to this one. This part includes repeated notes,, and more.

After all three parts are mastered, Hanon recommends all exercises be played through daily to retain technique.

The O’Connor Music Studio has several editions of this work, including:

Hanon: The Virtuoso Pianist in Sixty Exercises, Complete.  Since the first release of this classic Schirmer edition over 100 years ago, almost anyone who has taken piano lessons for more than two years has played from The Virtuoso Pianist . Millions of copies have been sold of these progressive exercises which guide a player’s technique, building finger independence and strength. This was the first American edition released of this music, and remains a classic at a remarkably affordable price.

Junior Hanon (Alfred Masterwork Edition). A slight condensation of Hanon’s first exercises. The simplification in layout and range make the exercises appear less difficult to a young student. Includes the complete Book 1 and excerpts from Books 2 & 3 of C. L. Hanon’s famous studies, The Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises.

Hanon for Students, Bk 1: 6 Varied Exercises from The Virtuoso Pianist for Late Elementary Pianists. Hanon for Students, Book 1, contains the first six exercises from The Virtuoso Pianist, Book 1. The exercises are notated in eighth notes for one octave so that students may begin to use them effectively at the late-elementary level. Each exercise appears five times to be played with a legato touch, varied articulation, varied dynamics, varied rhythm, and transposed to F or G.

Jazz Hanon. Inspired by Charles-Louis Hanon’s The Virtuoso Pianist the essential technical method for any classical player these new volumes present a modern-day equivalent for the musician seeking to play the key piano styles of the 20th century. Each book develops basic technique and true facility in each genre through authentic, progressive exercises and etudes. The music in these books is fun to play for pianists at every level, building the necessary skills in each style while providing extensive musical and stylistic insight.