News
Not only the incidences are currently very low in Cologne. I am happy to announce that I have been vaccinated twice and enjoy full vaccination protection.
Gastronomy and hotels are open. Going out, eating well and drinking is finally possible again.
Perhaps there will also be first events. I am ready and look forward to requests with great pleasure.
In addition to my work as a composer and bar pianist, I have been teaching piano to children, teenagers and adults for 28 years. Among the abundance of textbooks, the question always arises for beginners: Which piano school is the right one for me?
I can't and don't want to give an answer to that here, but today in this blog post I will deal with a very extraordinary piano school, Béla Bartók's Microcosm.
My latest releases, which will be released on 18 June and 2 July respectively, are this time dedicated to all learners. For all those who want to play the piano, I have recorded two particularly instructive piano schools as learning aids, which are now available for re-listening on Spotify & Co: Volume 1 of Bartók's Microcosm and Hans-Günther Heumann's introductory work Klavier spielen – mein schönstes Hobby (Playing the piano - my most beautiful hobby). Because reading music and hitting the right notes is not everything in the beginning - it is also important to develop an idea of the sound of the instrument.
What Bartók's Microcosm and what role, among other things, peasant music plays in this, is what this article is about.
Belá Bartók is today considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century. Born in 1881 in a small town in Romania, then Austria-Hungary, he first received piano lessons from his mother and later studied piano and composition in Budapest. He became known, among other things, for incorporating elements of folk music into the art of classical composition, thus creating a new style all his own.
At the age of 24, Bartók began systematically collecting and researching folk songs, or "peasant music" as he called it. To this end, he undertook numerous excursions to remote areas of Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and beyond. For peasant music had not been written down and until then had only been passed down orally. Together with his friend Zoltán Kodály, Bartók set out for remote villages and landscapes equipped with phonographs and wax rollers. During his travels he collected more than 9,000 melodies from different cultures, which he analysed and partly published.
"My real idea, however, is the fraternization of peoples, a fraternization despite all war and strife. I try to serve this idea in my music; that is why I do not withdraw from any influence, even if it comes from Slovak, Romanian, Arab or any other source.."
Béla Bartók, 1931
For Bartók, peasant music with its church and pentatonic keys also meant an emancipation from the major-minor tonality prevalent at the time and the possibility of creating a new modern music from it without resorting to twelve-tone music.
Bartók taught his son the piano at his request - and it was to this son that he dedicated the first issues of the Microcosm. Six volumes comprise the pedagogical work, which is arranged in increasing difficulty: from easy exercises for beginning lessons to virtuoso character pieces for advanced pianists. The short pieces of the Microcosm153 in all, were created over a period of 12 years, between 1925 and 1938.
In contrast to most piano schools the Microcosm to general theoretical or technical introductions. Thus it contains a varied mixture of preliminary exercises, short compositions, pieces for technical practice as well as musical phenomena and character pieces.
Each of the pieces has a specific, well thought-out task. The focused theme can often already be gathered from the title, e.g. dotted notes, syncopations,
Parallel movement, change of register, Dorian or Phrygian key. In the Microcosm Bartók deals with elementary compositional means, and there is even polyphony in the first volume. Especially in the use of church keys and sometimes unusual meters, clear influences of the peasant music of southeastern Europe can be heard. Bartók has thus created an exciting work of instruction that has lost none of its modernity to this day.
Admittedly, not everyone finds direct access to Bartók's piano school. It is and remains a matter of taste, of course. A valuable and tonally more conventional alternative is also offered by Hans-Günter Heumann's Beginners' School Playing the piano - my most beautiful hobby. This classic of German-language piano literature is aimed at young and adult beginners with varied exercises as well as pieces from classical and pop music (also beyond the classical beginner pieces in five-tone space!).
You would like to learn the piano? Also during the Corona pandemic I give piano lessons in my 36 sqm studio in Cologne - with distance and hygienic measures or online. I also produce music videos for listening, watching and learning. Have a look at my Teaching page or my Youtube channel over.
The recordings of Microcosm (Volume 1) and Playing the piano - my most beautiful hobby (Volume 1) will be released on 18.06. and 02.07.2021. You can listen to both releases on the big streaming platforms like AppleMusic, Deezer and Spotify.
After a series of releases of classical recordings at the turn of the year, this time it's back to the roots of jazz. And this time with a double release: This February my EP Ragtime - Marcus Sukiennik plays Scott Joplin as well as the first release of my own composition Shout Out Blues.
In addition to some background information on the selection of pieces, I would like to use this blog post to give a brief introduction to the origins and characteristics of ragtime piano.
He celebrated international success as one of the first African-American composers - Scott Joplin, the "King of Ragtime". I have recorded four of his most famous titles for my EP. At the same time they are my personal best-of: The Entertainer, Maple Leaf Rag, The Easy Winners and The Great Crush Collision March.
Scott Joplin was born in the 1860s in Texas, where he played as a bar pianist from a young age. In his early 30s, he wrote a piece that would go down as a milestone in music history: The printed sheet music of the Maple Leaf Rag sold more than a million copies after their release in 1899. That had never happened before.
A few years later, in 1902, Joplin composed what is probably his most popular piece today, The Entertainer. A nifty catchy tune that some will also recognize from the endless chase scenes of the animated series Tom and Jerry should be known. For all cineastes, with whom cartoons can score less: The rag became world-famous in 1973 through the hit film The Stingwhose soundtrack lives from Joplin's compositions. With it also The Easy Winners. Thanks to the successful soundtrack of the feature film, which is really worth seeing, ragtime experienced a real revival in the 1970s.
Let's move on to the last track I recorded for the EP. Scott Joplin dedicated The Great Crush Collision March a spectacular but tragic event. The march evokes the staged railroad accident of 1896, a marketing effort by the Texas Railroad Company that collided two locomotives head-on as a spectacle. An audience of several thousand had gathered for the event, but three people died in the explosion and several were injured.
Ragtime originated in the African-American communities of St. Louis, Missouri. There the genre developed in the 1890s as dance and light music, whose popularity reached its peak at the turn of the 20th century - and eventually spilled over from the USA to Europe.
The name ragtime is derived from ragged time (Engl. "torn time"), due to the temporal shift between melody and accompaniment that is so characteristic of the style.
Musically, a lot comes together here: African rhythms, elements of African-American folklore as well as European classical music. The left hand jumps and plays a steady accompanying rhythm, while the syncopated melody line of the right hand with its small time offsets provides a special charm.
Ragtime is perceived today primarily as a piano style, but was originally also played on other instruments and in ensembles. It was considered utility music - Joplin wanted to bring his rags to the stage in the concert hall, he wrote among other things two operas, but unfortunately they received little attention during his lifetime.
The era of ragtime ended around 1917 with the death of Scott Joplin. New genres emerged from it, and precursors of jazz, such as stride piano and blues, enjoyed increasing popularity. While there are clear parallels between stride piano and ragtime, one major difference is that ragtime is note-based, composed music - in contrast to Harlem stride, which is characterized by elements of improvisation.
Two examples of stride piano can be found on my album All-Time Standards:
Satin Doll and Honey Suckle Rose.
Uplifting, that's how I want the new year to be after the challenges of 2020. Today sees the release of my new single, a piano arrangement of Handel's aria Ombra mai fu. King Xerxes' Ode to the Shady Sycamore is a baroque masterpiece that still touches us today - graceful and uplifting, a soulful start to the new year.
I'd like to take you a little further back in music history with this blog post. A new recording of the first edition of my series of works Living sound world will be released on January 22. Much better recording quality has motivated me to re-release the series. Look forward to High-Resolution Audio.
The musical journey leads into the 16th and 17th century. Lively Sound World Vol. 1 includes great names of European masters who, however, are hardly known outside the sworn classical music audience. Antonio de Cabezón, Girolamo Frescobaldi, William Byrd and others are rarities of early music. Compositionally, a great deal developed during this period, from musical notation to instrument construction to composition. These developments are what we will be discussing here today.
My exploration of classical piano music could not but begin where the first reliable notations for keyboard instruments originated: in the age of the Renaissance. Notation systems used until then relied on oral traditions, were imprecise and open to interpretation. The Spanish composer Antonio de Cabezón (1510-1566) was one of the first to publish his compositions in this new type of tablature. In an unspectacular way wonderfully calm and flowing sounds Diferencias Sobre el Canto Llano del Caballero from Cabezón's compilation published in 1578 Obras de música...that I've been working on for... Living sound worldI chose.
About 50 years later, in 1635, the Fiori musicali by Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643). Admired by his contemporaries as a "giant among organists", Frescobaldi played at St. Peter's Basilica at the time. Frescobaldi cultivated virtuoso playing, the improvised embellishment of an expressive performance - a predilection that continued to develop throughout the Baroque period. Three outstanding pieces of Frescobaldi's musical blossoms can now be found on Living Sound World Vol 1. again: Toccata Avanti la Messa della Domenica, Kyrie della Domenica and the Toccata cromatica per l'Elevatione.
Cabezón and Frescobaldi are two masters of polyphonic music. Their style of composition was influenced by the ideal of human voices and was oriented towards choral singing. In the polyphonic movement all voices are rhythmically and melodically independent - and from this polyphony a musical fabric emerges to which all voices contribute their part more or less equally.
The second half of the compilation includes various pieces taken from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book originate. As one of the most important historical collections for keyboard instruments par excellence, the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book around 300 compositions for the virginal, a smaller type of harpsichord. The pieces date from late 16th to early 17th century England. Among them are works by William Byrd, the most important composer of the Tudor period.
The question of the originator of the manuscript remains controversial to this day. One candidate discussed in research is the English composer Francis Tregian the Younger. The latter was condemned for refusing to attend Anglican services because of his Catholic faith. It is suspected that he wrote the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book during the long years of his imprisonment.
Dancingly the compositions are, like the piece Alman XC by Martin Peerson or
Muscadine XIX of anonymous originator. They are clear, catchier melodies than those of their predecessors, characterized by the homophonic movement. One voice leads melodically and is accompanied by chords. Homophony in instrumental music experienced its breakthrough in baroque music - and is now the common tonal movement in pop music.
Ombra mai fu will be released as a single track on 01.01., the compilation Living Sound World Vol. 1 01/22/21.
The tracks can be heard on all popular streaming platforms, Ombra mai fu here and the album Living Sound World at this place. To go with this, I will also be posting tutorial videos that give a view of the fingers. More about this later.
A good start into the new year wishes you
Marcus Sukiennik
As a musician, I cherish the creative moments, alone in my studio, focused on writing and playing music. But I also love performing music live in front of people, sharing moments and moods. Like most artists, I'm not currently on stage and I haven't taken a seat behind the grand piano in my second home, the Excelsior Hotel Ernst in Cologne, for quite some time.
This unusual year marks a special anniversary for me: I have now been playing regularly as a pianist in the Excelsior's Piano Bar for 10 years. In normal operation, this means that I spend several evenings a week in the hotel's bar. In solemn thought of this beautiful anniversary, a new piece has been created: E-H-E. The composition of the same name begins and ends with these notes - just like the initials of the Excelsior Hotel Ernst.
I would like to talk about my evenings as house pianist of the Piano Bar and its special guests here today, for the publication of E-H-E...tell me a little bit.
The Excelsior Hotel is a house steeped in tradition. And so is its Piano Bar, which has been around since the 1870s and is still an insider tip among Cologne's live bars. Not only because of its attractive location right next to the cathedral (at least I hope so). But also because word has got around that you can enjoy exceptionally good drinks here to unobtrusive piano tones.
The moody atmosphere in the Piano Bar is underlined by its charming interior. Dark mahogany panelling, dim lighting and yellow leather seating. From my instrument, I look out over a colourful, changing floral decoration. When you enter the bar, you leave the hustle and bustle of the main station and Domplatte behind. It's like diving into a small cosmos with its own rules for space and time.
As a bar pianist, I have been in and out of these premises regularly since 2010. The Piano Bar is open for coffee during the day, but I mainly play in the evenings, from 7pm until after midnight. The bar is frequented by both locals and hotel guests, alone or accompanied and for very different reasons. Some come for the good cocktails, to celebrate in a round with others, or to relax after a stressful day. Some also come for the music.
Besides regulars, I often see new faces. Sometimes it's busy, other times it's quiet. When the stream of visitors swells and swells is usually hard to guess in advance. Suddenly it explodes and in the same way the rooms of the bar sometimes empty almost unnoticed. The team around bar manager Matthias Allgaier has grown very close to my heart. Some have been there as long as I have. André Todorovic, for example. He did his apprenticeship at the Piano Bar and is now already bar supervisor. He should know my music pretty well by now. It amuses me when he whistles along to my compositions as if they were popular hits.
What can basically be observed: It is the people who make up the atmosphere in the Piano Bar. So the very different composition of the audience can lead to special moments.
One of my attentive listeners is an elderly gentleman from England, who comes to the city on the Rhine from time to time. He always has an armchair set up right next to the grand piano and particularly enjoys old swing pieces. In return I get wonderful British humour for the evening. (Added to this is a good-natured encouragement which I have observed especially in people who have fought the battles of life and are now interested in making their counterpart feel good). A handwritten letter reached me weeks later after our first meeting at the hotel. Priceless!
Tastes, sensitivities and listening habits are different. As a bar pianist you therefore need more than musical talent - above all a sure instinct that reacts to the listeners in order to help create the atmosphere of the moment. Of course, you can't always please everyone. An older gentleman who had come to the Piano Bar apparently didn't fare quite as well as he had expected. His conclusion to my own composition Unusual Piano Groove: "It sounds like a record has jumped".
Sometimes quite unexpected similarities come to light: a regular guest occasionally works on his laptop in the Piano Bar. He comes especially for the beautiful ambience. Despite his work, he has all his antennae set on music and notices it every time I present a new piece. Then we chat a bit. For the first time after my composition Peanuts Song. Growing up with Charlie Brown and co, I was always elated and fascinated by the music. Without having told anything about it, he promptly approached me after the title that the piece reminded him of the Peanuts. What a nice surprise!
Playing times in the Piano Bar
Update 2023:
Fri & Sat: 7 - 24 pm
Winter garden: occasionally Sun, 13.00 - 15.00
(currently approx. 1-2x monthly)
Current information directly from the Excelsior Hotel Ernst
E-H-E kicks off a series of new releases I'll be releasing over the next few months.
You can hear the piece from 4.12. here on all common streaming platforms and
available as download in 192 kHz 32 Bit High Resolution Audio. Matching piano sheet music and leadsheet as well as an instructional video with a view of the fingers - all available soon in my new shop.
I look forward to perhaps meeting you in person one day when the doors of the Piano Bar open to guests again in the future. With this in mind: stay healthy and get through the winter well.
Sincerely
Marcus Sukiennik
