Pedagogy Lectures
available
In-Person and on Video
New for 2025-26. The French Suites are singular among Bach's works -- they were not written for either performance or publication, but as a gift to his young bride Anna Magdalena, as some combination of teaching aid and love letter. The music is filled with love and humor, as well as the grief of a recent widower. More
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Comparison of editions, transcriptions and writings by the father of modern Bach performance practice. More
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The History and meaning of the best guide to the Romantic Piano Style, parcticularly the Russian School. More
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Each one is a little gem, with surprises, puzzles and jokes just waiting to be discovered. More
Bach’s 18 Little Preludes, too rarely taught and performed, offer an unparalleled window into Bach’s own pedagogy. More
Several dozen videos of lectures and masterclasses on individual works of piano literature
Lecture-Recitals
with stories abour the composers, their times and their music
Highlighting Svetlana Belsky's performances of music from Debussy to Stravinsky, this film
presents these works in the context of contemporary art, history, poetry and more.
The History and meaning of the best guide to the Romantic Piano Style, parcticularly the Russian School. More
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Filmed at the Polish Museum of America as part of the 2021 Chopin In the City Festival. Music and musical stories for children of all ages. Coming soon
A new weekly series of short videos which focuses on a particular technical or interpretive challange
Weekly series of short videos which highlights rarely-heard or unusual repertoire: new music, women composers, neglected Baroque masterpieces and music of the early 20th century
The French Suites are singular among Bach's works -- they were not written for either performance or publication, but as a gift to his young bride Anna Magdalena, as some combination of teaching aid and love letter. The music is filled with love and humor, as well as the grief of a recent widower. The emotional range of the Suites is astonishingly wide, from the tortured sonorities on Suite No. 1 in D minor to the unclouded joy of the ever-popular G Major Suite No. 5.
In our teaching and performance, therefore, we should strive to create an interpretation that is beautifully expressive – but within the bounds of historically informed performance practices. This talk will introduce the dances as they were understood by Bach and his contemporaries and suggest keyboard techniques to make them come to life. We will also discuss the changed understanding of rhythmic notation, dynamics, phrasing and articulation, as well as the various versions and editions.
Ferruccio Busoni's Bach:
The Birth of Modern Performance Practice
So much of what we think of today as standard Baroque performance practice -- from terraced dynamics, metricized ornaments, and clear articulation -- is the result of Ferruccio Busoni's editions, performances and teaching. In addition, his transcriptions of Bach's organ and violin works helped create the loving and reverent attitude toward Bach's music and bring his legacy to new generations of pianists and music lovers. This talk explores Ferruccio Busoni's transcriptions (comparing them to those of Schumann, Raff and Brahms and historical editions, as well as showcases Busoni's contributions to our understanding of Bach's polyphony, expressive devices, meter, articulation, and so much more.
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The lecture has been presented at the Illinois MTA conference (2017) as well as numerous local chapters. A shorter version was heard on BBC radio in 2016 as part of the Busoni 150 celebration.
Teaching the Piano Repertoire
The story of the Album's creation and its symbolic and allegorical meaning.
Video Tutorials for the Individual movements of the Children's Album with hints for solving technical challenges and interpretative ideas
Tchaikovsky's Children's Album:
The Light of a Dark Soul
The complete Children's Album in performance in the original order
Tchaikovsky's Children's Album is an unrivaled treasury of pedagogical repertoire uniquely designed to introduce the developing pianist to all the challenges and intricacies of the Romantic Style, especially the Russian Piano School. This set of 24 little gems teaches every kind of articulation, touch, phrasing and technique required to perform advanced repertoire, in music that is expressive and fun to play. The Album has a difficult and painful history, which adds to its fascination. In addition, the complete work carries symbolic and allegorical meaning, all explored in detail in this talk.
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The lecture has been heard in 2023 at the Illinois and Michigan State Conferences, the 2024 National MTA Conference as well as numerous local associations.
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The videos have been viewed over 30,000 times on YouTube and Facebook​
Decoding the Inventions
Written for Bach's own sons, the Inventions are so much more than exercises in independence of the hands -- each one is a little masterpiece, designed to teach compositional techniques. Each Invention has hidden features -- number games, surprises and jokes, to motivate the student (and the teacher). You can watch the complete talk, or video tutorials for
This talk was featured at the 2017 Illinois State MTA Conference, the Lake Michigan Music festival in 2020 and many local MTAs.
Watch the complete talk, including the history of the Little Preludes, a discussion of original keyboard instruments, and more
The Little Preludes in Performance
Video tutorials for each of the Little Preludes
The too-rarely taught and played Little Preludes are some of the best pedagogical repertoire ever composed. These small gems introduce the student to expressive devices, dance forms, articulations and rhythms that will serve the student well in further study of the Baroque Repertoire. This lecture is available in movie format, as well as in person.
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This talk was featured at the 2020 Illinois State MTA Conference, MTA of California and numerous local venues.
Teaching the Piano Repertoire
A growing list of lectures and masterclasses available on video
Lots More Bach
Piano Repertoire and Pedagogy
Masterclasses
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