Celestini c. 1600 Harpsichord, House Concert

 

Harpsichord by Norman Sheppard, modeled after c. 1600 instrument by Celestini
Dear Friends,
On Sunday afternoon February 27 at 3 pm, please join me for a house concert featuring a trip into the amazing sonic world of early 17th-century Venice! Norman Sheppard has completed an elegant Italian-style harpsichord modeled on an original c.1600 instrument by Celestini. If you're interested in iconography, check out the oil painting (above) of thirteen year old Mozart sitting at a Celestini harpsichord in Verona Italy in January of 1770--the harpsichord was almost 200 year old when this portrait was painted. You have to look deeply into the shadows above Mozart's left hand, but Celestini's name and the date 1583 are there! Of course, what is so cool is that some of Mozart's keyboard music (particularly the early work that is intended for harpsichord or fortepiano) lights up beautifully on this instrument. There is an energy and lift in the melodic writing that shows just how powerfully influenced Mozart was by the Italian masters.  On February 27 I'll play Mozart's delightful Eight Minuets, K. 315g.
The concert will start with a keyboard transcription of Josquin's Missa de Beata Virgine, in which the two lines are never more than two octaves apart, and yet there seems to be vast realms between. I'll play selections from some of the earliest collections of keyboard music--which appeared in the early 16th-century--and we'll explore a magnificent fugue by Giovanni Gabrieli who was music director at St. Mark's in Venice during the later years of the 16th-century. The centerpiece for the program will be Girolamo Frescobaldi's epic, story-in-sound Cento Partite Sopra Passacaglia (c. 1635); the emotional range of this work always reminds me of Shakespeare's King Lear.  I'll also perform and discuss some of my favorite Sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, who grew up playing instruments with the clarity and tonal range of this Celestini.
Lastly, I'll describe and demonstrate the expressive palette of the mean-tone temperament we use on this harpsichord. Mean-tone was the Renaissance and early-mid Baroque tuning that allowed for the commonly-used tonalities--such as C, D, F, G, and A--to be in-tune (to-the-stars, it seems to me) in much the same way as an a cappella vocal ensemble. I'll also discuss the very high pitch level of this harpsichord, around  A=460Hz, which is nearly a 1/2 step higher than standard 20th-c. pitch (A=440), and a whole step higher that commonly-practiced Baroque pitch of A=415.

Norman Sheppard will be at the concert and after intermission he'll talk for a few minutes about his artistic aims and the process of making this fascinating harpsichord.

Celestini Harpsichord!
House Concert by Trevor Stephenson
Sunday February 27, 3 pm
5729 Forsythia Place, Madison WI

In-person Attendance, audience limited to 25: $40 (concert link included)
We ask that audience members:
1. wear masks
2. have been fully vaccinated and boosted against Covid-19 

Virtual attendance: $25/link; posted February 28 at 11 am; Zoom Q&A Feb. 28 at 7:30 pm
To sign up: trevor@trevorstephenson.com

by admin23

Trevor Stephenson plays music by C. Schumann, J. Brahms, A. Shepherd, S. Joplin -- 1855 Viennese Concert Grand Piano

Piano music of Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Adaline Shepherd, and Scott Joplin.
Trevor Stephenson plays an 1855 Bösendorfer Concert Grand Piano.
tickets: email trevor@trevorstephenson.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by admin23

Beethoven - Keyboard Sonatas. Five Classes: August 3 & 10, Sept. 14, Oct. 5 & 26 2022

 

Beethoven
Keyboard Sonatas

5 Classes – Trevor Stephenson, instructor
August―October 2022
August 3 & 10, Sept. 14, October 5 & 26
Wednesday evenings 6-7:30 pm


Studio of Trevor Stephenson:
5729 Forsythia Place, Madison WI 53705
Enrollment for the class limited to 20 participants

In-person attendance - $100 for the five-class course
Attendance at individual classes - $25/class
All classes will be filmed and posted online
(24 hours after the class)
All class participants will receive the link to the videos
Virtual attendance--to view the five videos only--$85

To enroll
email trevor@trevorstephenson.com, or phone 608 238-6092

Pianos for the lectures:
18th-century Stein Fortepiano
19th-century Bösendorfer Concert Grand

August 3: Op. 2, no. 1 in F minor; Op. 14 no. 2 in G major
August 10: Op 13 in C minor, Pathétique; Op. 27, no. 2 in C-sharp minor “Moonlight”
September 14: Op. 57 in F minor, “Appassionata”
October 5: Op. 110 in A-flat major
October 26: Op. 111 in C minor

  • Early years in Bonn—family life, musical training; first trip to Vienna 1787; move to Vienna 1792
  • Studies with Haydn; success as a pianist; first publications; pianistic style and powers of improvisation
  • Types of instruments Beethoven played; keyboard temperaments and pitch levels
  • Onset and progression of his deafness; work habits; friendships
  • Structure and rhetorical aim of Op. 2 no. 1, Op. 14 no. 2, Op. 13, Op. 27 no. 2, Op. 57, Op. 110, Op. 111
  • Approaches to fingering, articulation, pedaling
  • Principles of the Enlightenment and of Romanticism present in the Sonatas
  • Publication, performance, and reception history of the Sonatas; suggested reading; discography

by admin23

Trevor Stephenson performs fortepiano music by Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven

Fortepianist Trevor Stephenson gives a concert lecture on fortepiano masterworks by Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven.
Performance in historic Park Hall, Sauk City, Wisconsin.
Tickets available in advance and at the door. Limited seating.
To make your reservation email trevor@trevorstephenson.com

by admin23

Domenico Scarlatti--Harpsichord Sonatas

Harpsichordist Trevor Stephenson plays and discusses Sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757).
House Concert, reservations required. To sign up, email trevor@trevorstephenson.com

by admin23

3-Part Course on the Sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti

Harpsichordist Trevor Stephenson will discuss the harpsichord sonatas and life of Domenico Scarlatti.
Wednesday evenings, February 8, 15, and 22.
Email trevor@trevorstephenson.com to register.

by admin23

Mozart at the Fortepiano, Trevor Stephenson house concert on May 14

Fortepianist Trevor Stephenson will give a concert-lecture on keyboard music of Mozart.
Repertoire includes: Sonata in A major, K. 331, Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman" k. 265, Six German Dances K. 509, Fantasia in C minor K. 475
Mr. Stephenson will play a 5-octave late 18th-century model fortepiano.
Registration required, please email trevor@trevorstephenson.com

by admin23

July 2 House Concert: Joplin, Brahms, Strauss Jr., Shepherd

Scott Joplin
(1868-1917)

Dear Friends,
To me, every year as the weather warms, Ragtime sounds extra good! So on Sunday July 2 at 3 pm, please join us here at the house for a concert featuring favorite Rags by Scott Joplin: The Sycamore, Wall St. Rag, Elite Syncopations, Solace, The Entertainer, Pineapple Rag, Maple Leaf Rag, Magnetic Rag--and of course his amazing Concert Waltz, Bethena. I'll also play and discuss Adaline Shepherd's remarkable 1909 Live Wires Rag--she lived in Milwaukee!  Also on the program, Johann Strauss Jr.'s Kaiser Waltz, and a work by Strauss's friend Johannes Brahms--amazing that they knew each other well!.

For the lecture portion of the program, I'll talk about Scott Joplin's fascinating life-story, from his birth in Texarkana just three years after the Civil War, to his young touring years with various ensembles, to his periods of relative settling down and hard compositional work in Sedalia and St. Louis, Missouri--where he developed his style of notating rags--to his big break in meeting publisher John Stark and how the Maple Leaf Rag took the music world by storm, to his subsequent successful years in New York City, and to his eventual decline there including the commercial failure of his opera Treemonisha. He died in New York in 1917 at the age of 48. We'll also talk about the great Joplin revival that started in the 1970s and which we are still enjoying to this day.

To sign up for the concert, please email: trevor@trevorstephenson.com Reservations required. Attendance is $45 per person. Refreshments served. The concert will be filmed and posted on youtube on July 3. All those attending the concert will receive the private link. If you'd like to register just to receive the link, but cannot attend the concert, cost is $25 per household. Would be great to see you July 2!
Trevor and Rose Stephenson

by admin23

Harpsichord Concert, Sunday August 27 at 3 pm, Iowa City Early Keyboard Society

Dear Friends,

This Sunday, August 27, at 3 pm, I'll perform on the Iowa City Early Keyboard Society series. For this concert, I'll bring Norman Sheppard's recently completed early 17th-century style Italian harpsichord--modeled after a c. 1605 Celelstini--to perform works by Gabrieli, Cabezon, Frescobaldi, Scarlatti, Haydn, and Mozart. The concert will be held in the beautiful Augudas Achim Synagogue at 401 Oakdale Blvd. in Coralville, Iowa (just a couple miles northwest of Iowa City). The concert is free and open to the public. Here is information about the event at the ICEKS website: http://iceks.org/events.html

by admin23

Italian Harpsichord House Concert, October 22 Sunday at 3 pm

Dear Friends,

On Sunday, October 22 at 3 pm, here at the home studio, I'll play Norman Sheppard's recently completed early 17th-century style Italian harpsichord--modeled after a c. 1605 Celelstini--in a concert featuring works by Gabrieli, Cabezon, Frescobaldi, Scarlatti, Haydn, and Mozart. This harpsichord is quilled entirely in crow feathers and has a very clear and graceful sound. It opens worlds of expressive possibilities in music ranging from the very earliest Italian published collections of keyboard music (c. 1500) up through the end of the 18th century with Haydn and Mozart. To listen to recent recorded selections on this beautiful instrument, please visit Trevor Stephenson, harpsichord. Celestini, studio session Sept 18 2023. - YouTube

I hope you can join us for this concert.
To sign up, please email me at trevor@trevorstephenson.com
Refreshments served.

by admin23