Scroll down to see some of my recent projects. Contact for more information/collaboration
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Frederic Chopin: Complete Instrumental Duets
An independent CD that features Frederic Chopin's chamber music works. The purpose of this project is to present a fresh reading of Chopin’s chamber works in a unified, organized, and independent manner. This project will provide classical music listeners a new musical experience. They will get to listen to a well-known composer’s less well-known music, connecting something they are already familiar with to something they are less familiar with. This project also encourages pianists to explore the other compositional outputs of Chopin. They will learn about the characteristics and values of his chamber works, and perhaps be inspired to perform some of them in the future. Since the CD features not only the piano, it also introduces the style of Chopin to other musicians who may not be familiar with the composer in the first place.
Re-examining the Metronome Marks: Tempo Issue in Robert Schumann’s Kinderszenen, Op. 15
This project questions if the metronome marks in Robert Schumann’s Kinderszenen are practical for modern performance, as a survey of fifty recent recordings shows that a majority of pianists perform it at a much slower tempo than the composer’s indications. To answer this question, my research considers current studies of tempo, metronome, instrumentation, and performance practices, in order to understand how composers and performers determine performance tempo. The research also looks into music analysis and interpretation studies to justify the composer’s tempo indications. Results show that interpreting Kinderszenen at or close to Schumann’s tempo brings out the individual character of the selected movements, allowing the movements to reflect their titles much more effectively. From a performer’s perspective, performing the music in a way the composer had intended increases its authenticity. From a listener’s perspective, it provides an opportunity for different listening experience to a piece of music that has been performed often.
Let'em Finish!
A presentation about online teaching strategies. I will address common mistakes and misconceptions about teaching instrumental lessons online, in order to facilitate and enhance students' remote learning experience.
A Pianist's Guide to Philip Glass's Piano Etudes
This paper serves as a guidance for pianists who are interested in playing minimalist style solo keyboard works, particularly those by Philip Glass’. The understanding of Glass’ etudes, one of the composer’s most personal works, puts the performer into the composer’s shoes. From there, they can then develop their own style and understanding of the music, which is ultimately the goal of this work.
This paper begins with a stylistic overview of Glass’ works. I will discuss his musical background, providing examples of his common compositional techniques. This section is followed by a brief history of the genre of Etude from the late eighteenth century to the twentieth century. I will explore how this genre has begun and how it transforms from a pedagogical tool into concert music. This section helps to illustrate how Glass’s earlier etudes enhanced and reinforced the concepts needed to perform his piano works, and how subsequent etudes further developed his musical ideas. The next section will be an overview of the performance challenges from a performer’s point of view. A preliminary observation is provided to summarize the development of the etudes, including its music and technical idea. I will then be focusing on the interpretive challenges from a performer’s point of view, including technique, rhythm, dynamic, and stamina. This section provides a detailed analysis on how Glass embraces the usually fast-paced, goal-oriented etude into the style of minimalism, which is often lengthy and slowly emerges.