Prominent Beethoven researcher and renowned pianist integrates into our musical circle
In the vibrant heart of Los Angeles, the Herb Alpert School of Music at UCLA is gearing up for a grand celebration. The occasion? The 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth in 2020.
At the helm of this musical extravaganza is Professor William Kinderman, the inaugural holder of the Leo M. Klein and Elaine Krown Klein Chair in Performance Studies. Professor Kinderman, a renowned scholar and pianist, is no stranger to Beethoven's work, having penned a book on Beethoven's Diabelli Variations and enjoyed fruitful collaborations with distinguished performers such as Alfred Brendel and András Schiff.
Through the Performance Studies area at UCLA, students can expect to gain a blend of theoretical and practical skills. This approach, which values the merging of experience and thought, practical and conceptual knowledge, is gaining momentum and is in increasing demand. Professor Kinderman's interest in Performance Studies was inspired by his activities as a pianist and his desire to incorporate a performance dimension into his book projects.
The UCLA celebration will be a feast for Beethoven enthusiasts. Performances of the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, parts of the C major Mass, the Fourth Piano Concerto, and the Choral Fantasy, among other pieces, are on the schedule. But there's more. UCLA is expected to be a significant location for celebrating Beethoven's anniversary, with a re-creation of Beethoven's monster concert from 1808 and a Beethoven-related traveling exhibition coming to Los Angeles in May 2020.
The new endowed chair aims to enhance UCLA's music school's reputation as an innovative center for the training of "thinking musicians." Performance Studies, or Artistic Research, can provide new perspectives and teaching opportunities by countering compartmentalization and overspecialization in music education.
Professor Kinderman emphasizes the importance of enhancing performance ability through knowledge and insight. His first book on Beethoven's Diabelli Variations was only fully realized after he recorded and performed the piece multiple times. This fusion of practice and theory is at the heart of Performance Studies, a discipline that aims to reintegrate theory and practice, the rational and the sensuous, the head and the heart.
As the second week of December 2020 approaches, the anticipation builds. UCLA's Beethoven celebration promises to be a unique blend of academic rigour, artistic excellence, and public engagement, drawing broader public attention with some surprises. Stay tuned for more details!
In the realm of education-and-self-development, the Performance Studies area at UCLA offers a combination of theoretical and practical skills, aiming to reintegrate theory and practice, learning and entertainment. As part of the grand Beethoven celebration, online-education resources might be made available to reach a wider audience, merging music, learning, and the digital realm.
