Unlocking Schubertâs Style with Dominic Cheli
Join us for a deep dive into the poetic and expressive world of Franz Schubert with pianist Dominic Cheli. In this interactive livestream, Dominic will explore the hallmarks of Schubertâs style â from lyrical phrasing to harmonic nuance â and share insights on bringing his music to life.
Bring your questions! Weâll be taking live Q&A and answering any challenges you might be facing!
Plus, weâll be announcing the launch of our latest Schubert Challenge â your chance to learn a Schubert piece in just one month alongside the tonebase community.
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I'm playing Impromptu Op. 90 No. 1, c minor for a workshop this summer, and looking for suggestions about how to handle the recurring three note pattern. I'm having trouble giving it a sense of direction, especially in pp phrases.
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Hoping not to stretch myself too thin between the other pieces I currently have on my plate, Iâll try to participate in the Schubert challenge in which I hope to learn at least one, maybe even two or three, of the Impromptus. One question I have is how to make the long âmeditativeâ passages in which time seems to stand still (e.g. the two extended sections with continuous figures of four 16th notes in the middle of Op. 142 No. 1) sound magical and breathtaking instead of static and boring. There are many such passages in Schubertâs piano music (the middle section in the third one of the Drei KlavierstĂŒcke is another example).
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Alexander Weymann I can't believe it, but you just posed the EXACT same question I had!
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Gail Starr well, weâve always know we have a special connection, havenât we?
Glad Iâm not the only one who struggles with this problem. When Alexander Malofeev played the Drei KlavierstĂŒcke in Columbus last year, the middle section of No. 3 was so spellbinding and riveting that I never wanted it to end, and I kept thinking: HOW is he DOING that? -
Gail Starr my question also relates a bit to Schubertâs oft-admired, oft-bemoaned âheavenly lengthsâ, and about those it is always worth pointing out that if a listener doesnât bring the attentiveness and the special musical sensitivity required for Schubert, not even the best performance can âsaveâ a piece. I know I have told the story before, but after a concert in which Karl Böhm conducted the Great C major Symphony, a well-meaning audience member afterwards trotted out the old clichĂ© how the piece is âbeautiful, just way too longâ, to which Böhm grumpily replied in his Austrian accent: âWenn nur net Sie zu kurz san!â (âI just hope itâs not you whoâs too short!â)
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Alexander Weymann I wish I could have been there!
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Iâm currently working on the G flat Impromptu op90 no3. Do you have any practice tips on how to achieve a satisfactory balance between the melody and accompaniment in the Right hand? (sorry I canât join live today). Hazel
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Hazel great question; I think we all struggle with that issue in various pieces. Iâm sure Dominic will have many brilliant ideas for solving this problem! Personally, I found a suggestion by Magdalena Stern-Baczewska incredibly helpful when I had the privilege to do a mentorship with her: I played Lisztâs âDie Zelle in Nonnenwerthâ in which one section poses the exact same challenge (melody plus accompaniment simultaneously in the right hand), and she told me to think of my hand as a little sandbag in which I could simply imagine having most of the sand fall to one side by slightly turning it (more a sensation than an actual movement), making the lateral side of the hand (where the 4th and 5th finger are) feel heavier and denser and consequently producing and projecting a richer sound. It worked! And I didnât have to strain or push or stiffen any part of my hand or forearm.
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Alexander Weymann Thanks for the tip. I will give it a go!!
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