I have been developing educational enrichment materials on the piano, its repertoire, and its culture. This project aims to utilize the power of the web to present information in an engaging way that is easily accessible and connects musicians with materials for further study in performance, analysis and interpretation. In the summer of 2017, one set of videos about the solo piano mazurka genre and another set about the piano music of Bela Bartók were filmed at the Duderstadt Digital Media Center (DMC).
The content of both sets of videos highlights relationships between art music, folk music and dance. Although these topics are fundamental to understanding the inspiration behind this music, they are typically understood only at a superficial level. In an online educational video form, conversations, performances of art, folk, and dance music, dance steps, musical scores, and textual overlay can all be combined into one powerful integrated learning experience.
Our videos on the mazurka genre and on the music of Bartók are the first of their kind. They have the potential to become a primary, or first-stop resource to learn about one of the dominant dance forms of the 19th century, and about one of the early 20th century’s leading modernists. They should be of great interest to all pianists and pedagogues, and highly useful for private piano instruction, as well as courses in piano literature, musicology, dance, and Slavic studies, among others.