Music played at the April 17, 2016 session

Host: Sachie

Mozart seemed to be in the air at today's get-together.

Round 1:

- Greg: “Nocturne in F Sharp minor” by Anita Pari
- Lynda: “Sonata K330” by W. A. Mozart
- Erin: “Polonaise in E major” from French Suite #6, by J. S. Bach
- Sachie: “Sonata K576, 1st movement” by W. A. Mozart
- David R.: “18th variation of Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini” by S. Rachmaninoff
- Janice S: “Sonata Facile K545” by W. A. Mozart
- Julie: “Sonatine, 2nd movement” by M. Ravel
- Jeff H: “Prelude op. 11 #10” by A. Scriabin
- John W.: “Surprise Symphony, 3rd movement” by J. Haydn

Round 2:

- Lynda: “Lullaby of Birdland” by George Shearing
- Greg: “Misty” by Erroll Garner
- Erin: “Lament” by Cornelius Gurlitt
- David R: “The water is wide”, Scottish folk song arranged by Michael Logozar
- John: 3 United Church Hymns
- Julie: “Invention #8 BWV 779” by J. S. Bach
- Sachie: “Prelude Op. 28 #20” by F. Chopin

Music played at the March 20, 2016 session

Our second session in March was another small gathering but was very enjoyable nonetheless. By chance, the sonata form played a big role today, but we also had music ranging from the Baroque to the 21st century.

Host: Christopher

First round:
Karin - La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin, Debussy
Erin - Polonaise in E major, JS Bach
Teresa - Once Upon a December, Ahrens and Flaherty
Barb - Sonata in e minor, 3rd mvmt, Haydn
Christopher - Berlin Song, Einaudi

Second round:
Karin - Sweet Hush of Dawn, W. Carroll
Barb - The Poet Speaks, Schumann
Teresa - Sonata in f minor, Scarlatti
Erin - Sonatina in B flat major, Diabelli
Christopher - Sonata in B flat major (exposition only), Mozart
Teresa - A Short Story, Kabalevsky

Report from the March 13, 2016 session

Host: John

Round 1

1. Greg: “Adieu to the Piano”, by L. van Beethoven
2. Mary-Lou: “Nocturne #3 in A flat major”, by G. Fauré (Op. 33)
3. Karin: “The passing of Una” and “The sweet hush of Dawn”, both by Walter Carrol
4. John: “Chorus of Morning Glories” (own composition)

Round 2

1. Greg: “To a wild rose”, by E. MacDowell
2. Mary-Lou: “Impromptu #3 in G flat” by F. Schubert (Op. 90)
3. Karin: “Polonaise in G minor”, by F. Chopin (B.1)
4. John: Improvisation on “I had a little nut tree”

Report from the February 21, 2016 session

Host: Ottawa Pianos

First Round:
Greg: 2nd movement of Beethoven's Sonata Op. 13 (Adagio)
Karin: La Fille aux Cheuveux de Lin, Debussy
Lin E: Chopin Valse Op 69 #2
Erin: Bach, Allemande in G BWV 837
Liz W. (in England): Waltz, Aleksandr Griboyedov
Gared: First Excursion, Samuel Barber
Janice: Mendelssohn Andante Sostenuto Op. 72 # 2
Mary Lou:  Schubert Impromptu #3 in G flat major. Op. 90
Sebastien: Sustenance (own composition)
Amieke: Nocturne, Samuel Barber
John W: Beethoven Sonatina in G major, with ornamentation
Lynda: Grieg, Heartaches Op. 34 #1
Tim: Claire de lune, Debussy
Julie: Ravel Sonatina 3rd movement
Francine: Beethoven, Fur Elise

Round Two:
Lynda: The Heart Asks Pleasure First. Michael Nyman
Greg: Jessica's theme
John: Hymn tune, "Purity" based on a Norwegian Folk Melody
Gared: Boisterous Chipmunk (own composition)
Karin: Lullaby, Mark Tanner

Report from the January 17, 2016 session

Our first session of 2016 was held at the Steinway Piano Gallery, giving us the opportunity to perform on a gorgeous concert grand. Two new members played, and we also had a guest violinist.

Here's what was played:

Greg — Debussy, Claire de Lune
Julie — Moszkowski, Etude No. 6 in F Major, Op. 72
Christopher — Mendelssohn, Song Without Words “Duetto”, Op. 38 No. 6
Erin — Schubert, Waltz in B Minor, Op. 18 No. 6
David — Rachmaninoff, Vocalise, Op. 34 No. 14
Gared — Chopin, Nocturne in D Flat Major, Op. 27 No. 2
Nick B — Chopin, Prelude in F# Major, Op. 28. No. 13
Matthew — Bach, Chromatic Fantasy, BWV 903
Karin — Chopin, Andantino from Ballade No. 2 in F Major, Op. 38
Barb — Brahms, Intermezzo, Op. 76 No. 7
Tim — Bach, Menuets from Partita No. 1 in B Flat Major, BWV 825
Diane C — Hal Isbitz, At Midnight
Sachie and young student violinist Sumika — Thomas Arne, Sonata No. 5 in B Flat Major, transcription by Harold Craxton
John — own arrangement of two “harp” hymns: Clement Scholefield, St. Clement; traditional, Greensleeves
Janice S — Beethoven, Bagatelle No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 119

2nd round:
Gared — own composition, Clash (an electrifying, percussive rendition of two against three rhythms)
David — Chopin, “Raindrop” Prelude, Op. 28 No. 15
Nick B — Schumann, Scenes from Childhood (Kinderszenen) No. 1, Op. 15
Matthew — Bach, Prelude in D Major
Greg — Nicholas Brodszky, I’ll Walk with God
John — own arrangement of traditional Norwegian folk melody, hymn Purity
Julie — Rachmaninoff, Etude-Tableau in G Minor, Op. 33 No. 8
Diane C — Jean-Baptiste Lafrenière, Valse Miroir

Thanks to Mitchell for hosting our group at Steinway, and thanks to David for stepping in to help coordinate the session.

CBC's "Piano Hero" contest is back

CBC is once again holding a contest where you can submit a video of yourself performing a piece on the piano and vote for your favourites from all the entries.

All the details are at: http://music.cbc.ca/#!/Piano-Hero

Let us know if you enter (from January 11 to 21) so that we can spread the word and vote for you!

"Getting Started"

Southminster's piano restoration project

The restoration project of the Heintzman grand piano at Southminster United Church is described in this article in the Ottawa Citizen, accompanied by a short video:

http://ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/local-arts/the-southminster-piano-new-life-breathed-into-a-vintage-grand

Several members of OPG played on this instrument at a past session, as well as at a master class that was led by Roland Graham.

Report from the December 13, 2015 session

Another year of piano music has come to a close with the last session of 2015. A group gathered at John's home and played the following pieces, which included a number of seasonal arrangements:

Round 1
- Karin: “Polonaise in G minor”  by F. Chopin (Op. B.1) (composed when he was 7!)
- Sebastien: “Untitled”, own composition
- Greg: “Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring” by J.S. Bach
- Irina: “Waltz” by F. Chopin  (Op. 69 #2)
- Janice S: “Invention no. 6” by J. S. Bach (BWV 777)
- Amieke: “Berceuse” by F. Chopin (Op. 57)
- Francine: “Homecoming” by Hagood Hardy
- Winnie: “O Holy Night” by A. Adam
- John: “10 composers in 6 minutes” -arrangement of “Jingle Bells” in the styles of 10 composers.

Round 2
- Greg: “Prelude in D, #4 of Six little Preludes” by J. S. Bach
- Sebastien: Improvisation on “Misty” by Errol Garner
- Amieke: “Novelette in C major”: by F. Poulenc
- Janice S: “ Invention no. 8” by J. S. Bach (BWV 779)
- Irina: “Italian Polka” by S. Rachmaninoff
- Sebastien: Improvisation on “Stompin’ at the Savoy” by Edgar Sampson
- John: “Sweet Holiness”, own composition

If your resolutions for the new year include playing more piano, or getting more comfortable playing in front of a small audience of like-minded peers, join us in 2016! For details, see the About the Ottawa Piano Group link at the side of this page.

OPG mentioned in the Ottawa Citizen

The Ottawa Piano Group was mentioned in the Ottawa Citizen in an article about various groups trying out the pianos at the new store in town:

http://ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/local-arts/steinways-secret-to-success-let-the-people-play