Piano Master Class
Saturday, September 7 at 9:30 AM
Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall (Music Hall Room 140)
Lecture-Recital: The Brotherhood of Peoples - Folk Styles in the Piano Music of Bela Bartok
Saturday, September 7 at 12:00 PM
Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall (Music Hall Room 140)
This lecture-recital presents performances of selected piano music of Béla Bartók in combination with recorded excerpts of actual folk music. Many pianists can hear that folk influences abound in Bartók’s music, but relatively few can identify anything in particular. The focus is on highlighting and naming specific folk elements that Bartók used in his own compositions (Hungarian parlando rubato, Hungarian tempo giusto, Romanian colinda, Ukranian Kolomeyka, Bulgarian rhythm, Serbo-Croatian diaphonic singing, Arabic, etc.). By so doing, Bartók’s own creativity, imagination and artistic transforming power in synthesizing folk and fine art becomes increasingly clear and apparent. Such a compositional approach was an expression of Bartók’s fundamental vision of humanity, what he referred to as “The Brotherhood of Peoples.”
Piano Solo Recital
Saturday, September 7 at 5:30 PM
Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall (Music Hall Room 140)
Logan Skelton is a much sought-after pianist, teacher and composer whose work has received international critical acclaim. As a performer, Skelton has concertized widely in the United States, Europe and Asia and has been featured on many public radio and television stations including NPR's "Audiophile Audition," "Performance Today," "All Things Considered," and "Morning Edition," as well as on radio in China and national television in Romania. He has recorded numerous discs for Centaur, Albany, Crystal, Blue Griffin, Equilibrium, Supertrain, and Naxos Records, the latter two consisting of collaborations with fellow composer-pianist William Bolcom. He has been a juror for many international piano competitions. Skelton regularly appears in such festival settings as Gina Bachauer, Amalfi Coast, Gijón, Eastman, Tunghai, Chautauqua Institution, American Romanian, Eastern, New Orleans, Poland International, Indiana University, Hilton Head Island, and the Prague International Piano Masterclasses. He is a popular presenter at music teacher organizations including numerous appearances at MTNA national conventions and EPTA World Piano Conferences, as well as serving as Convention Artist for state conventions in New York, Illinois, Michigan, Louisiana, North Carolina, Wyoming, Indiana, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Iowa. Moreover, he has given countless performances and masterclasses at colleges and conservatories throughout the world. He is a frequent juror for international piano competitions. His Centaur Records compact disc, of all 20th century American solo piano music, is titled American Grab Bag: Piano Music of Our Time. American Record Guide described this as a “fascinating recording,” commenting on Skelton’s “superb, wonderfully subtle and elegant playing … Bravo!” As a composer, Skelton has a special affinity for art song, having composed nearly two hundred songs, including numerous song cycles, many of which have been recorded commercially and performed internationally. Critics have noted the close fusion of text and music in Skelton’s songs, how words are “… illuminated with brilliance and deep emotional power,” American Record Guide. In Fanfare magazine reviews, Skelton as a composer of song has been singled out for his ability to “… plumb the depths of emotion … these are exquisitely crafted art songs in the American tradition … we are in the hands of someone who lives and breathes song.” A devoted teacher himself, Skelton has been repeatedly honored by the University of Michigan, including in 2003 the Harold Haugh Award for excellence in studio teaching, and most recently in 2017 with the Arthur F. Thurnau named professorship, among the highest honors given to faculty members at the university. Skelton’s own piano students and former students have won awards in many national and international competitions including Hilton Head, San Antonio, Cincinnati World, Washington, Bartók-Kabalevsky-Prokofieff, Fischoff, Jacob Flier, Iowa, Frinna Awerbuch, Eastman, Crescendo, Dallas, Missouri Southern, Los Angeles Liszt, Wideman, Concorso Internazionale di Esecuzione Musicale, Schimmel, Liszt-Garrison, Grieg Festival, Del Rosario, Beethoven Sonata, Ithaca, Piano Arts, Heida Hermanns, Dubois, Schmidbauer, Peabody Mason, Janáček, Seattle, Kingsville, New York, Oberlin, Idyllwild, as well as numerous Music Teachers National Association national competitions. His former students hold positions of prominence in music schools and conservatories throughout the world. He has served on the faculties of Manhattan School of Music, Missouri State University, and is currently Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Piano and Director of Doctoral Studies in Piano Performance at the University of Michigan.