AMSF had its 2nd Annual Conference featuring DUO MUNDI George Lopez and Gulimina Mahamuti on August 24th. This event was more highly attended than the inaugural, so interest is heading in the right direction.Â
The dynamic duo graced us with two duets and focused on French and Austrian/Germanic music, the topic of the conference. They played music of Couperin, Faure, Debussy, along with those of Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven, Brahms. The contrasts were stark! In addition to playing the music, George talked about the evolution and the mechanics of the piano, and how to make a modern piano sound like a period instrument. For example, George gave tips on how to play a Baroque piece in the style of Couperin.
DUO MUNDI George and Guli is a highly creative duo. They played two solos that required two people. Before you say that does not make sense, let me explain. George began playing a Couperin composition. Meanwhile Guli wore gloves — one black, the other white — both without fingertips. Imagine the gloves in Oliver Twist! Guli then plucked a few of the strings George was playing, creating a pizzicato sound on the piano — so perfect for a Baroque piece!
Another solo piece that required two people was Mozart’s Turkish Dance. George started playing. Meanwhile, Guli picked up a piece of bond paper and gingerly walked towards the left side of the piano. As George continued to play, Guli slipped the paper through the piano strings creating an eerie metallic sound. I had never seen such a thing. How cool!
DUO MUNDI George and Guli became an official duo less than three years ago. Both are world-class pianists in their own rights. George Lopez is the Artist-in-Residence pianist and conductor at Bowdoin College in Maine. Gulimina is an internationally acclaimed Chinese American pianist. Both George and Gulimina are trained in piano education and performance but were brought up in different styles. George is French-trained, while Gulimina is trained in the Russian and Chinese styles. Despite their divergent foundations, they blend so beautifully, musically and visually, as they perform.
Here are some of your comments about the event:
“Although I have been through academic classes in Musicology … history of, composers, analytics … these many classes did not bring ‘to life’ the … differences the way George did.”
“The focus seemed to be on how to ‘hear,’ how to ‘play,’ how to work with a piano.”
“All very pragmatic and useful skills for performance and how to improve performance.”
“I was also very impressed with his interaction with, and sensitivity to, the music attendee interests — he truly did adjust the presentation to piano performance.”
“I learned some new information about some of my favorite composers like Mozart and Schubert, and I also learned a bit about hand/arm technique in piano playing, especially with respect to using the speed with which the piano key is depressed to produce the desired tone.”
“The conference material included information that would help musicians across the board from beginners to advanced players.”
“I was very impressed with the conference!”
“This was a very worthwhile experience for me.”
“I learned that there is so much I didn’t know and so many intricate details of playing. While I am familiar with some of music history and composers of different eras, I learned how much that has influenced style and technique of piano playing.”
Almost everyone genuinely enjoyed the event. Please mark your calendars for next year’s conference, also in August. It will be an event you will not want to miss. Also, please encourage your other AMSF friends to attend the conference. You will learn as you are entertained!