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Monique Duphil Releases CD, and Performs and Teaches Throughout the World
Story by Michael Chipman
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"Les Amitiés
Romantiques" Kreisleriana,
opus 16 |
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the Conservatory |
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Listening Room |
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Monique
Duphil, professor of pianoforte, who recently released a CD
"Romantic Whispers" on the Eclectra label, is on sabbatical
this year, but this has been anything but a year of rest.
"I've been traveling this year even more than usual. I have
more freedom to do so," she said in a recent interview. "In
the late summer I played in many European festivals with
orchestras and chamber musicians in Switzerland,
Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, followed by a tour which
included solo recitals and -- most importantly to me --
masterclasses in Moscow and Hong Kong. I performed in total
about 23 or 24 concerts with many different programs --
maybe too many," she laughs, "and more than 72 hours of
master classes."
Duphil recounts her list of worldwide engagements matter-of-factly, as if international concerts and master classes were her daily fare. Indeed, such a schedule has been her modus vivendi since her orchestral debut at age 15 in Paris. But it is clear that Duphil's primary interest is teaching. She says, "The very exciting thing for me about the master classes in Moscow and Hong Kong was not only the very high level of talent, but also that most of the classes were videotaped, and the tapes will be sent to conservatory libraries. So, when a student is learning one of the pieces I am coaching, they are encouraged to go to the library to see what I have to say. It's a big responsibility, but an excellent projection of Oberlin, which is why I agreed to let them tape the sessions."
After Hong Kong, Duphil traveled to Venezuela where, in addition to recording a new CD, she "was caught in floods where over 100,000 people died. I was in the area where the floods happened, and I was very lucky nothing happened to me except that I was trapped in the airport.
"Now I'm off to New Zealand for an international convention for the Association of Music Teachers of New Zealand. They are holding a convention titled, 'The Impact of J.S. Bach on the future,' and they've asked me to be the main guest of the show. . . . I'm not sure why," she adds.
In New Zealand she will perform several recitals and offer master classes for pianists and chamber ensembles. "It's very exciting," she says. "I've performed several times with the New Zealand Symphony and also toured with them. It will be nice to be there in the summer. Then in March, I go to Australia and Japan to play recitals and teach classes and play two concertos with Australian orchestras."
Duphil says hers is a rewarding life, "but when you try to be a full-time teacher and give 100% to your students and 100% to performances it is difficult. It has been nice to perform so much this year. At the same time I miss my students and I'll be happy to resume my teaching in September. The best thing for me about teaching," says Duphil, "is to see pianists develop their imagination: trying to bring the best that they have inside and reveal them to themselves. And also to have the opportunity for so much intimate contact. My students are marvelous human beings. It's like having a big group of friends."
"Les Amitiés Romantiques" "Romantic Whispers"
Monique Duphil, piano
Duphil
recorded these pieces a few years ago in Vienna, along with
several others, for radio broadcast. "They asked me for two
major Romantic pieces that were compatible stylistically,"
she says. "Schumann and Chopin were good friends and they
had many things in common. I feel I have an affinity for
these two pieces -- a musical affinity. There is something
very intimate, deep and poetic about them. They are
evocative of many different feelings and at the same time
there is a lot of brilliance and strong
contrasts."
Segment 1: First movement of Robert Schumann's Kreisleriana, Op. 16 (56k | ISDN)
Segment 2: Eighth movement of Robert Schumann's Kreisleriana, Op. 16 (56k | ISDN)
