39th Sterling Zither Seminar

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39th Sterling Zither Seminar

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Zitherists from Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania recently came together to attend Jane Curtis's Sterling Zither Seminar, number thirty-nine in the series. Jane has kindly provided the following report of this most recent event.

Mid-April in Springfield, Virginia, featured beautiful mild sunny weather as our dedicated band of zither players gathered for the thirty-ninth Sterling Zither Seminar. The seminar portrait below shows what a very happy one it was.

After the playday on Friday, we enjoyed a new (to us) Thai restaurant and later found wonderful omens in the sky, where Venus dominated a blazing panorama of stars and constellations. Saturday began with the old favorite Der Ludwiger Boarische, in a setting for three zithers – an easy piece full of Schwung. The sixteenth notes in the trio fell into place after a little work and it rocked along well when repeated in the afternoon.

The next piece brought a shift from easygoing boarische to snappy tango as we reprised Hernando’s Hideaway (Richard Adler & Jerry Ross/Jane Curtis) from a previous seminar. Those who had played Zither 1 the first time now played Zither 2, the former Zither 2s now played Zither 1, and the players who hadn’t attended the former seminar fell in on the two voices. This time around there was more enjoyment and less grim determination. From slinky to snappy, we had a real tango going.

Another change of pace brought us to Glücklich am Morgen from Eduard Künneke’s 1927/1932 operetta Liselott, in an arrangement for solo zither by Jane Curtis. It is among the best of those melodic and rhythmic songs from the wonderful operettas and musicals of the 1920s and 1930s. There is nothing intrinsically difficult in the music or the arrangement of this song, but it does need a relaxed approach, smooth playing, and attention to detail in order to bring out its gentle syncopation and subtle changes of mood.

From the operetta world of Berlin we moved back down to Bavaria with Markus Krammer’s Kathal Weis’, adapted and arranged for three zithers by Jane Curtis. Zither 1 is not difficult at all – unless you need to work on your split-chord accompaniment. Zither 2 has an easy time of it in Section A but is challenged with arpeggios in sixteenth notes in Section B and the Trio. Zither 3 has the fun of playing and coordinating pizzicato chords in Section A and a simple countertune in Section B.

The last of our five items was an experiment in a type of music and arrangement outside the experience of most zither players. Undaunted, our players boldly tackled Gernot Sauter’s adaptation of the five Hungarian Folkdances set by Bela Bartok. Bartok’s music in general and this work in particular are strongly influenced by the powerful rhythms of Hungarian folk music, which he expresses in a highly modern style. Here are no mechanical bass-and-chord accompaniments, but often single tones that supplement harmonizations, accentuate offbeats, and act as bridges. This setting, for two descant zithers and one alto zither, requires very close attention to detail, particularly timing, in order to fit the three voices together precisely and not disrupt the flow by being too slow or too fast on the pickup. The experiment succeeded, to the enjoyment of all concerned.

We meet again in October 2012 to play the zither together for the fortieth time. If you would like to join us (you are cordially invited) please contact Jane Curtis at 703-644-9914 or zitherlady@yahoo.com.
Attachments
Left to right: Dave Kyger, Jane Curtis, Jim Vorosmarti, Heidi Lugmayer, Kurt Maute, Richard Twichell, Tony Walter, Don Tsusaki, John Snyder. Photo by Don Tsusaki.
Left to right: Dave Kyger, Jane Curtis, Jim Vorosmarti, Heidi Lugmayer, Kurt Maute, Richard Twichell, Tony Walter, Don Tsusaki, John Snyder. Photo by Don Tsusaki.
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