Conference Artists
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2008 Conference Artist: Charles Rosen
Charles Rosen was born in New York in 1927 and left The Juilliard School of
Music at the age of eleven to study piano with Moritz Rosenthal, a pupil of Liszt.
His New York debut in 1957 was followed in the same year by one of the first
complete recordings of Debussy’s Etudes, which attracted high praise. Since
then his career as a piano virtuoso has included many tours of the United States
and Europe, playing with leading orchestras and giving recitals. He has made
frequent appearances with the BBC and various European and American radio
stations, and his television appearances include the presentation of two
programmes on Beethoven’s last years for BBC TV. In September 1999 he broadcast ‘Rosen on Chopin’ a
series of programmes to mark the 150th anniversary of the composer’s death for BBC Radio 3. His
performances with the BBC Symphony Orchestra have included the BBC Promenade Concert premiere of
Elliott Carter’s Double Concerto, and the first performance of Boulez’s Elats/Mutiples conducted by the
composer.
Some of the most renowned composers have invited Charles Rosen to record their works: for Stravinsky he
recorded Movements for Piano and Orchestra, for Elliott Carter the Double Concerto, and for Pierre Boulez
all his piano works (of which the first album won the Edison Prize in Holland). Sony Classical has reissued
his recording of the late Beethoven Sonatas, and Carlton Classics the Diabelli Variations: both original
recordings received Grammy Award nominations. He has also recorded Elliott Carter’s piano works, the
original editions of various piano works by Schumann, and two discs of Chopin.
Charles Rosen is also a distinguished writer on music. His publications include ‘The Classical Style’
(1971), which was published in five languages and won the USA National Book Award for Arts and Letters
in 1972, and ‘The Romantic Generation’ (1995). An expanded edition of ‘the Classical Style’ with an
additional chapter and CD insert containing Beethoven’s Op 106 and Op 110 was published in 1997.
Recent publications include a collection of essays under the title ‘Critical Entertainments’ published by
Harvard University Press, ‘Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas – A Short Companion’ published by Yale University
Press (2001), and ‘Piano Notes, The Hidden World of the Pianist’ published by Allen Lane (2003).
The holder of a doctorate in French Literature from Princeton University, Charles Rosen holds honorary
degrees from the Universities of Cambridge and Durham. He was appointed to the Charles Eliot Norton
Chair at Harvard for 1980/81; this Chair, established in 1925, is offered every year to an outstanding
individual in one the arts, alternating between literature and music. In 1988 he was the George Eastman
Visiting Professor at Oxford University, and he was Professor of Music and Social Thought at the University
of Chicago between 1991 and 1996. He was recently appointed to the International Chair in Performance
and Musicology at the Royal Northern College of Music for a period of three years.
Charles Rosen was born in New York in 1927 and left The Juilliard School of
Music at the age of eleven to study piano with Moritz Rosenthal, a pupil of Liszt.
His New York debut in 1957 was followed in the same year by one of the first
complete recordings of Debussy’s Etudes, which attracted high praise. Since
then his career as a piano virtuoso has included many tours of the United States
and Europe, playing with leading orchestras and giving recitals. He has made
frequent appearances with the BBC and various European and American radio
stations, and his television appearances include the presentation of two
programmes on Beethoven’s last years for BBC TV. In September 1999 he broadcast ‘Rosen on Chopin’ a
series of programmes to mark the 150th anniversary of the composer’s death for BBC Radio 3. His
performances with the BBC Symphony Orchestra have included the BBC Promenade Concert premiere of
Elliott Carter’s Double Concerto, and the first performance of Boulez’s Elats/Mutiples conducted by the
composer.
Some of the most renowned composers have invited Charles Rosen to record their works: for Stravinsky he
recorded Movements for Piano and Orchestra, for Elliott Carter the Double Concerto, and for Pierre Boulez
all his piano works (of which the first album won the Edison Prize in Holland). Sony Classical has reissued
his recording of the late Beethoven Sonatas, and Carlton Classics the Diabelli Variations: both original
recordings received Grammy Award nominations. He has also recorded Elliott Carter’s piano works, the
original editions of various piano works by Schumann, and two discs of Chopin.
Charles Rosen is also a distinguished writer on music. His publications include ‘The Classical Style’
(1971), which was published in five languages and won the USA National Book Award for Arts and Letters
in 1972, and ‘The Romantic Generation’ (1995). An expanded edition of ‘the Classical Style’ with an
additional chapter and CD insert containing Beethoven’s Op 106 and Op 110 was published in 1997.
Recent publications include a collection of essays under the title ‘Critical Entertainments’ published by
Harvard University Press, ‘Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas – A Short Companion’ published by Yale University
Press (2001), and ‘Piano Notes, The Hidden World of the Pianist’ published by Allen Lane (2003).
The holder of a doctorate in French Literature from Princeton University, Charles Rosen holds honorary
degrees from the Universities of Cambridge and Durham. He was appointed to the Charles Eliot Norton
Chair at Harvard for 1980/81; this Chair, established in 1925, is offered every year to an outstanding
individual in one the arts, alternating between literature and music. In 1988 he was the George Eastman
Visiting Professor at Oxford University, and he was Professor of Music and Social Thought at the University
of Chicago between 1991 and 1996. He was recently appointed to the International Chair in Performance
and Musicology at the Royal Northern College of Music for a period of three years.
2008 Guest Clinician: Martha Mier
Martha Mier is an internationally recognized composer and clinician who joined
Alfred Publishing in 1989. Her educational piano music for students of all levels
has made her one of today's most popular composers. Students worldwide enjoy
playing her music, including the popular Jazz, Rags & Blues series and the
Romantic Impressions series.
Martha graduated from Florida State University, where she was a member of
Sigma Alpha Iota, the national honorary music fraternity. Martha owned a piano
studio in Lake City, FL for many years and has been active in church music and
as a professional accompanist. She is a member of the Music Teachers National Association, the Florida
State Music Teachers Association, and the National Guild of Piano Teachers. Martha is a state and
nationally certified teacher of piano through these professional organizations.
Martha is a frequent clinician and adjudicator, having presented workshops for teachers in Australia and
New Zealand and in the United States at the Music Teachers National Association Conference, the National
Piano Teachers Institute, the World Piano Pedagogy Conference and numerous state MTA conventions.
Many of her solos and collections were chosen for the National Federation of Music Clubs Junior Festival
Bulletin. She is a co-author of Alfred's Premier Piano Course and more than 200 other educational piano
publications.
Martha will be presenting two workshops on Monday, October 27th. "Diamonds in the Rough", Working with
the Elementary Piano Student, and "Alfred's Premier Piano Course", The New Method for Today's Piano
Student.
Martha Mier is an internationally recognized composer and clinician who joined
Alfred Publishing in 1989. Her educational piano music for students of all levels
has made her one of today's most popular composers. Students worldwide enjoy
playing her music, including the popular Jazz, Rags & Blues series and the
Romantic Impressions series.
Martha graduated from Florida State University, where she was a member of
Sigma Alpha Iota, the national honorary music fraternity. Martha owned a piano
studio in Lake City, FL for many years and has been active in church music and
as a professional accompanist. She is a member of the Music Teachers National Association, the Florida
State Music Teachers Association, and the National Guild of Piano Teachers. Martha is a state and
nationally certified teacher of piano through these professional organizations.
Martha is a frequent clinician and adjudicator, having presented workshops for teachers in Australia and
New Zealand and in the United States at the Music Teachers National Association Conference, the National
Piano Teachers Institute, the World Piano Pedagogy Conference and numerous state MTA conventions.
Many of her solos and collections were chosen for the National Federation of Music Clubs Junior Festival
Bulletin. She is a co-author of Alfred's Premier Piano Course and more than 200 other educational piano
publications.
Martha will be presenting two workshops on Monday, October 27th. "Diamonds in the Rough", Working with
the Elementary Piano Student, and "Alfred's Premier Piano Course", The New Method for Today's Piano
Student.
