The Pen Woman, Summer 2023:

Composing for Piano Students:

The Art and Craft

By Elizabeth Lauer, Music Editor

“I know a fine way to play a Steinway, I love to run my fingers o’er the keys, the ivories.”

Yuja Wang, the supremely gifted stellar concert pianist definitively embodied these lines (music and lyrics by Irving Berlin, 1915) when, earlier this year, she presented in three mammoth, double-session concerts (Carnegie Hall, Severance Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall) her interpretations of all five Rachmaninov concertante works for piano and orchestra: four concertos and “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.” Daring, no-net, high-wire performing. 

The numbers alone are staggering: more than four and one-half hours of brilliance, subtle phrasing, concentration, energy, dexterity, power. Wang thrilled her audiences with her being at one with her 9-foot instrument, facing a large symphony orchestra, thereby revealing her musicianship, dazzle, physical acumen, imagination. Not to overlook her deft, spot-on pedaling in 6-inch Jimmy Choos. The foregoing was wrapped in the ineffable: musicality. This is a gift, to be sure; one that does no labor. It demands to be nourished with dedication, purpose, a willingness and desire to learn, to explore, to devote — with steady regularity — much of one’s waking hours, from childhood on. A crucial requirement: Sitzfleisch.

To be at the pinnacle of success, as is Yuja Wang, is beyond exceptional; to aspire to these heights is common among piano students in universities, colleges, conservatories, preparatory programs, and private studios. Most of these aspirants will become piano teachers, for whom an overriding concern is maintaining students’ eagerness for and constancy to the demands of gradually learning the complex skills of mind and body required to make music. For more than 40 years, a resounding answer — with qualifications in spades — has been the compositions of Eugénie Rocherolle. 

A member of NLAPW since 1979, Rocherolle has more than a hundred volumes of music for intermediatelevel students — early to advanced — and an equally large number of other high-quality creations. She has been nationally recognized and praised not only for these works, but also for her choral and instrumental pieces, including a clutch of prizes at NLAPW Biennials. She has served several times in national music positions, mainly for membership.

Rocherolle is clear in her view about presenting simplified versions of established masterworks. She abjures the practice and prefers to use new pieces that offer, musically and stylistically, a sense of sounds from the past. A case in point: “Sonatina in C,” dedicated to her father. There are four movements, each of which has a defined musical identity. The first is both declaratory and melodic; it evokes similar openings by the productive classic-era composer Muzio Clementi (1752–1832), with an occasional Rocherolle surprise of more modern harmony. The pensive, singing second movement has a scent of Schumann, and the jaunty, highly rhythmic caper that follows gives off more than a whiff of Haydn. To conclude, a matchup of 18th-century march pulse with sprightly 20th century harmonies.

The impetus for “Hands Separately” is novel and practical. Injuries occur, particularly to the right hand. Rocherolle’s stated approach to composing is on point: Seated at the instrument, “I usually start with the left hand, which establishes rhythm and harmony,” she says. “From there, I create a melody: The left hand inspires the right hand.”

It is the left hand that delineates bass and tenor tones — the musical, acoustic fundamentals — producing both the harmonic basis and the audible overtones that enrich piano sound. There is not a soupçon of low-cal skinniness in these eight pieces; each is fully composed, with spot-on requirements for the damper pedal — right foot, sustaining.

The cover art for “Romantic Stylings” is Renoir’s “Bal du moulin de la Galette,” a fine choice by the publisher. Rocherolle’s publishers have typically been responsible for cover titles and art; she titles her individual works. Among the eight pieces is a broad degree-of-difficulty, plus a rich sense of French culture. This aspect clearly points to the composer’s junior-year experience in Paris, where she studied with the world-renowned doyenne of composition, Nadia Boulanger. As to romance, it entered Eugénie Ricau’s life in the person of Didier Rocherolle, whom she met on board a ship while returning from a year of study in Paris, thereby becoming her lifelong partner in a happy home in the States, enlivened by four children.

“Christmas Together” comprises works for piano duet, meant not for singing along, but for listening. Each piece opens with an imaginative introduction; each coda (ending) has something special to say — a gift of musical surprise and pleasure that is a notable Rocherolle hallmark. As to the choice of songs, the range is broad, from the jazz-inflected harmonies of Mel Tormé’s “Christmas Song” to the closing, a rousing take on “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” all hands on deck, from the piano’s lowest to-highest B flats. This volume has an accompanying CD for practice purposes, as do other collections; some have internet connections.

Rocherolle writes with enthusiasm about “Boogie Time”: “I learned to play boogie at a young age and l loved playing by ear and picking out the popular tunes of the day.” These eight arrangements and two Rocherolle originals draw from tradition — W.E. Handy, “Pine Top” — to more present-day, such as Elvis Presley, the Beatles. What a picture it is: Teenager Eugénie, with that strong, agile left hand pumping away, the fire that stokes the fun and thrill of this entirely American genre.

Composed on commission from the Musical Arts Society of New Orleans, “Jambalaya: A Portrait of Old New Orleans” is scored for eight hands: two sets of piano duettists at two instruments. The composition keeps listenability in high gear, with its range of ever-increasing tempos (speed), changes in pulse, and especially its content, from the bluesy up-a-lazy-river opening to faster rhythm-and-blues-inspired bass, then on to more jazziness and a rousing ending. Each player has a chance to shine in the seven-minute piece, for which the writing subtly shades the level of pianistic challenge among the four parts. This is a definite boon to a teaching studio. Rocherolle makes clear her connection to the city of her birth and of her college experience at Tulane University. It is long, wide, deep, and warmly voiced in her dedication to “the memory of the old city the way I always knew her.”

In 1978, “Six Moods for Piano” came on the market, the first Rocherolle collection to be published. (This date may explain why each two-page piece of music is headed by a picture — a kind of photographic banner, in shades of gray.) The works are gently graduated in difficulty from the opening sway of “Pastorale” (here, the left hand is deceptively more demanding than the sweetly singing right) to the rhythmic joy and fizz of the concluding “Fiesta.”

Along the way are “Mini-March” (its photo of four elephants seems to contradict “mini” — perhaps publisher humor?), “Daydreams,” “Caravan,” and “Downstream” — all one-word titles. This debut set shows what has consistently been the Rocherolle hallmark: full, engaging pieces, which all the while make thoughtful, reasonable demands. Each of these works has a definable profile, a musical message, and as such, all are excellent for public performance. The music shows that 45 years ago, Eugénie Rocherolle had a sure grip on her mission. She has remained true to that vision. What she has produced is an enormous library of her vivid, imaginative musical thoughts and dreams.