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Malcolm Bilson

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File:Bilson 2009.jpg
Malcolm Bilson in a masterclass at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 2009.

Malcolm Bilson (born October 24, 1935) is an American pianist and musicologist specializing in 18th- and 19th-century music. He is the Frederick J. Whiton Professor of Music in Cornell University, Ithaca, New York Bilson is one of the foremost players and teachers of the fortepiano; this is the ancestor of the modern piano and was the instrument used in Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven's time.

LifeEdit

Early life and careerEdit

Bilson was born in Los Angeles, California. His family was and is successful in the entertainment world: his father, George Bilson (1902–1981), was a British producer/writer/director of Ashkenazi Jewish extraction originally from Leeds, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and his older brother Bruce Bilson had a long and productive career as a film and television director; other relations (descendants of Bruce) are his nephew Danny Bilson and grandniece Rachel Bilson.Template:Efn

Malcolm Bilson graduated from Bard College in 1957.Template:Efn He continued his studies with Grete Hinterhofer at the Akademie für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Berlin, later with Reine Gianoli at the École Normale de Musique de Paris. He studied for a doctoral degree at the University of Illinois with Stanley Fletcher and Webster Aitken, obtaining his DMA in 1968.Template:Efn At that time he was appointed as an assistant professor at Cornell.

His encounter with the fortepianoEdit

File:FortepianoByMcNultyAfterWalter1805.jpg
A modern fortepiano built by Paul McNulty in imitation of a historical instrument by Anton Walter. The smaller size, smaller range, and lighter construction of the fortepiano, relative to the modern grand, can be seen.

Arguably the key event in Bilson's career was his first encounter with the fortepiano in 1969, which he narrated to Andrew Willis in a 2006 interview. Interested in historical pianos, he had bought a 19th-century instrument, described to him as a "Mozart piano," and was referred to Philip Belt, an expert on early pianos, about the possibility of restoring it:

I wrote Belt and sent some pictures, and Belt wrote back that yes, he could do that, but [my piano] wasn't at all a piano from Mozart's time. And as a matter of fact, he had just built such a piano, after Louis Dulcken, c. 1785, and he wanted to take it around to show at colleges and music schools. So I said fine, bring it, and I'll play a concert on it. He brought it and left it for a week, and I played an all-Mozart concert ... with K. 330 and the B minor Adagio and the Kleine Gigue, [as well as] the G minor piano quartet with some modern string players at 440.Template:Efn<ref name="Willis">Quoted from Andrew Willis (2006) Jouez le Fortepiano! An Interview with Malcolm Bilson", Early Music America, 12(3), 28-32. On line at [1].</ref>

In preparing for this concert, Bilson was startled by the challenges—and opportunities—that playing a fortepiano poses to a traditionally-trained pianist (fortepianos have a far more delicate touch, shallower key dip, lighter framing, and shorter sustain time than modern grands.)

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Career as fortepiano specialistEdit

The career shift ultimately proved successful; Bilson developed a reputation as a fortepiano performer, gave concerts widely and was also invited to make recordings (see below). In 1974, he co-founded the Amadé Trio with violinist Sonya Monosoff and cellist John Hsu; the trio performed works on historical instruments.

Bilson was promoted to full professor in 1976 and was appointed to the Frederick J. Whiton chair in 1990.Template:Efn

Bilson retired in 2006 as a professor,<ref>See</ref> remaining active as a teacher and performer.

In 2011, Bilson brought the first fortepiano competition to the United States. Coordinated under the Westfield Center, with a grant from the Mellon Foundation, the competition and academy were held at Cornell University; 31 young musicians from all over the world competed for prize money totaling $13,500.

Pedagogy and scholarshipEdit

Bilson created a DVD, "Knowing the Score," which questions many of the basic concepts of musical performance taught in conservatories and music schools around the world, specifically, the lack of adherence to notated articulations and assumptions about the length of rhythmic values. He followed up this DVD with two more: "Performing the Score," with violinist Elizabeth Field, and "Knowing the Score, Vol. 2."

Bilson has published several articles on the subject of interpreting late 18th- and early 19th-century compositions by Schubert, Mozart and Beethoven in Early Music and Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae.

RecordingsEdit

  • Malcolm Bilson, Tom Beghin, David Breitman, Ursula Dütschler, Zvi Meniker, Bart van Oort, Andrew Willis. Ludwig van Beethoven. The complete Piano Sonatas on Period Instruments. Played on original fortepianos: Salvatore Lagrassa 1815, Gottlieb Hafner 1835, Johann Fritz 1825, Walter fortepiano copy by Paul McNulty, Walter copies by Chris Maene, Johann Schantz copy by Thomas and Barbara Wolf, a Walter and Conrad Graf 1825 copies by Rodney Regier, Label: Claves. These recordings use a set of nine restored or replica pianos, each of a type contemporaneous with the sonata being performed.
  • Malcolm Bilson, John Eliot Gardiner, The English Baroque Soloists. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Concertos Nos. 20&21/ Concertos Pour Piano K. 466 & K.467. Played on a replica of Walter fortepiano by Philip Belt. Label: Archiv Produktion.
  • Malcolm Bilson. Franz Josef Haydn. Keyboard Sonatas. Played on a replica of Walter fortepiano by Philip Belt. Label: Titanic Records.
  • Malcolm Bilson. Franz Schubert — Piano Sonatas D.850, D.568. Played on Conrad Graf ca.1835 fortepiano. Label: Hungaraton Classics.
  • Malcolm Bilson, Anner Bylsma. Ludwig van Beethoven. Fortepiano and Cello Sonatas. Played on Alois Graff 1825 fortepiano. Label: Elektra Nonesuch.
  • Malcolm Bilson and Robert Levin. Franz Schubert - Music for Piano 4 Hands. Played on Conrad Graf ca.1830 fortepiano. Label: Archiv Produktion.

AssessmentEdit

Fortepiano builder Carey Beebe assesses Bilson's influence as follows:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Malcolm Bilson, who began after 'the Father of the Fortepiano', Phil[ip] Belt, dropped around one of his first reproduction instruments to try, still provides great impetus to modern makers. His Fortepiano Summer Schools in the 1980s were an inspiration, and many of the musicians who attended those schools, along with his Doctoral graduates, have spread the word around the globe. Bilson's DG Archiv recordings of the complete Mozart Concerti were a milestone.

Bilson's instrumentsEdit

HonorsEdit

The main-belt asteroid 7387 Malbil, discovered 1982, is named in his honor.<ref name="springer" />

In 1994 Bilson was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.<ref name=AAAS />

In 2015 he was awarded the Hungarian Gold Cross of Merit for his contribution to Hungarian intellectual and cultural life.<ref name=hgc />

BibliographyEdit

Publications by Malcolm Bilson:

  • "Schubert's Piano Music and the Pianos of his Time," Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 22 (1980), 263-71.
  • "The Viennese Fortepiano of the Late 18th Century," Early Music (April 1980), 158-62. (abstract)
  • "Interpreting Mozart," Early Music (November 1984), 519-22.
  • "Execution and Expression in the Sonata in E-flat, K282," Early Music (May 1992), 237-43.
  • "The Future of Schubert Interpretation: What Is Really Needed?" Early Music 25 (1997), 715-722
  • "Beyond the Musical Fringe, a Sequel," EMAg (The Magazine of Early Music America) 21/3 (Fall 2015), 16-19.

NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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  • Winter, Robert (no date) "Malcolm Bilson". Article in Grove Music Online. Accessed 11 March 2012.

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External linksEdit

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