Messiaen - Vingt Regards sur L'Enfant-Jesus
CoursePianoClassicalIntermediate
Part ofPiano

Messiaen - Vingt Regards sur L'Enfant-Jesus

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Duration2h 24m
Modules8
LevelIntermediate
LanguageEnglish

Lesson Plan (2h 24m)

About this course

Spend time with one of music's most acclaimed Messiaen interpreters as Joanna MacGregor teaches Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jesus - a chance to get inside the sound world, colour and concentration this extraordinary score demands, and to take her approach back to your own keyboard.

Composed in 1944, Vingt Regards is a vast meditation on the childhood of Christ, built on themes of God, love and joy. In Messiaen's own words: "More than in any of my works, I have tried to find a mystical way to express varied, powerful and sweet love, but sometimes also brutal, with multicoloured laws." His piano music has long been central to MacGregor's artistry, and her interpretations of it have drawn great acclaim.

MacGregor is one of the most wide-ranging and innovative musicians of her generation, working across genres that defy easy categorisation. She has appeared in over sixty countries with many of the world's great orchestras and conductors, including Boulez, Davis and Rattle, premiered several landmark compositions, and collaborated with leading jazz and pop artists from South African jazz to cutting-edge electronica. She is currently Head of Piano at the Royal Academy of Music.

In partnership with The Masterclass Media Foundation Archives, which provides a valuable educational resource in order to perpetuate musical passion and knowledge from one generation to another. [MMF026]

Who it's for

  • Advanced pianists drawn to twentieth century French repertoire
  • Conservatoire students preparing Messiaen for performance or exams
  • Returning pianists ready to engage with demanding modern scores

What you'll learn

  • Shape Messiaen's colours and rhythms at the keyboard
  • Voice dense chordal writing with clarity and direction
  • Interpret selected Regards with informed musical choices

What you'll need

  • An acoustic piano you can practise on regularly
  • A score of Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus
  • A few minutes most days for steady, focused practice

Meet the Guru

Joanna MacGregor

Joanna MacGregor

Joanna MacGregor is one of the most wide-ranging and innovative musicians around, with a career spent connecting genres and defying easy categorisation. She has appeared in over sixty countries, performing with many of the world's great orchestras (including the New York Philharmonic, the London and Sydney Symphony Orchestras, Netherlands Radio, the Oslo Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra) and under eminent conductors such as Boulez, Davis and Rattle. Along the way she has premiered several landmark compositions, collaborated with leading jazz and pop artists from South African jazz to cutting-edge electronica, and devised multimedia projects that have toured internationally.

Joanna made her conducting debut in 2002 and regularly directs her own orchestral projects. She enjoyed a close artistic partnership as conductor and performer with the Britten Sinfonia, with whom she toured South America and created the acclaimed Moondog/Art of Fugue project - a radical re-working of Bach's late masterpiece alongside the music of the famous 1950s New York street musician, released as 'Sidewalk Dances'.

Her album 'Play', on her own record label SoundCircus, received a Mercury Prize nomination, and her teaching books 'Piano World' have been hailed as 'worthy of the new millennium'. She is also Artistic Director of the Bath International Music Festival.

In this course she guides you through Messiaen's monumental 'Vingt Regards sur L'Enfant-Jesus', sharing the insight, technique and interpretive imagination you need to bring one of the great works of the piano repertoire to life.

Published with

Masterclass Media Foundation

The Masterclass Media Foundation films and records leading classical musicians teaching, so students can sit in on masterclasses they would otherwise never reach. Its aim is twofold: to let players and music lovers learn directly from great teachers, and to build a lasting archive of that teaching for future generations. UK registered charity 1113002.

Masterclass Media Foundation

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