Temianka Talks Music: Lectures from a VirtuosoMain MenuTemianka Talks Music: Lectures from a VirtuosoMeet Henri Temianka“Chamber music is not for stuffed shirts. It is no more difficult to understand good music than bad music.” - Henri TemiankaTemianka’s Performance Lectures“It stands to reason that spoken program notes, accompanied by illustrations, can be far more informative to the layman than written notes.” — Henri TemiankaThe Philosophy Behind the LecturesA Mosaic of Lectures: Temianka's Contemporaries'Less Than Helpful' and Other CritiquesTemianka's Place in Lecture-Recital HistoryA Musical Way of Life'Good Luck, and Au Revoir'Mitchell Tanaka75abacb26e6c57ae4edcfa52905b354c967abaa9
Musical performances were a common sight in the Temianka household.
1media/temianka-publicity_0166_thumb.jpg2022-04-27T17:45:50+00:00Mitchell Tanaka75abacb26e6c57ae4edcfa52905b354c967abaa91943Unattributed photo of Henri Temianka, n.d., 2016-064-s-r, Box 21, Folder 1, Henri Temianka Papers. Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives, Chapman University, Orange, CA.plain2022-05-04T15:39:45+00:00Mitchell Tanaka75abacb26e6c57ae4edcfa52905b354c967abaa9
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1media/temianka-publicity_0168(2).jpg2022-03-14T16:26:14+00:00A Musical Way of Life39image_header2022-09-30T18:47:45+00:00While Temianka's lectures echo earlier conceptions of the lecture-recital, he also managed to create his distinct educational voice by blending the philosophies of musicians who came before him,while embracing new technologies and incorporating his own experiences into his lessons.
Performance Lectures Today
Since Temianka's passing in 1992, lecture-recitals, concert introductions, and performance commentaries have become significantly more popular and accepted in the public sphere.
Technology has continued to embrace and metamorphize music commentary, much like Temianka wished to do in his time. Music podcasts, concert livestreams, digital music forums, and streaming shows have allowed everyday listeners to dive deeper into music appreciation.
In some ways, it's harder today to avoid lecture-recitals, performance commentaries, or music analyses than it is to find them.
Temianka's Unique Style
Temianka articulated to his audiences that composers and their own creations were a product of their time. It could also be said that his lectures are uniquely the product of his own life, from performing as a soloist to conducting symphonies at Royce Hall. Most strikingly, Temianka's holistic lecture-style broke new ground when it portrayed a conductor's thoughts and experiences as valid musical commentary and discourse aspects. Temianka saw his relationship with the music he performed and lectured about as inseparable from himself. Not discussing his thoughts on the piece or how he came to understand the work would ignore a significant aspect of how a performer approaches their work.
For Temianka, this more personal approach to performance lectures affirmed that music is indeed a way of life.
Discussion Questions:
How do you think you can embody a musical way of life?