The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.
The piano is an acoustic, stringed musical instrument invented in Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori around the year 1700, in which the strings are struck by hammers. It is played using a keyboard, which is a row of keys that the performer presses down or strikes with the fingers and thumbs of both hands to cause the hammers to strike the strings.
Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It touches on all learning domains, including the psychomotor domain, the cognitive domain, and, in particular and significant ways, the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity. Music training from preschool through post-secondary education is common in most nations because involvement with music is considered a fundamental component of human culture and behavior. Cultures from around the world have different approaches to music education, largely due to the varying histories and politics. Studies show that teaching music from other cultures can help students perceive unfamiliar sounds more comfortably, and they also show that musical preference is related to the language spoken by the listener and the other sounds they are exposed to within their own culture.
Eisenberg wrote textbooks and articles on piano technique and interviewed major classical musicians, such as Vladimir de Pachmann, Leopold Godowsky and Vladimir Horowitz.[1][2] He was a contributor to The Musician, an early 20th-century monthly magazine for music teachers and students. In an introductory note to Eisenberg's interview with Vladimir de Pachmann, the editor of The Musician wrote, "Jacob Eisenberg, author of Weight and Relaxation Method for the Piano and Etudes for the Development of the Principles of Weight and Relaxation in Piano Playing, is a recognized authority on Weight and Relaxation in Piano Playing. His books have a widespread circulation throughout the world and have aroused most favorable comment. While the real truth concerning Vladimir de Pachmann's much discussed 'Methode', has already appeared in The Musician, Mr. Eisenberg's further elucidation of the subject will be of interest to teachers and students."[3]
Vladimir von Pachmann or Pachman was a pianist of Russian-German ethnicity, especially noted for performing the works of Chopin, and also for his eccentric on-stage style.
Leopold Godowsky was a Polish-American virtuoso pianist, composer, and teacher. He was one of the most highly regarded performers of his time – known for his theories concerning the application of relaxed weight and economy of motion within pianistic technic – principles later propagated by Godowsky's pupils, such as Heinrich Neuhaus.
Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz was an American classical pianist and composer born in the Russian Empire. He was acclaimed for his virtuoso technique, his tone color, and the excitement engendered by his playing. He is recognized as one of the greatest pianists of all time.
Eisenberg interviewed Vladimir Horowitz on his first trip to the United States in January 1928. He was impressed with Horowitz, writing, "This remarkable young Russian, on his first visit to America, succeeded in having himself recorded in critical annals as the season's most important newcomer among pianists. He is twenty-four years old; Rachmaninoff is his favorite pianist; a conservative Boston audience jumped to its feet and cheered him not many weeks ago; he is now making a spring tour of Europe and will return to America in October for a two and a half months' tour."[2]
Eisenberg in his music library, 1958
Eisenberg married Ruth Brewer in 1923. Eisenberg saw his new wife as a "laboratory" where he could test his theories of technique and teaching piano. He pestered his wife to let him teach her piano, but she didn't like to practice.[4] To get her to practice, he offered to do all the housework and she happily accepted.[5][6] Piano became her passion.[7] When Eisenberg went on a lecture tour of the United States, his wife came along to illustrate his methods to his lecture audiences. Playing the piano, she was visible proof that his teaching methods enabled the adult student to master the piano.[5][6] The ability to play piano later became his wife's saving grace, after she suffered a stroke. Depressed about her physical state, she was introduced to Margaret Patrick (1913–1994), who had also just had a stroke, but on the other side, and also had a background in classical piano. The two were soon dubbed "Ebony and Ivory" and their story became known nationally and internationally.[4][5] In an interview in McCall's magazine in 1986, Ruth Eisenberg said, "My husband was a wonderful teacher. I just wish he could see what I'm doing now with what he taught me."[6]
Ruth Brewer Eisenberg (1902–1996) was "Ivory" of "Ebony and Ivory," the inter-racial piano duo. Eisenberg and Margaret Patrick, "Ebony," each had a stroke in 1982, which partially disabled them. Prior to the stroke, each had studied and played classical piano. Eisenberg was disabled on the left, Patrick on the right. They were introduced at a post-stroke group in Englewood, New Jersey by the program's director, who knew of their shared love for music and thought perhaps together, they could play as one. A reporter dubbed them "Ebony and Ivory" after the song by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, which was then a hit.
Margaret Patrick (1913–1994) was "Ebony" in Ebony and Ivory, the name given to a pair of great-grandmothers in New Jersey, one white and one black, who played classical piano together. Each had a stroke in 1982 and became partially disabled. They were introduced to one another the following year and began playing piano together, one hand each. A reporter covering their story dubbed them "Ebony and Ivory" after the 1982 hit song by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder.
Ebony and Ivory was the name given to two elderly women in New Jersey, one white and one black, who played classical piano together. Both had suffered a stroke in 1982 and become partially disabled. Ruth Eisenberg and Margaret Patrick were introduced to each other the following year and began playing piano together, one hand each. A reporter covering their story dubbed them Ebony and Ivory after the 1982 hit song by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder.
Eisenberg's final book was published in 1964, the year of his decease. "Let Me Help You," an illustrated book written for young children, explains the history of the piano from the perspective of the instrument, with the stated goal of inspiring the young reader to practice.[8] A photo of Eisenberg's children, Jacqueline and Roger, is used to illustrate the proper way to sit at the piano to practice.[9] Eisenberg's personal papers and documents are archived at the International Piano Archives in College Park, Maryland.[10]
Jacqueline Moss (1927–2005) was an American art historian, lecturer, writer and art critic. She was the curator of education at the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art and lectured widely on modern and 20th-century art. Her articles and seminars often had a focus on women artists. In the 1980s, she had a travel business touring art and architecture in Europe, Asia and South America.
"Country Music Is More Popular than Classical Music" (1958) New York
"Whence Cometh — Whither Goeth — That Music Called Jazz" (1962) New York
"Let Me Help You" (1964) Jay-Roger Music Co., North Bergen, New Jersey
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.
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The Russian-American classical virtuoso pianist Vladimir Horowitz was a recording artist for over 60 years; beginning in 1926 on a piano roll system for Welte-Mignon, then with audio recordings, starting in 1928 for the Victor Talking Machine Company, later RCA Victor. Horowitz continued to record for a variety of record labels throughout his life. Between 1962 and 1973 he recorded for Columbia Masterworks In 1975, Horowitz returned to RCA, with which he recorded a series of live recitals. For the last years of his life, between 1985 and 1989, Horowitz recorded for Deutsche Grammophon. Horowitz's final recording, with Sony Classical, was completed in November 1989, four days before his death. This final recording consisted of repertoire that he had never previously recorded. His discography contains numerous albums and compilations of works by a variety of composers. Horowitz has also appeared in several video items, most of these were produced in the later years of his life.
Alexander Alexandrovich Romanovsky is a Ukrainian classical pianist.
The Leventritt Competition was a highly prestigious international competition for classical pianists and violinists. It was founded in 1939 by the Edgar M. Leventritt Foundation Inc. of Cold Spring, New York, in memory of jurist Edgar M. Leventritt.
Eisenberg is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
1 2 3 Ralston, Jeannie. "Ebony and Ivory: 'A miracle brought us together' " McCall's magazine (October 1986) pages 91-92
↑ Linderman, Kathryn. "Pianists Ruth Eisenberg and Margaret Patrick - Two Relied On Teamwork To Help Themselves Triumph Over Disabilities." Investor's Business Daily, (March 6, 2000)
↑ Eisenberg, Jacob. "Let Me Help You" (1964) Jay-Roger Music Co., North Bergen, New Jersey
↑ Eisenberg, Jacob. "Let Me Help You" (1964), p. 7. From notations in book made by a Moss family member.
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