Interview with Rita Sloan in Chamber Music and Collaborative Piano

Rita Sloan is acknowledged internationally as a leading teacher of piano, collaborative piano, and chamber music. In 1999, she was appointed a piano faculty member and director of the collaborative piano program at the University of Maryland. As an Artist Faculty Member at the Aspen Music Festival, Ms. Sloan founded their Collaborative Piano Program. It is my pleasure to be one of her students and interview her in person at UMD. She generously shared her experiences about chamber music and her journey in collaborative piano.

What is the role of a pianist in a chamber music group?

Rita Sloan: We pianists have a tremendous responsibility to whatever work we are playing; we provide a lot of the harmonic and rhythmic propulsion for the work. Of course, the role of the pianist depends a lot on what is going on in the piece. Also, simply because we have two hands and pedals means that the piano can produce a lot of sounds; this should make us super aware of our responsibility for balance in any given group.

How do you prepare for chamber music rehearsals?

Rita Sloan: The pianist should know everybody’s part well. It helps to have the person who is playing from the entire score be thoroughly knowledgeable about the piece. Should you be able to hear each part in your head? Yes, as much as possible. Also, be sure to mark entrances and look for places where you can be cueing people. You should know the shape of the piece, and how different places fit together.

What is the biggest challenge you have encountered in Chamber Music?

Rita Sloan: Rhythm. A lot of 20th and 21st-century music have very complicated rhythms. That can be the most problematic when putting multi-person chamber music works together. For example, composers like Martinů and Copland are notorious for rhythmic complexity. Rhythmic complexity makes ensemble difficult because people feel music differently and thus, count differently. It is most important to make sure that the rhythm, tempo, and pacing are felt together within any group.

What do you think is the joy of Chamber Music?

Rita Sloan: A lot of the joy and pleasure of playing chamber music is found in the group exploration of the important issues of interpretation, articulation, phrasing, sound quality, mood, dynamics, etc. Working together in a group to produce a high-level work of art through this process can be one of life’s greatest experiences.

“There is an old quote: Chamber music is like a conversation with friends. And I like to add: Sometimes one person is talking more, but hopefully nobody is completely silent so that everybody is participating.”— Rita Sloan

How does a pianist prepare an instrumental sonata?

Rita Sloan: First, you prepare it the same way as you would learn any solo piece. Be sure that you play through the entire instrumental line and know it as well as you know the piano part. I think you should try to learn it so that you can be able to sing it (or as much of it as possible!). Then, you need to study the entire piece of music: the melodic shapes, harmonic movement, rhythmic complexity, phrasing, etc. The purpose of this preparation is to understand your partner’s part as well as your own part.

“For collaborative pianists, since we need to listen to another person in addition to our playing, we need to prepare super carefully.”— Rita Sloan

How does a pianist prepare an instrumental showpiece?

Rita Sloan: When working on supporting a virtuoso instrumental showpiece, one of the hardest things a collaborative pianist needs to do is to combine listening with a rhythmic pulse. I find it really helpful for the pianist to know how many notes there are in the overall big gesture, and then how many notes are in the smaller parts that make up the whole gesture. Of course, the pianist needs to know exactly, not approximately, for which pitch in the virtuoso line you are aiming.

How can pianists improve on our listening ability?

Rita Sloan: For listening, you need to know your partner’s part so well that you can anticipate where they will be. For example, if you have to match them on the note-G when they are playing a G major scale, you need to listen for the F#. If you play after you hear the G, you will be late. The key is to hear in advance and be continually playing along with them inside your head.

How can pianists improve on our rhythmic sense?

Rita Sloan: You need to look at the composer’s use of rhythmic phrasing, the subdivisions in the rhythm, as well as finding internal rhythms within bars and phrases. Then, you will be able to find ways in which the instrumental part and the piano part line up rhythmically.

I am indefinitely grateful to be a student of prof. Rita Sloan at the University of Maryland. (2021-23)

How was your journey in collaborative piano?

Rita Sloan: Because Julliard did not have a collaborative piano program when I was studying there, I auditioned and was accepted onto the accompanying list. I worked in a number of studios, one of whom was the famous violin teacher Dorothy DeLay. I did that during my bachelor’s and master’s studies because it helped provide financial support for my studies.

“My education came mostly from experience. I learned in the studios. If you pay attention to what the teachers are saying, you will learn a lot.”— Rita Sloan

The teachers weren’t teaching me at all, nor did they say anything specifically to me. I just figured it out from what was going on in the studio. For example, one time Ms. Delay said to me when I was playing an orchestra reduction score “You know, sugarplum, you don’t have to play all those notes in the score.” I said, “I don’t?” She replied, “No, you are not an orchestra, just play what we need to hear.” It was an education that I picked up by doing. It was sort of all accidental, but it worked for me. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to play for many people at school.

When I got out of school, I just kept playing. I taught solo piano in local schools for a few years while arranging my chamber music concerts. Afterward, I moved to New York and worked as the staff pianist at the Julliard School for a while. Once my husband and I moved to Kansas, there were still community concerts in the United States so I would play with people who came to that part of the country. I went on tours with different people who were playing in that area.

How did you develop your career?

Rita Sloan: One of the things I did fairly early after I graduated from school was organizing chamber music concerts with my friends. I didn’t realize that it was a good thing to do, I just did it. So I would talk to my friends and say “Do you want to play chamber music? I would get the venue and set up a concert. I was lucky enough to have the income from teaching to support myself so I didn’t have to worry too much about actually earning income from the concerts. And people would play with me because it was fun!

“I think one of the things you want to do as much as you can is to get out in the community and be known to people.”— Rita Sloan

How did you establish the collaborative piano program at Aspen?

Rita Sloan: Starting the program in Aspen was a spontaneous happening. I had started teaching at Aspen even before they had the collaborative piano program. I was teaching solo piano and also some chamber music. Since the school needed pianists to play for people, the administrative staff started to look for pianists who wanted to do it. At that time, one of the staff wanted my help to assign pianists to string players. And I said to them “Are you kidding? You don’t even audition them?” They said “No.” So I replied, “Well, you should.” Then I said to the administrator “If no one else can, I can certainly do that.” So, that’s how the collaborative piano program started. That particular year, I started by auditioning pianists to allow them to play with other people in Aspen. At the end of the summer, I told the administration “You know, you should really have a program.” So they said, “Okay, you set one up.” So I set one up, and the rest is history.

How would you describe your career as a college professor?

Rita Sloan: First of all, if you don’t love teaching, you shouldn’t do it. You shouldn’t be doing it just because you think you should. I think that you should ‘want to teach’, not just ‘want to be a college professor.’ There is a difference.

In terms of running the collaborative piano program, it is very complicated and multi-faceted. It is different from merely teaching. Just like a collaborative pianist, you need to manage a very complicated schedule. It requires a high degree of management skills in scheduling, allocating the right people for the right tasks, and communicating with people. It is not just a matter of assigning repertoire, it is a matter of finding the right partners, knowing what might be appropriate for any particular person’s level, and knowing what will help them to grow the most. Also, balancing the needs of each particular student against the needs of the School of Music is a bit of a juggling act.

What are your tips for pianists to build their career?

Rita Sloan: Go to summer music festivals: work with as many of the performers, students, and teachers, as possible, expanding your network of friends and colleagues. While you are still at school, play with as many people as you can. Working with churches, choirs, and orchestras can be very helpful because it gives you a platform to perform. Basically, you want to make connections and see where you feel comfortable. Also, it is helpful trying to set up our own performances. For example, contact different organizations and say “Can I play my recital here?” It is important to know how to set up concerts and it is crucial to ‘practice’ performing.

“A lot of it is connection, you cannot just sit in your room and expect people will call you. Going to concerts, seeing people, showing your face and arranging your own productions will be helpful.”— Rita Sloan

What do you think is the value of the art of collaborative piano?

Rita Sloan: I think that the age of the virtuoso which was started by Liszt and Paganini in the mid 19th century changed our concept of a musician. Before, people were simply musicians. There wasn’t just a star soloist, because that didn’t exist before Liszt and Paganini. Pianists started out to become complete musicians, but not soloists. Clara Schumann was not just a virtuoso pianist; she was a composer, who played lieder, four-hand piano, and chamber music, sometimes all in the same concert. Yes, she was an amazing woman however that is also the ideal.

I think that the people who can make a living as only a soloist are very few. Even people whose career is listed as a soloist, can’t necessarily make a living depending on solo concerts. The pandemic was a wake-up call for a lot of people because all of a sudden, there were no live concerts. A collaborative pianist can still play solo music, and also play with other people, in ensembles, etc., hopefully being able to thereby be more equipped to make a living in music.

The other question of being a soloist is how many times do you have the chance to perform publicly? How many orchestras are there with whom you can play a concerto? How many people have the opportunity to play a concerto more than once in your life? In collaborative piano, you are playing all the time. For example, you can play with singers, strings, brass, and wind players, and you can also perform in auditions and recitals, etc.

“I believe that there shouldn’t be a division; there should be a complete pianist who can play everything.”— Rita Sloan

I think that the benefit of the field of collaborative piano is that it allows more people to keep playing and prepares you for life in the real world. If you don’t know how to play with other people, you are missing out on one of music’s greatest joys. Also, it is not a complete musical life.

The great thing about being a collaborative pianist is that you are still a pianist who can always play solo music if you choose. Collaborative piano adds a lot more to your life.