Pedagogical Use of Cinematic Imagery in Augusta Thomas's Piano Etudes

The influence of visual arts in our modern world has become increasingly important. Cinema, one of the most powerful art forms, offers great potentiality for leaving lasting imprints in the viewer’s mind. With its multiple types of cinematography, themes, and techniques, cinema can elucidate concepts of mood and sound in piano repertoire. Augusta Read Thomas’s highly expressive piano music affords to elaborate on the crossroads between piano pedagogy and film. Her six piano etudes, the focus of this book, challenge the performer with crafted images that are to be reflected in performance. The book proposes a method that utilizes cinematic imagery to create and enhance portraits of Thomas’s piano etudes while examining the power of cinema art as a means to explore mood and atmosphere in piano playing.