Ronald Cavaye (born August 1951) is a British pianist, born in England and a resident of the United Kingdom. He is a
classical pianist and writer.
Life
Ronald Cavaye was born in
Aldershot
Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...
,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
, England, where he attended
Heron Wood School. He began to play the piano at the age of 11 and entered the music department of
Winchester School of Art
Winchester School of Art is the art school of the University of Southampton, situated 10 miles (14 km) north of Southampton in the city of Winchester near the south coast of England.
History
The Winchester School of Art was founded in 187 ...
at the age of 16. He studied there for 2 years with the Canadian-born pianist, Carlina Carr. In 1969 he began studying at the
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...
in London where his teachers were
Malcolm Binns
Malcolm Binns (born 29 January 1936) is a British classical pianist.
Biography
Malcolm Binns was born in Nottingham, England, in 1936. He studied music at the Royal College of Music in London from 1952 to 1956, including piano with Arthur Alexan ...
and Oliver Davies. In 1973 he gained a
DAAD scholarship to study at the Staatliche
Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover
' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...
where his teacher was
Hans Leygraf
Hans Leygraf (7 September 1920 – 12 February 2011) was a Swedish pianist, music educator, conductor and composer.
Life
Born in Stockholm, Leygraf studied piano with in Stockholm and Anna Hirzel-Langenhan in Switzerland. He was one of Sweden ...
. A further scholarship from the
British Council
The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...
enabled him to continue his studies at the
Franz Liszt Academy of Music
The Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music ( hu, Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Egyetem, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the ...
in Budapest where he studied with
Pál Kadosa
Pál Kadosa (; 6 September 1903, Léva, Austria-Hungary (now Levice, Slovakia) – 30 March 1983, Budapest) was a pianist and Hungarian composer of the post- Bartók generation. His early style was influenced by Hungarian folklore while hi ...
and
György Kurtág
György Kurtág (; born 19 February 1926) is a Hungarian classical composer and pianist. He was an academic teacher of piano at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music from 1967, later also of chamber music, and taught until 1993.
Biography
György ...
. Marrying the Hungarian pianist,
Valeria Szervánszky, Cavaye then went to teach in Japan where he was appointed professor of piano at
Musashino Academy of Music in 1979.
Now living in London, Ronald Cavaye returns regularly to Japan for concerts, teaching and to work as a translator/narrator for the
kabuki
is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.
Kabuki is thought to ...
and
bunraku
(also known as ) is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or ( puppeteers ...
theatres.
Performances
Cavaye specialised mainly in music of the 20th century but now concentrates on the piano duo repertoire, principally with
Valeria Szervánszky. Szervánszky and Cavaye have performed in Europe and the Far East, China and the USA. They have recorded the
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
Concertos for 2 and 3 pianos,
Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...
's arrangement of ''
The Rite of Spring
''The Rite of Spring''. Full name: ''The Rite of Spring: Pictures from Pagan Russia in Two Parts'' (french: Le Sacre du printemps: tableaux de la Russie païenne en deux parties) (french: Le Sacre du printemps, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral ...
'' for piano duet as well as works by
Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
and
Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
. They also made the first complete CD recording of the first four volumes (solos, duets and two pianos) of
György Kurtág
György Kurtág (; born 19 February 1926) is a Hungarian classical composer and pianist. He was an academic teacher of piano at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music from 1967, later also of chamber music, and taught until 1993.
Biography
György ...
's ''Játékok'' – "Games". In 1996 Ronald Cavaye also gave the Japanese première Kurtág's ''…quasi una fantasia…'' Op.27 No.1 with the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by
Michiyoshi Inoue.
Ronald Cavaye is a
Steinway
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to the opening of a ...
Artist.
Master-classes and competitions
Cavaye has taught master-classes at the International Bartók Festival in Hungary, the Central Conservatory in Beijing, the Royal College of Music, London, the Royal Academy of Music, London, Trinity College of Music, London and the Musikhochschule in Graz. He also regularly serves on the jury of international piano competitions such as the World Piano Competition in Cincinnati, USA, the Concours International de Piano XXeme. siecle in Orléans, France, the Sakai International Piano Competition in Japan and the International Piano Duo Competition in Tokyo.
Writing
Cavaye is the author of ''Music Education of the Japanese'' (in Japanese): Shinchosha, Japan and has written articles for the
Edinburgh Festival
__NOTOC__
This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...
, the Paris Autumn Festival and ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' newspaper, London.
Kabuki and bunraku
An expert on the
kabuki
is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.
Kabuki is thought to ...
theatre of Japan, since 1982 he has been a translator/narrator for the Earphone Guide in use at Tokyo's
Kabuki-za
in Ginza is the principal theater in Tokyo for the traditional ''kabuki'' drama form.
History
The Kabuki-za was originally opened by a Meiji era journalist, Fukuchi Gen'ichirō. Fukuchi wrote kabuki dramas in which Ichikawa Danjūrō IX and ot ...
and National Theatres.
* He is the author of –
* "Kabuki – A Pocket Guide" – Charles E. Tuttle, USA and Japan.
* "A Guide to the Japanese Stage" – with Paul Griffith and Akihiko Senda, Kodansha International, Japan.
* He has translated for "Kabuki Plays on Stage Vol. III – Darkness and Desire" – University of Hawai’i Press.
DVD translations and narrations include –
* "''Kabuki Meisaku Shu''" – "The Best Selection of Kabuki", published in Japan by Shochiku Home Video/NHK DVD.
* Subtitles for the complete Bunraku performance of ''Kanadehon'' ''Chūshingura'' – "The Treasury of Loyal Retainers" (with Paul Griffith).
* ''Kabuki-za Sayonara Kōen'' – "Farewell to the Kabuki-za – All the Performances", 8 volumes of about 95 DVDs of all the performances given in the 16 months before the demolition of the old Kabuki-za in Tokyo. All the DVDs were translated by Ronald Cavaye and Paul Griffith and narrated by Paul Griffith – published in Japan by Shogakkan.
References
The Times Newspapers, London;
Hawai'i University Press;
Kodansha International, Tokyo, Japan;
Shinchosha Publishers, Tokyo, Japan;
K.K. Earphone Guide Co. Ltd. Tokyo, Japan
Earphone Guidenbsp;– The English language Earphone Guide
Shochiku Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan
Kabuki Webnbsp;– Shochiku Official Kabuki Website in English
Steinway Pianos, London
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavaye, Ronald
1951 births
Alumni of the University of Southampton
British classical pianists
Male classical pianists
Classical piano duos
British writers
Kabuki
Living people
Musicians from Aldershot
People educated at Alderwood School
Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover alumni
21st-century classical pianists
21st-century British male musicians