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Edward
Aldwell occupied an unusual and unique place at the intersection of
three creative and intellectual thoroughfares: artistic performance,
scholarship, and teaching. Excelling in any of these is rare, and the
fortunate few who succeed reap ample benefits throughout their careers.
Excelling in two is the domain of a chosen few. Embracing all three
is practically unheard of. Edward Aldwell not only did so, but he did
it with sprezzatura, the easy elegance and grace of the artist who
doesn’t have to prove a thing – which then proves everything.
The dedication and loyalty of his students and the touching reminiscences
of their life-changing encounters with Edward Aldwell the teacher attest
as much as their international careers to the excellence of Edward Aldwell’s
teaching. Harmony and Voice Leading, co-authored with Carl Schachter, which
is now the standard text in music programs everywhere, [and his articles,
published and unpublished…] attest to the quality and level of his scholarship.
Above all else, his legendary Bach recitals and half a dozen recording
projects captured in the celebrated Bach and Hindemith albums are proof
of Edward Aldwell’s legacy as an artist of the first rank.
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Because
Edward Aldwell’s opus vitae was so cruelly and unexpectedly interrupted
in midstream, an immense body of work in progress remains unfinished.
Stacks of text analysis awaiting publication and application in the
classroom are now awaiting the scrutiny of intellectuals heirs to edit
and prepare for publication. Tapes of past recordings of formal and
informal performances need sifting through and await decisions as to
their future in the public domain. Boxes of archival materials need
sorting and cataloguing. In all this, the present memorial site hopes
to make a modest and limited contribution by serving as a clearing
house and interactive online repository of our collective memory of
Edward Aldwell, which is now dispersed in the minds and hearts of the
countless people whose lives he has touched. Unfortunately, there is
nothing we can do about Edward’s last unfinished project but stand
before the English Suites open on his piano and try to imagine what might have been… |
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