Ronald Cavaye (born August 1951) is a British pianist.
Life
Ronald Cavaye was born in
Aldershot
Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...
,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
, 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 at age 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 (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...
in London where his teachers were
Malcolm Binns and Oliver Davies. In 1973 he gained a
DAAD scholarship to study at the Staatliche
Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover where his teacher was
Hans Leygraf. 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 lang ...
enabled him to continue his studies at the
Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest where he studied with
Pál Kadosa and
György Kurtág. 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 Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...
and
bunraku
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), the (chanters) ...
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 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
Concertos for 2 and 3 pianos,
Stravinsky's arrangement of ''
The Rite of Spring
''The Rite of Spring'' () is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky ...
'' for piano duet as well as works by
Ravel and
Debussy
Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...
. They also made the first complete CD recording of the first four volumes (solos, duets and two pianos) of
György Kurtág'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 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 festival, 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 ...
, the Paris Autumn Festival and ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' newspaper, London.
Kabuki and bunraku
An expert on the
kabuki
is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...
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 o ...
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
British 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 British classical pianists
21st-century British male musicians
Franz Liszt Academy of Music alumni