Category Archives: Chopin

Aiden Cat choreographs the Chopin C# minor Waltz.. seeing is believing

Watch this amazing cat at the beginning and close of the “foot”-age. If any ballet companies are looking for new talent, this floating feline is up for an audition. In any case, he earned himself a well-deserved catnap after a … Continue reading

Posted in Aiden Cat, Aiden cat dances to the Chopin Waltz in C# minor, Chopin, Chopin Waltz in c# minor Op. 64 no.2, feline, Frederic Chopin, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, pianist, piano blog, playing piano, Romantic era piano music, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Uncategorized, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Only the singing nightingale could be true to Chopin’s music

Haddorff came through with her beautiful voice today. Her older brother, Steinway M on the far side of the room, had some communication problems while upright Steinway, the middle child of the trio, couldn’t begin to rival Haddy’s tone and … Continue reading

Posted in blogging about piano, Chopin, Chopin Nocturne in F Major Op. 15 No. 1, Chopin Nocturnes, Chopin pedaling, Frederic Chopin, Haddorff, Haddorff piano, Haddorff piano company Rockford, Haddorrff console piano, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, pianist, piano, piano blog, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, pianoworld.com, playing the piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, upright Steinway, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Killer advice from Seymour Bernstein for the Killer mid-section, Chopin Nocturne in F, Op. 15 no. 1 (Videos)

Two areas are explored in the first video based on the content of Seymour Bernstein’s communications. 1) Wrist motions in the Right Hand (measures 25 and on) The following exercise, recommended by Seymour was very helpful: “First, at measure 25 … Continue reading

Posted in arioso7, Chopin, Chopin Nocturne in F Major Op. 15 No. 1, Chopin Nocturnes, Frederic Chopin, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano teaching, playing piano, rotation in piano playing, Seymour Bernstein, Seymour Bernstein composer, Seymour Bernstein pianist, Seymour Bernstein With Your Own Two Hands, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, whole body listening, whole body music listening, With your own Two Hands by Seymour Bernstein, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Practicing knotty piano passages, and tips on how to avoid fatigue while boosting technique (Videos)

At my You Tube Channel site, I routinely pick up comments daily, and the majority center on piano technique. While I lay no claim to being an expert in this complex universe, my trial and error practicing over decades has … Continue reading

Posted in Baroque era music, Chopin, Chopin Nocturne in F Major Op. 15 No. 1, classissima, classissima.com, harmonic analysis, harmonic rhythm, how to boos piano technique, Martha Argerich, pianist, pianists, piano, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessons and parental support, piano masterclasses, piano pedagogy, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano practicing, piano repertoire, piano repertoire for intermediate level students, piano student, piano students who drop out, piano studio, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano teaching repertoire, piano technique, piano technique and the singing tone, piano tutorial, piano world-wide, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, playing the piano, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, Romantic era music, Romantic era piano repertoire, Romantic music, Scarlatti Sonatas, Scarlatti Toccata in d minor k. 141, Seymour Bernstein, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, Teach Street, teaching piano, trills, Twenty five Progressive pieces by Burgmuller, videotaping a piano performance and self analysis, videotaping at piano lessons, whole body listening, whole body music listening, With your own Two Hands by Seymour Bernstein, word press, wordpress.com, You and the Piano Seymour Bernstein, You and the PIano Seymour Bernstein on You Tube, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Accept where you are in your piano studies, know your limitations, but still strive to improve (VIDEO)

This is my credo or philosophy that allows for imperfection without self-punishment. Yet students of all levels tend to invalidate their own performances despite growth spurts springing from dedicated practicing. Many have done all the layered learning steps, but have … Continue reading

Posted in "When do I Play my Best" by Seymour Bernstein, arioso7, authorsden, blog, blogger, blogging, blogs about piano, Chopin, Chopin Nocturne in F Major Op. 15 No. 1, Chopin Nocturnes, Chopin Piano Concerto in E minor, classissima, classissima.com, Frederic Chopin, how to review an old piano piece, how to review an old piece, Irina Morozova, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, pianist, pianists, piano, piano addict, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano practicing, Seymour Bernstein, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, With your own Two Hands by Seymour Bernstein, You and the Piano Seymour Bernstein, You and the PIano Seymour Bernstein on You Tube, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Piano Repertoire: Does making fingering/hand adjustments constitute a “swindle?”

Seymour Bernstein, author of With Your Own Two Hands, remarked that “Chopin wrote out an outline for an intended method of teaching piano. And when he died he left it to Charles Alkan who never finished it. Wouldn’t you think … Continue reading

Posted in Beethoven Sonata Appassionata, Charles Alkan, Chopin, Conversations with Arrau by Joseph Horowitz, Conversations with Arrau by Joseph Horwitz, Faschingsschwank aus Wien by Schumann, fingering and phrasing at the piano, fingering and piano technique, Frederic Chopin, Gershwin Prelude no. 2, Gershwin Prelude no. 2 and fingering changes, Intermezzo Faschingsschwank aus Wien by Schumann, Philip Lorenz, pianist, pianists, piano, piano technique, player piano, Seymour Bernstein, Seymour Bernstein author With Your Own Two Hands, Seymour Bernstein composer, Seymour Bernstein pianist, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, swindle, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chopin Waltz in Ab Major, Op. 69 No. 1–considerations of mics, recording conditions, and tempo, with performance comparisons

First, I have to admit that my prized Yeti mic suffered yet another break-down. “Break” is to be emphasized. I tripped over the wire on the way to Haddy Haddorff, and the sensitive connector from iMac’s USB port to the … Continue reading

Posted in Alfred Cortot, Arthur Rubenstein, Artur Rubenstein, Artur Rubstein and Chopin, Artur Schnabel, Butterfly by Edvard Grieg, Chopin, Chopin Waltz, Chopin Waltz in Ab Major Op. 69 no. 1, Chopin Waltz in Ab Op. 69 no. 1, Edvard Grieg, Frederic Chopin, iMac, Leonard Pennario, Mary Kunz Goldman, Mary Kunz Goldman authorized biographer of Leonard Pennario, pianist, piano, piano repertoire, piano technique, Piano World, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, Romantic era music, Romantic music, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Stephen Hough, tempo rubato, The art of phrasing at the piano, the art of piano playing, Uncategorized, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, Yeti mic, Yeti microphone, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Piano Technique: Even the Big Boys practice with rhythms–Cziffra demonstrates

I’m a great admirer of the late Gyorgy Cziffra and his towering virtuosity. If anyone was under appreciated during his lifetime it was this wondrous pianist whose every phrase had meaning, intent, and emotion. Cyprien Katsaris, a dazzling performer in … Continue reading

Posted in Chopin, Chopin Waltz no. 14 in e minor, Chopin Waltz Op. 64 no. 1, Chopin Waltz Op. 64 no. 2, Cyprien Katsaris, Cziffra, Frederic Chopin, Gyorgy Cziffra, pianist, piano technique, practicing piano passages with rhythms, Scarlatti Sonata K. 96 in D, Uncategorized, virtuoso pianists, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Aiden Cat crashes the piano bench and messes up a video in progress (Chopin’s C# minor Waltz, Op. 64)

It’s one thing to invite Aiden onto the piano bench for a front row seat, but it’s quite another when he appears out of nowhere, lands beside me, and ruins a recording in progress. Last night Aiden did just that. … Continue reading

Posted in Aiden Cat, Chopin, Chopin Waltz in c# minor Op. 64 no.2, Frederic Chopin, piano repertoire, piano technique, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, Romantic era music, Romantic music, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cyprien Katsaris Masterclass: Chopin’s Fantasie-Impromptu (Video)

More of the gift that keeps on giving: A wonderful approach using mental imagery and pinpointed practice techniques. Katsaris has the single-minded patience to work with the student on the physical aspects of playing that realize better phrasing and nuance. … Continue reading

Posted in blogging, blogs about piano, Chopin, Chopin Fantasie-Impromptu in C# minor, classissima.com, Cyprien Katsaris, Cyprien Katsaris Masterclass, Frederic Chopin, piano teaching, piano technique, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, teaching a piano student about melody, teaching piano, teaching piano to children, The art of phrasing at the piano, the art of piano pedaling, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment