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A Journey down memory lane

A timely posting in advance of my Big Apple touchdown Continue reading

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Capturing the first sunrise in our practicing and performing

I always ponder the process of learning a new piece and how I want to experience and re-experience a freshness that seems to come with my earliest exposure to the printed page. As I set out my fingering, isolate lines … Continue reading

Posted in classissima, Jeremy Denk, Mildred Portney Chase, piano, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube.com, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

An interview with Rada Bukhman, pianist, teacher, author, about the “Russian School of Piano Playing”

Rada Bukhman, a Vancouver-based piano teacher with native Russian roots, has produced a 212-page soft cover volume that entices with its interspersed selections of compositions at various learning levels. The text offers a variety of fascinating topics, “Developing Initial Musical … Continue reading

Posted in classissima, classissima.com, Discovering Color Behind the Kyes The Essence of the Russian School of Piano Playing by Rada Bukhman, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, piano teaching, Rada Bukhman, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, The Essence of the Russian School of Piano Playing, The Russian School of Piano Playing, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

One of the most beautiful slow movements ever composed for piano? (and a journey down memory lane)

I’m going to vote for the Adagio Cantabile from Beethoven’s Sonata “Pathetique” in C minor, Op. 13. It’s grown on me ever since I was seduced by the opener to Karl Haas’s weekly broadcasts on F.M. radio. (“Adventures in Good … Continue reading

Posted in adagio cantabile Sonata Pathetique Op. 13 in c minor, Beethoven "Pathetique" Sonata in c minor, classical music, classical piano repertoire, classissima, classissima.com, Karl Haas Adventures in Good Music, Ludwig Van Beethoven, piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, word press, word press.com, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Artful piano playing: Rising above the notes by “feeling,” singing, and “shaping” phrases

Burmguller’s “Sincerity,” Op. 100 is the perfect vehicle for spinning limpidly beautiful phrases. But how does the pianist go beyond what appears to be strings of 8th notes that can easily sound typed out. To avoid the ponderous, vertical approach … Continue reading

Posted in Burgmuller, Burgmuller Sincerity, Burguller Op. 100 Progessive Piano Pices, classissima.com, Op. 100 Twenty-five Progressive Pieces, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

What pianists can learn from opera singers

As pianists, we’re allied to opera singers and their creative process in more ways than we think. Continue reading

Posted in classissima, classissima.com, coloratura Joyce Di Donato, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Joyce Di Donato, Joyce DiDonato, Metropolitan Opera, Murray Perahia, opera, opera singers, piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Interpreting piano music: Should we truly realize the composer’s intent?

Matters of interpretation came up at the “Y” Gym yesterday when I bumped into the pianist from a North Berkeley house of worship. Aline is a fine musician who intersperses the service with great masterworks. Recently she played Grieg’s “Wedding … Continue reading

Posted in Bela Bartok, Bela Bartok, bela bartok, Edvard Grieg, Edvard Grieg plays "Butterfly" from his Lyric Pieces, George Gershwin, Grieg Lyric Pieces, Irina Morozova pianist, Sviatoslav Richter, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Learning a J.S Bach Sinfonia from the ground up (F Major, BWV 794)

On to three voice counterpoint, following a two-dimensional Bach Invention journey in the company of several piano students. So why not open the door to my private practice room for a layered learning sample a trois. I’m no different than … Continue reading

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Romantic era piano repertoire: A murmuring stream and the supple wrist (Burgmuller creates beauty from simplicity)

“The Clear Stream” from Friedrich Burgmuller’s Twenty-Five Progressive Pieces offers a student an opportunity to create limpidly beautiful phrases from unraveled broken chords spun out in triplets. In order to create the “mormorando” (murmuring effect) in the treble, it’s best … Continue reading

Posted in Harmony of the Angels by Burgmuller, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, piano instruction, piano lessons, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Berkeley Rose Garden draped in photos and music

Today was my maiden journey to the paradise of Roses in Berkeley. No words can amply describe the effect such beauty had upon me. (Taking pictures was irresistible) Burgmuller’s “Tender Flower” was the perfect musical framing. P.S. I made a … Continue reading

Posted in Berkeley California, Burgmuller, Friedrich Burgmuller, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, piano, piano music and photos, roses, Tender Flower by Burgmuller, The Berkeley Rose Garden, word press, word press.com, you tube, you tube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment