Month: December 2011

But Who Shall Abide the Day of His Coming, Hallejulia Chorus sung by the Silent Monks, Handel's Messiah, Handel's Messiah arranged by Bill Boyd, If God Be For Us, Karen West of Book Passages, Messiah Sing-along at First Presbyterian Church in Fresno, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, The Silent Monks, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Handel’s Messiah excerpts arranged for Piano, the Silent Monks, and an embarrassing performance at Barnes and Noble.

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I have to laugh, but not meaning to be sacrilegious. I absolutely adore Handel's Messiah and have always savored the yearly Sing-Along at First Presbyterian Church in Fresno. If it wasn't so difficult to read off the original score with chorus and ensemble, I would be resurrecting these on You Tube, but the page turns… Continue reading Handel’s Messiah excerpts arranged for Piano, the Silent Monks, and an embarrassing performance at Barnes and Noble.

classissima.com, Cradle Song by Felix Rybicki, Felix Rybicki, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, teaching piano to adults, Uncategorized, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Adult Piano Student of the Week: From Poland (Польша) Comes Ania! (Videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Over a year ago, Ania arrived for her first lesson at my El Cerrito piano studio. A graduate student in the Sciences at UC Berkeley, she had passed through the esteemed Massachusetts Institute of Technology with flying colors. The Back Story Ania first undertook piano study in her native country when she was 12 in… Continue reading Adult Piano Student of the Week: From Poland (Польша) Comes Ania! (Videos)

Eugen Lehner, Eugene Lehner, Haddorff, harpsichord, Harpsichord Unlimited, interpreting Mozart, Juilliard School, Kolisch Quarter, Kolisch Quartet, learning piano, Lenox, Lillian Freundlich, Lillian Lefkovsky Freundlich, Massachusetts, Merrywood Music Camp, mind body connection, mindful piano practicing, molto cantabile, Mozart, Mozart 545 Andante, Mozart sonata in C K545, Mozart String Quartet K. 387, music, music and heart, music and the breath, music teachers association of california, musical inspiration, musical phrasing, musical phrasing and breathing, New York, New York City, New York City High School of Performing Arts, pedaling at the piano, phrasing at the piano, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and relaxation, piano repertoire, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, practicing the left hand at the piano, publishersmarketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, singing tone legato, slow mindful practicing, Uncategorized, W.A. Mozart, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Mozart memories, reflections and revisits (Videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Andante: second movement, Mozart Sonata K. 545 played on my Steinway, 1917, M. http://youtu.be/PPYKK3hOjnk **** My relationship to Mozart and his music began with the violin. At the Merrywood Music Camp in Lenox, Massachusetts, only a stone's throw from Tanglewood, I encountered Eugene Lehner, first violist of the Boston Symphony when I played second violin… Continue reading Mozart memories, reflections and revisits (Videos)

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

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

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

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 his own right, went out of his way to celebrate Cziffra's artistry during an interview… Continue reading Piano Technique: Even the Big Boys practice with rhythms–Cziffra demonstrates

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

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

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

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. After he broke into the Chopin C# minor Waltz, he knew he was the lion… Continue reading Aiden Cat crashes the piano bench and messes up a video in progress (Chopin’s C# minor Waltz, Op. 64)

Gerard Schwarz, Murray Perahia, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Reva Cooper, Setsuko Nagata

My New York City High School of Performing Arts (FAME) Yearbook and what I found

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I wonder how many P.A. grads still have the emblematic school pin? I just recovered mine among other memorabilia contained in a big cardboard box sent from New York City. And as I perused various Dance, Music and Drama Programs, I looked for names that might be in bright lights in each field. For starters,… Continue reading My New York City High School of Performing Arts (FAME) Yearbook and what I found

Aronoff Frances Webber: Music and Young Children, Frances Webber Aronoff, Madeleine Carabo-Cone, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, piano teacher, piano teaching, piano teaching repertoire, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, The Playground as Music Teacher by Madeleine Carabo-Cone, Uncategorized, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Rina, 4, proves that the best teacher is the playground (15 weeks of piano lessons completed) Videos

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Rina has had three romps on my staircase, of which I'm fortunate to have as a playground substitute. Like most children in her age group, she has an abundance of kinesthetic energy waiting to be channeled creatively, if a teacher has the time, patience, and resources to do so. Back in the 70s the ideas… Continue reading Rina, 4, proves that the best teacher is the playground (15 weeks of piano lessons completed) Videos

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

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

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

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. The singing tone and the imagination fuse together in this magnificent display of artful exchange… Continue reading Cyprien Katsaris Masterclass: Chopin’s Fantasie-Impromptu (Video)

"Portrait of Lívia Rév pianist / teaching / 90th Birthda, Bela Bartok, Bela Bartok and Livia Rev, Edna Golandsky, Hungary, Livia Rev, mind body connection, Mozart, music and heart, music and the breath, musical inspiration, musical phrasing, musical phrasing and breathing, phrasing at the piano, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lessons, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano practicing, piano student, piano technique, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Taubman piano method, teaching piano, technique, The art of phrasing at the piano, the art of piano playing, Uncategorized, W.A. Mozart, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

The Old World playing, like fine wine, of Livia Rev, Hungarian pianist and teacher (see her teaching segments on the pliant wrist)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

So now I am into documentaries about piano teachers/performers who leave an eternal imprint on their students and upon the world. Livia Rev is one such special person who belongs in the good company of Irena Orlov, Irina Gorin, and Rosina Lhevinne. Note the frames on Bela Bartok, and Ms. Lev's connection to-- a letter… Continue reading The Old World playing, like fine wine, of Livia Rev, Hungarian pianist and teacher (see her teaching segments on the pliant wrist)

Dale Erwin, Erwin's Piano in Modesto, schubert Impromptu in Eb Op. 90, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway piano, Uncategorized, word press, wordpress.com, you tube

A Steinway grand piano, vintage, 1917, breathes life into a Schubert Impromptu, Op. 90 (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I decided to record the Schubert Impromptu in Eb, Op. 90 on my Steinway grand to compare timbre and tone with the Haddorff console, and my verdict is that the Steinway surpassed Haddy in clarity and range of dynamics. It's a rebuilt piano--work done by Dale Erwin of Erwin's Pianos, Modesto, and its projection is… Continue reading A Steinway grand piano, vintage, 1917, breathes life into a Schubert Impromptu, Op. 90 (Video)