Month: January 2012

"Tales of a Musical Journey" by Irina Gorin, blogging, blogging about piano, blogs about piano, Dozen a Day by Edna-Mae Burnam, Faber Developing Artist Original Keyboard Classics (preparatory album), five finger positions at the piano, Irina Gorin, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, pianist, pianists, piano, piano addict, piano auction, piano blog, piano blogging, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessons and parental support, piano lessson, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano practicing, piano practicing motivators, piano repertoire, piano student, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano teaching repertoire, piano technique, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing pentascales, playing piano, playing staccato at the piano, playing the piano, Randall Faber Developing Artist series, Samuel Maykapar, William Gillock, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

The Formative Years of Piano Study and the basic building-blocks of learning (Videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Just as a child needs a wholesome diet from birth through adolescence to insure healthy growth and development, a beginning piano student requires the equivalent in musical nourishment. Cocoa Puff pieces that squeeze out whole grain servings of the classics will not in the long term cut the cake. (And I don't rule out compositions… Continue reading The Formative Years of Piano Study and the basic building-blocks of learning (Videos)

"Did Somebody Say Fresno?!", Bulldog fever in Fresno, Daniil Trifonov, Fresno California, Fresno State football, Fresno State Girls Softball, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Old Fig Garden in Fresno, pianist, piano, piano blog, piano blogging, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessons competing with sports, piano lessson, piano teaching, playing piano, scheduling piano recitals, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, sports and piano, Superbowl fever, Superbowl mania, teaching piano, The Bad News Bears, The Superbowl, Uncategorized, Valley Music Center in Fresno, Valley Music Center in Fresno California, word press

When is Superbowl Sunday? I better find out before it’s too late.

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Shades of 1988, when I committed the biggest crime of my life. I dared to schedule a student recital on the most SACRED day of the year, Superbowl Sunday! What did I know having been raised on baseball, the Brooklyn Bums and heart-breaker pennants? In Fresno, Bulldog fever was RAGING when I relocated from the… Continue reading When is Superbowl Sunday? I better find out before it’s too late.

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

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

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

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 temperament. So as it happened, One special piano sang her heart out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFT8VzE0UGc Haddy's bio:… Continue reading Only the singing nightingale could be true to Chopin’s music

1966 film documentary on Artur Rubinstein, Arthur Rubinstein, Artur Rubinstein, Artur Rubinstein pianist, DR Documentary on Arthur Rubinstein, film documentary, film documentary on Artur Rubinstein, Germany, Hamburg Germany, Hamburg Steinway, NDR Documentary on Arthur Rubinstein, NDR Documentary on Artur Rubinstein, pianist, piano, you tube, you tube video

Rare footage of Artur Rubinstein in Hamburg, Germany made into a documentary (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Seymour Bernstein bestowed this gift link to his list of loyal followers, students, friends, et al, and I was fortunate to be one of the recipients. The 27-minute film featured on You Tube, captures Rubinstein's embracing personality and joie de vivre. A celebrated raconteur, he intersperses colorful comments and stories at the drop of a… Continue reading Rare footage of Artur Rubinstein in Hamburg, Germany made into a documentary (Video)

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

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

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 come with insights that I enjoy sharing. Earlier today, I'd noticed the following note posted… Continue reading Practicing knotty piano passages, and tips on how to avoid fatigue while boosting technique (Videos)

Baroque music, Central California MTAC Baroque Festival, classissima.com, J.S. Bach, J.S. Bach Prelude BWV 847, Johann Sebastian Bach, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, MTAC, MTAC Baroque Festival, MTAC.org, pianist, pianists, piano, piano addict, piano blog, piano blogging, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessons and parental support, piano pedagogy, piano playing and phrasing, piano practicing, piano repertoire, piano scales, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano studio, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano teaching repertoire, piano technique, piano warm-ups, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Uncategorized, video performances, videotaping a piano performance and self analysis, videotaping at piano lessons, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Down to the wire: An 11-year old piano student prepares for a competitive Baroque event (VIDEO) with a tender flashback

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Claudia has made significant gains this year. She's shaping her phrases more, and becoming ear-attentive and physically responsive to the music she plays. Today, she made additional headway with J.S. Bach's Prelude in C minor, BWV 847. Coming into her lesson with two introductory readings, she was bobbing her head up and down, reinforcing beats… Continue reading Down to the wire: An 11-year old piano student prepares for a competitive Baroque event (VIDEO) with a tender flashback

canceling piano lessons, Clovis California, Fresno California, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano drop-outs, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lesson dropouts, piano lessons, piano lessons and parental support, Piano Street, Piano World, piano world-wide, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, the neighborhood piano teacher, word press, wordpress.com

The neighborhood piano teacher lives on….

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Well into the Millennium, the "neighborhood" piano teacher owns a special "place" in our hearts! Amidst countless telephone and web driven lesson inquiries, her location will always be a top priority. "So where do you live?" (Not how do you teach?) In the Bay area, one can be sure that Richmond and Oakland are off… Continue reading The neighborhood piano teacher lives on….

bubbe, family genealogy, Sholom Aleichem, stories from the Yiddish culture, word press, wordpress.com, Yiddish, Yiddish families, Yiddish family folklore, yiddish folk song, Yiddish Folk Song Tradition, Yiddish folklore, Yiddish melodies, zayde

An amazing fish story from my Yiddishe bubbe’s collection plus an escapade during prohibition

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

My Paternal Bubbe Bessie I had to stop what I was doing to copy this story as relayed by my mother about a live "carp" that I'd seen in bubbe's bathtub as a child. Was I dreaming? Grandma Bessie lived with my zayde in the South Bronx on Longfellow Avenue along with a fish as… Continue reading An amazing fish story from my Yiddishe bubbe’s collection plus an escapade during prohibition

arioso 7, Camille Saint-Saens, Carnival of the Animals, classissima, classissima.com, Irina Gorin, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, piano teaching, playing piano, Rina takes piano lessons, teaching piano to children, The Lion from Carnival of the Animals, you tube, you tube video

Rina, 4, played a duet with me and practiced her SPONGY wrist motion (VIDEO)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

The natural follow-up to Rina's listening assignment this week, was having her play an ostinato portion of Camille Saint-Saens's THE LION as I played the melody. (from Carnival of the Animals) An Ostinato is a repeated bass pattern. I had intentionally selected this composition arranged simply for piano, because of its interval of redundant bass… Continue reading Rina, 4, played a duet with me and practiced her SPONGY wrist motion (VIDEO)

arioso7, Bach D minor piano concerto, Beethoven Violin Concerto, Berkshire Music Festival, Boston Symphony, Boston Symphony Orchestra, chamber ensemble, Charles Munch, classissima, classissima.com, Isaac Stern, James Stagliano, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Lenox, Lukas Foss, Massachusetts, memoir, Merrywood Music Camp, pianist, piano, Pierre Monteux, playing the piano, playing the violin, Ruth Hurwitz, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Tanglewood, Tanglewood Music Festival, violin, violinist, word press, wordpress.com

A Long Lost Concert Program turns up on a dusty grand piano

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

One of the fringe benefits of tidying up a piano room filled with unsorted piles of music and the rest, is finding a gold mine of goodies that have been missing for months, if not years. Have you ever experienced lost this, found that--found that, lost this? It's embarrassing, but as we age, more of… Continue reading A Long Lost Concert Program turns up on a dusty grand piano