Poignant recollections about pianists, Michelangeli and Barenboim from the Munich Philharmonic’s principal bassoonist

As early Spring weather rolled into Berkeley last Sunday afternoon, I set out for Piedmont Pianos in Oakland to try out various grands, and to partake of the San Francisco Munich Trio. Friedrich Edelmann, bassoonist, and Rebecca Rust, cellist are a couple joined in marriage and music. They sometimes perform as a duo, or with…

Facebook puts Menahem Pressler center stage, practicing “with love.”

An encore tribute to Maestro Pressler caught my eye on FB's Art of Piano Pedagogy forum. Deborah Rambo Sinn, a fine musician and teacher in her own right posted "My violinist's interview" with the octogenarian plus ten. It was the perfect supplement to a 2012 blog that I'd dedicated to Menahem that resonates into the…

A pianist is a COLLABORATOR NOT an “accompanist”

The "A" word is officially banished from my vocabulary, even if its residual usage in books, newspapers, old reviews, can't be controlled. To boot, anyone who's been handed a stack of music by the High School vocal teacher to ready for the mid-year Christmas program and a few others in between Thanksgiving and semester break,…

The value of studying the piano and a second musical instrument

While the study of two musical instruments is time-consuming, it can reap benefits in widening a student's horizons. If a pupil plays only piano for years on end he may deny himself the rich experience of participating in an orchestra or small ensemble. And while it's true that some pianists manage to grab a score…

Appel Farm Music Camp and the Chicken Coops

Was I dreaming? Did I wake up in a chicken coop on a hot and humid July morning? The summer before I was a Merrywood camper, encapsulated in a forest of pines bordering Lenox, Massachusetts. A short journey to Tanglewood for a Sunday morning BSO rehearsal, was followed by a breakfast of sizzling waffles and…