Category: classissima

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The Harpsichord has a new lease on life! Elaine Comparone is its biggest advocate!

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Elaine Comparone is a champion of the harpsichord like no other. Not only does she play with "red-blooded" passion sweeping it off its mantle of obscurity, but her nonprofit organization Harpsichord Unlimited is dedicated to stimulating interest in the instrument as a living, breathing, contemporary musical communicator. Its museum portrait is a thing of the… Continue reading The Harpsichord has a new lease on life! Elaine Comparone is its biggest advocate!

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The Chopin Bb minor Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 1, and arm/hand rotation/phrasing (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Chopin's Bb minor Nocturne (Night Piece) requires a player to use a full arm rotation to fluidly play the arpeggios in the left hand that span over an octave. These broken chords which fill a large space by their expansion, create a Romantic underpinning for the molto cantabile heart-rending melody in the treble. If the… Continue reading The Chopin Bb minor Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 1, and arm/hand rotation/phrasing (Video)

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Murray Perahia, pianist, is in a league of his own! (Videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Okay, so I borrowed a snatch from a movie title about a woman's baseball team keeping the diamond percolating with energy during World War II. And Geena Davis did a superb job as the lead, but in all honesty, Murray Perahia does one up on her at the piano. His playing field encompasses 88 keys… Continue reading Murray Perahia, pianist, is in a league of his own! (Videos)

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What “authentic” edition should a piano student use when learning repertoire of the Masters?

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I'm thinking back to my ancient days studying with Lillian Freundlich in New York City. During this period, like any fledgling I relied on my teacher as an "authority" figure to recommend what Mozart Sonata edition, for example, I should buy down at Patelson's. (This was decades before the quaint hub for musicians seeking authenticity… Continue reading What “authentic” edition should a piano student use when learning repertoire of the Masters?

Beethoven Emperor Concerto no. 5, classissima, classissima.com, Domenico Scarlatti, Facebook, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Minnesota Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Murray Perahia, Osmo Vänskä., pianist, piano, Rachmaninoff, Russian pianist, Russian virtuoso pianist, Scriabin, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Uncategorized, word press, wordpress.com, Yevgeny Sudbin, you tube, you tube video

Yevgeny Sudbin, another Russian Pianist topples my day!

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I had my heart set on working out at the gym before noon, but as fate had it, I was stopped in my tracks by the breathtaking artistry of Yevgeny Sudbin. (only 32 years old) And it was merely 24 hours after I'd cried over Nikolai Lugansky's Schumann Intermezzo from Faschingsschwank aus Wien. Could these… Continue reading Yevgeny Sudbin, another Russian Pianist topples my day!

Bach Prelude and Fugue BWV847, Baroque music, blog, blogger, blogging, blogs about piano, classissima, classissima.com, J.S. Bach, J.S. Bach Fugue in C minor BWV847, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano lesson dropouts, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Piano Lesson in progress: Fugue in C Minor, BWV 847 (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Claudia S., age 11, identified and practiced the Subject, Tonal Answer, and Counter-subject 1 and 2 of the Fugue BWV 847. She learned how to make a difference between portato and staccato as she examined form, structure, and phrasing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvXZKI6HLIY

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Ethereal piano playing: Another Irina, with an i in the middle, brings heaven to earth

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

This is the special month of Irina, Irena, and still another Irina. The latest messenger of beauty via You Tube is Irina Morozova. And as fate would have it, one of my readers, owner of a Knight piano treasure, e-mailed me a sample of her Bach-Siloti, which sent me feverishly finger-tapping the search window for… Continue reading Ethereal piano playing: Another Irina, with an i in the middle, brings heaven to earth

"Butterfly" by Grieg, classissima, classissima.com, Edvard Grieg, emotion in music, emotional meaning of music, Grieg Lyric Pieces, muscular memory, music, music and heart, music and the breath, musical inspiration, musical phrasing, musical phrasing and breathing, nature and music, phrasing at the piano, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano instruction, piano lessons, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano practicing, piano repertoire, piano technique, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, Romantic era music, Romantic music, self-analysis, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, Steinway M grand piano, Teach Street, teaching piano, technique, tempo rubato, The art of phrasing at the piano, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Piano Technique: “Butterfly” by Grieg, a revisit (playing and exploring the rolling, rotational motion) videos

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I can see the butterfly in my mind's eye in its flight of fancy. But I wish it were as easy to play, as to imagine. Relaxation is the key word here, but not to the point that the 16th-notes become like glissandi--a faint gloss over the keys. First in slow practice tempo you would… Continue reading Piano Technique: “Butterfly” by Grieg, a revisit (playing and exploring the rolling, rotational motion) videos

Aiden Cat, classical music, classissima, classissima.com, iMac, iMovie, Irena Orlov, letting go to music, Levine School of Music, mind body connection, Mozart, Mozart Rondo Allegretto K. 545, music, music and heart, music and the breath, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano practicing, piano studio, piano technique, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, studying piano, the art of piano playing, Uncategorized, video editing on iMovie, video performances, video uploading, videotaped replay, whole body listening, whole body music listening, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, word press, wordpress.com, you tube

Playing piano and getting into the spirit (Video with Aiden cat joining in)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

It's holiday time, and we're all eating with gusto. In honor of Thanksgiving, we completely let go, pardoning ourselves of any rigid diet that would preclude an all out splurge. So now, enter the piano, as a feast of delights waiting for the player to partake without a hint of holding back. It seems like… Continue reading Playing piano and getting into the spirit (Video with Aiden cat joining in)

Bach Invention, Bach Invention no.1 in C Major BWV 772, Bach Inventions, classissima, word press, wordpress.com, you tube

Another Bach Invention 1 added to the list–The Morning After (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I'm in my Bach phase for reasons unknown. A musical flight of fancy can turn in any direction. Since performances of a composition will change as new ideas filter in, one might as well try them out on the You Tube stage, picking the brain and soul about what needs to happen the next time… Continue reading Another Bach Invention 1 added to the list–The Morning After (Video)