Elaine Comparone insists that playing Haydn's works on the harpsichord stirs her "imagination to new heights." The harpsichordist's upload of Haydn's eloquent Sonata No. 52 in Eb Major ironically paralleled Reed Tetzloff's piano performance in Moscow which introduces an aesthetic comparison or two. Reed's You Tube channel features the opening Allegro movement, https://youtu.be/q6l2qguKhik while his… Continue reading Haydn on the harpsichord or piano? (Competition interlude)
Elaine Comparone, a well-regarded harpsichordist rendered a dance movement from J.S. Bach's French Suite No. 5 in G, (BWV 816) that I'd performed on the pianoforte. In the Loure, (written in G Major) I was immediately struck by a pitch disparity between our respective instruments. While Loure was composed in the key of G Major,… Continue reading J.S. Bach, the piano, harpsichord and early music tunings
Dr-Lubov Laura De Valois "My studio has 4 pianos: Two acoustic grand pianos: “Yamaha C” and “Hamburg Steinway and Son”, (built around 1880), and restored in New York by Steinway. I also have an electric Kawai, "Concert Performer" CP 175, that I use as the recording studio; and a Yamaha Clavinova CVP-109 for my students… Continue reading Pretty piano rooms
I asked a few piano teachers and a harpsichordist if they felt playing passages, phrases for a student was a viable way to teach, and why? Seymour Bernstein, author, With Your Own Two Hands, rendered a riveting opinion: "I have never taken a lesson with a pianist-teacher who didn’t demonstrate musical and technical points under… Continue reading Should a teacher demonstrate phrasing and interpretation for a student?
I must admit that I usually experience the "minor" key with poignant intensity, but when I heard Elaine Comparone's most recent performance of J.S.Bach's celebrated D minor concerto, I felt her inner smile radiate through ripples and waves of luscious phrases even as a tragic dimension blanketed the work. Comparone's tapestry of moods, feelings and… Continue reading Comparone plays Bach on the harpsichord with a palette of emotions
My visit with Elaine Comparone, harpsichordist, was the first of my musical treats after touching down in hometown New York. While the weather was a bit gray and unseasonable, Maestra Elaine lifted my spirits with her impeccably beautiful reading of Bach's D minor concerto. Soon enough, it was recorded in full force with ensemble on… Continue reading My side-by-side harpsichord/piano chat with Elaine Comparone in her NYC musical sanctuary
Elaine Comparone and Dusan Bogdanovic produced a stunning CD, combining harpsichord and guitar in their J.S Bach Inventions and Sinfonias collaboration. Both musicians have firmly established reputations as fine performers and recording artists so their get-together has surely been a treat for listeners far and wide. Just today, I broke out my Bach with Pluck!,… Continue reading Bach with and without Pluck
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,… Continue reading A pianist is a COLLABORATOR NOT an “accompanist”
Musical silences spring to life in a rare and beautiful performance of C.P.E Bach's G Major Keyboard Sonata.
Should Bach be played on the harpsichord or piano? The discussion between fervent partisans can get ugly and come to blows! So let's go ringside!
Arioso7's Blog (Shirley Kirsten) 