Old World piano playing (1949) with a pronounced wrist break

The supple wrist amounts to a "wrist break" that is discouraged among partisans of the Taubman approach. In the main, they adhere to a forearm-driven piano technique along with rotation, and relaxation . The videos embedded, however, contradict such rigid thinking about the wrist, as demonstrated by the performance of a Polish pianist (1949) A Chopin Mazurka is energized by redundant wrist breaks without incurred injury. As one colleague related in reference to Taubman/Golandsky, "how could decades of Russian teaching so easily be tossed aside."

The Right Age for a Child to Start Piano Lessons (Videos)

Is there a right time in a child's life to embark upon piano study? The answer is not clear as I've discovered from years of teaching. With technology creating an environment in which children as young as two or three are propped up at electronic keyboards hooked into big-size computer screens, the whole area of…

Piano lessons should be tailor-made for each student (Videos)

I've come to the conclusion that no full-proof piano method, or method book can be applied across the board to beginning students or those at any level of study. Each pupil is so unique that an individualized growth and development plan is needed. By example, I faced a dilemma when a new adult student who…

Piano Technique: The dipping wrist, and how it defies convention (Videos)

One of my adult students echoed a belief that has resonated for generations in piano studios across the country, if not the world. The OLD school of thought was that you played piano with a rigid, arched hand, and if you slipped into a longer, relaxed curve, or dared to DIP your wrist below the…

Accept where you are in your piano studies, know your limitations, but still strive to improve (VIDEO)

This is my credo or philosophy that allows for imperfection without self-punishment. Yet students of all levels tend to invalidate their own performances despite growth spurts springing from dedicated practicing. Many have done all the layered learning steps, but have come to a plateau in a particular piece which is perhaps where that composition will…

Irina Morozova, pianist, shines playing Gershwin Virtuoso Transcriptions on CD!

Irina Morozova, a name that drew my attention amidst a flood of star-studded "Irina's" in the teaching and performing realm, came through with shining colors in her nuanced readings of George Gershwin Improvisations. The CD title, "Gershwin Virtuoso Transcriptions" encompasses "improvisations" originally delivered by the composer himself on piano rolls, later transcribed by Artis Wodehouse,…

My favorite Gershwin performances (Videos)

Surfing the Internet, I discovered four inspired readings of my favorite Gershwin selections. These included performances of "I Got Rhythm," the three piano Preludes and Rhapsody in Blue. (I've already regaled Yeol Eum Son's riveting "Embraceable You" in a few previous blogs) First, Irina Morozova delivers a show-stopping, "I Got Rhythm," track 13 of Gershwin…

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

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…