In our 21st Century digital age of Mp4s, CD's, You Tube channeled uploads, and live-streamed recitals, it's a wonder that a performer can bridge the distance from his audience and move listeners to heights of emotional ecstasy. One such exemplary performance of Beethoven's Op. 111, delivered through a modest recorder placed beside Vladimir Horowitz's piano,… Continue reading Seymour Bernstein’s legendary Op. 111 (Beethoven)
Category: Ludwig Van Beethoven
Judy, Seymour, and Ludwig
It was no surprise that Judy, one of my adult piano students came to her lesson yesterday gushing about Seymour: An Introduction. And naturally, in the nick of time, I grabbed my super-charged, helium packed iPhone and added the latest film rave to my growing collection. Need I say more?... or is it SEE MORE?..… Continue reading Judy, Seymour, and Ludwig
Navigating a robust Beethoven Sonatina (not the one everybody plays)
I borrowed a few hours from my Haydn immersion to review a Beethoven Sonatina that is absolutely charming but very challenging. One would think that such a work labeled -mini, by its "-ina" suffix spelled an easier passage to the final cadence by comparison to a composition in SONATA form. Not so. For example, many… Continue reading Navigating a robust Beethoven Sonatina (not the one everybody plays)
Revisiting Beethoven’s “Pathetique” Sonata, Op. 13 GRAVE
It's nostalgia time for me, reconnecting with the Pathetique that I butchered as a teenager before I landed in the good hands of mentor, Lillian Freundlich. The teacher before, lived about 4 blocks away, but was miles off the mark in her teaching. She had me studying the Chopin Scherzo in Bb minor before I… Continue reading Revisiting Beethoven’s “Pathetique” Sonata, Op. 13 GRAVE
Piano Lesson to Brazil: Trills and Spills (Beethoven Presto, “MOONLIGHT” Sonata)
This was a SKYPE Day to remember! Not a sinking ship, but a catastrophic event at a musical climax. The Brazilian student, in good form, however, was SAVED by the NEAPOLITAN! He rendered the UNEXPECTED with show-stopping emphasis! Bravo, cavalheiro! Here's the snatch on You Tube: (A CRASH HEARD 'Round the WORLD!) http://youtu.be/OvdiASfJU14 Life isn't… Continue reading Piano Lesson to Brazil: Trills and Spills (Beethoven Presto, “MOONLIGHT” Sonata)
My childhood “Fur Elise,” past teachers, yearbook entries, and present mentoring (Video)
I named one of my daughters, "Elise," in honor of Beethoven's famous composition. That's how much I adored the music. A companion piece since childhood, I managed to squeak through the notes at age 8 when enrolled at a quaint music school off Kingsbridge Road in the Bronx. Private lessons followed my two years of… Continue reading My childhood “Fur Elise,” past teachers, yearbook entries, and present mentoring (Video)
Piano Lesson in progress: Beethoven “Tempest” Sonata, Op. 31, No. 2 (shaping the opening phrases) Video
An adult student practiced the transition from the opening Largo broken chord, to grouping double 8th-notes in the Allegro, by blocking them, then unraveling the duple figures. The Adagio that followed required phrasing with an ear toward shaping the line in a different temporal universe before a spill of note-pairs in a tension-building crescendo. Video:… Continue reading Piano Lesson in progress: Beethoven “Tempest” Sonata, Op. 31, No. 2 (shaping the opening phrases) Video
Piano Instruction: Practicing the “windy” chromatic scale of Beethoven’s “Fur Elise”
After a stream of graceful arpeggiated triplets, a "windy" sounding, descending chromatic scale leads artfully back to the opening theme that concludes "Fur Elise." The traditional chromatic fingering I've inserted in the score corresponds to the 1/2-step sequence beginning on Bb: Black/white, Black/white Black/White/White etc. 3, 1, 3, 1, 3, 2, 1 etc. Video Instruction… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Practicing the “windy” chromatic scale of Beethoven’s “Fur Elise”
Piano lesson-in-progress: Shaping a solo for the right hand in Beethoven’s “Fur Elise” ( a “vocal” transition) Videos
Marie, an adult student practiced measures 32-40 of "Fur Elise," enlisting the model of a singer who shapes and nuances phrases with meticulous breath control. While pianists are not operatic performers, they must imagine that their arms, wrists and fingers are making a vocal transfer to the keyboard thereby overcoming a physical distance from the… Continue reading Piano lesson-in-progress: Shaping a solo for the right hand in Beethoven’s “Fur Elise” ( a “vocal” transition) Videos
Quality spot-practicing by an adult student: Beethoven’s “Fur Elise” (Video)
Marie, a motivated adult student, revisited piano studies after a decades-long hiatus. When she resumed lessons about 6 years ago, she made "Fur Elise" her goal-setting piece. Following long-term scale and arpeggio exposure accompanied by a detailed focus on minuets, short character works, sonatinas and the Chopin Waltz in A minor No. 19, Op. Posthumous,… Continue reading Quality spot-practicing by an adult student: Beethoven’s “Fur Elise” (Video)
Arioso7's Blog (Shirley Kirsten) 