I've picked the first two pages of Mozart's Sonata in Bb Major, K. 281, last movement, Rondeau, Allegro to explore breathing and blocking techniques in the learning process. (These principles can be applied to practicing music from a variety of eras) Starting a composition is often taken for granted. Sometimes students will land on a… Continue reading Piano Practicing: Breathing into phrases and blocking out passages (Mozart Sonata, example)
Category: Mozart
Piano Instruction: Mozart Minuet in F, K. 2
Play Through http://youtu.be/9s0QiDNd24o Such delightful music sprang from an inspired little Mozart who at age 6, composed this Minuet in F. His father, Leopold, "notated his son's pieces in a notebook recording the exact date of almost every composition." (K. 2 was born in 1762) A musical gem that's intrinsically vocal, requires the player to… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Mozart Minuet in F, K. 2
Piano Instruction: Learning a Mozart Minuet is never simple (K. 6 in C Major)
The charming Mozart Minuet in C Major, K. 6, requires a baby-step, layered learning approach. What makes it challenging are the variety of shapes within phrases---groupings of two notes, then longer ones, and a sloping effect in some places, and a tapering in others. To play Mozart with beauty is to sing the separate lines… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Learning a Mozart Minuet is never simple (K. 6 in C Major)
Mozart Rondo Alla Turca, K. 331 updated, with instruction
Piano playing at its most inspirational level
Divine music-making from a seasoned pianist in a memorable retrospective
Revisiting an old piano piece learned years earlier
I find my current musical journey down memory lane to be joyful and challenging--especially as I cut and paste the Mozart Rondo: Allegro, K. 311 pages to fit comfortably on the piano rack. (Deja Vu, Haydn C Major Hoboken XVI35--Haydn pinned and unpinned) I wrote to a musician friend during the height of my frustration.… Continue reading Revisiting an old piano piece learned years earlier
A sentimental journey taken with Mozart
Musical memories rekindled
Piano Instruction: Suggested ways to practice Mozart Rondo: Allegretto, K. 545 in C Major
Having been through years of practicing and teaching this Mozart Alegretto, I have a few epiphanies that might benefit others. In the attached video, I assert that the opening Rondo motif with its lively thirds should not spill into an emphasized downbeat but rather a lifted one. This applies to the overlapping Left Hand as… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Suggested ways to practice Mozart Rondo: Allegretto, K. 545 in C Major
Fingering snarls in Mozart’s Allegretto, Sonata in C, K. 545 and suggested remedies from the experts
We all have our nemesis. The last measures (68-73) of Mozart's rondo: Allegretto, K. 545, Sonata in C Major, have ensnared me, barring smooth passage to final cadence. For others the journey is uneventful. Who knows? Size of hands, finger length, state of mind, and lack of sleep, might be variables. But more often than… Continue reading Fingering snarls in Mozart’s Allegretto, Sonata in C, K. 545 and suggested remedies from the experts
My NYC visit with Seymour Bernstein, pianist, teacher, author and composer
Seymour Bernstein is about to add a movie to his list of artistic conquests. A documentary produced and directed by Ethan Hawke is in progress, and who knows, it might land an Oscar. Seymour is so multi-talented that it's difficult to limit a blog about him to one area of his mega creative expression. That's… Continue reading My NYC visit with Seymour Bernstein, pianist, teacher, author and composer
