Category: music

Jewish New Year, music, piano blog, piano blogging, Ruth Rubin, Shirley Kirsten, Yiddish Songs, Yiddish Theater

The Jewish New Year ushers in poignant musical memories

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

We sometimes think of our childhood in musical terms. Seymour Bernstein mentions hearing Schubert's Standchen that brought him to tears. Otherwise his home was bereft of music, let alone the time-honored Classics. It was mostly silent. I was bathed in Yiddish melodies that my South Bronx grandmother (bubbe) sang in her beautifully tremulous voice, but… Continue reading The Jewish New Year ushers in poignant musical memories

Classical music blog, J.S. Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach, keyboard music, music, piano, piano blog, piano blogging, Well Tempered Clavier

Me, My Neighbors and J.S. Bach

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I spent two full nights with J.S.B., recording at ungodly hours, deleting a lion's share of playings, worrying about my neighbors' patience threshold. With a "runner's high," equivalent of being in the zone, I just couldn't let go of the momentum, as tenants beside me were trying to get some sleep. The LAYOUT Four adjacent… Continue reading Me, My Neighbors and J.S. Bach

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Piano Technique: Be a Blockhead when learning Bach

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Blocking techniques can help to solidify tricky passages in Bach's A minor Invention (13), especially if intelligent decisions are made about landscaping broken chords with thumb shifts weaving through them. Examining measures 9 through 13 for example, I devised a blocking routine that helped me gain note security while contouring phrases with a supple wrist.… Continue reading Piano Technique: Be a Blockhead when learning Bach

chamber music, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Menahem Pressler, music, practicing the piano, Pressler Masterclasses, wordpress, you tube

Facebook puts Menahem Pressler center stage, practicing “with love.”

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

An encore tribute to Maestro Pressler caught my eye on FB's Art of Piano Pedagogy forum. Deborah Rambo Sinn, a fine musician and teacher in her own right posted "My violinist's interview" with the octogenarian plus ten. It was the perfect supplement to a 2012 blog that I'd dedicated to Menahem that resonates into the… Continue reading Facebook puts Menahem Pressler center stage, practicing “with love.”

Ilana Vered pianist, music

From Perugia with love: Pianist, Ilana Vered hosts an enticing summer music fest

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I stumbled upon Ilana Vered's dazzlingly performance of two Moskowzski Etudes in a televised Steinway anniversary tribute hosted by Van Cliburn. It was during this celebration that Murray Perahia, my Performing Arts High classmate, rendered Chopin from the basement of Steinway Hall on W. 57th. As it played out that afternoon and evening, great artistry… Continue reading From Perugia with love: Pianist, Ilana Vered hosts an enticing summer music fest

Brigitte Engerer, music, piano pedagogy, Piano Street, Rada Bukhman, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube

Favorite Tchaikovsky piano pieces and their pedagogical value

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I made a promise to myself well before the New Year, that I would learn one new Tchaikovsky composition each day from the composer's Op. 39 Children's Album. (24 tableaux) Not that I'm recommending to piano students that they assimilate new music at lightning speed, but for me the challenge was to make a spurt… Continue reading Favorite Tchaikovsky piano pieces and their pedagogical value

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In the Piano Universe: Two You Tube Treasures not to miss!

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Every so often, I stumble upon an uploaded You Yube performance that grabs my ears. In this instance, it was a Mozart encore offered by pianist, Mitsuko Uchida, that led straight to a compelling videotaped interview with her. With my antennae up and ready for more sparkle to light up my day, I was amply… Continue reading In the Piano Universe: Two You Tube Treasures not to miss!

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Irina Morozova’s inspiring words flow through a lesson with an adult student (Beethoven’s Fur Elise-in-progress) Video

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

"From watching great pianists it is obvious that they incorporate quite different movements to achieve the same goals, because people do not play piano with fingers but rather with the mind and the ear. Again, it is the clear image of what kind of sound one wants to achieve, combined with the knowledge of how… Continue reading Irina Morozova’s inspiring words flow through a lesson with an adult student (Beethoven’s Fur Elise-in-progress) Video

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Piano Technique: Burgmuller’s Tarentelle, Op. 100-Fueling and shaping fast passages with a dipping, supple wrist (Videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Most piano students will have been assigned a Burgmuller selection or two during their formative years of study. And most likely, these would have been snatched from the composer's Twenty-Five Progressive Pieces, Op. 100 that advance by steps in difficulty, though it can be argued that all contain unique technical challenges. Composed in the Romantic… Continue reading Piano Technique: Burgmuller’s Tarentelle, Op. 100-Fueling and shaping fast passages with a dipping, supple wrist (Videos)

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Burgmuller’s “The Return”–like a light opera, with interspersed drama (videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

"The Return" from the composer's Twenty-Five Progressive Pieces, Op. 100, is ear-catching. Like an Offenbach opera replete with an Overture, it delights in a set of lighthearted staccato chords that spill into a passionate MINOR sequenced interlude, setting the heart afire. Extinguished by the revisit of Eb Major punctuations, the music drifts off by authentic… Continue reading Burgmuller’s “The Return”–like a light opera, with interspersed drama (videos)