The teaser: http://youtu.be/M0U73NRSIkw You Tube can be a gift-giving repository. Documentaries about *Arthur Rubinstein, Lang Lang, Horszowski, *Richter, Kissin, et al, produced and edited with sensitivity and respect for musical art, can light a path of insight like no other. (In this spirit, I eagerly await the film about Seymour Bernstein produced by Ethan Hawke)… Continue reading The Gift of Music, An inspiring Evgeny Kissin documentary
Category: Piano World
Steinway and Sons is sold, and the digitals are probably having a party
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/07/01/steinway-sold-to-private-equity-firm-for-438-million/ It was no surprise to read about Steinway selling out to Kohlberg and Company .. Why? because, 1) who has the money to buy a pricey grand 2) Digitals are turning acoustics into dinosaurs. If I were purist and dismissed all my students who had electronics, I'd be catapulted into bankruptcy. In all candor,… Continue reading Steinway and Sons is sold, and the digitals are probably having a party
A Russian composer’s colorful pieces with a strong teaching dimension
Native Russian, Samuel Maykapar (b.1867, d. 1938) composed a set of gorgeous, program-inspired pieces, that are carefully phrased, articulated, and fingered. The music is ear-catching in the spirit of Dimitri Kabalevsky and William Gillock as all three composers were highly expressive and imaginative within a pedagogical framing. Maykapar aims to teach an ebullient, crisp staccato… Continue reading A Russian composer’s colorful pieces with a strong teaching dimension
Should a piano student be a carbon copy of the teacher?
The whole universe of music teaching and learning became crystallized when I found myself bouncing ideas back and forth with two parents of Suzuki-trained children on a blog COMMENTS forum. First, I questioned the purist form of the Japanese imported "method" to the piano that delays note-reading to conform with the acquisition of language. Babies,… Continue reading Should a piano student be a carbon copy of the teacher?
Into the Hills with the Sound of Music –a Baldwin Acrosonic “acoustic” sings
The video attached to this writing validates the beauty of music-making on a well-maintained, though 1940s vintage era acoustic piano. Baldwin Acrosonics were the Cadillacs of the spinet and console variety pianos. They had a noticeable innovation compared to their sister-size instruments. (A deeper sound chamber, especially noted in the consoles that measured 40" or… Continue reading Into the Hills with the Sound of Music –a Baldwin Acrosonic “acoustic” sings
A sentimental journey taken with Mozart
Musical memories rekindled
Film art and great pianism fuse in a Richter documentary (The Enigma – Bruno Monsaingeon -1998- Parts I and 2)
A tribute to Richter in his own words, interspersed with examples of his great artistry
The C Major Scale universe: metric and muscle memory; shaping and tapering
The C Major scale is more than meets the "I," if you're the one practicing it!
A Well-known Haydn Piano Sonata is pinned!
I don't mean to inject pins into this post, but it amply introduces Haydn's vibrant Sonata no. 35 in C Major. Yesterday, as I diligently embarked upon learning this masterpiece, I had to deal with basic housekeeping matters: How to practice the pages-long first movement without breaks in continuity? My short-term solution: http://youtu.be/g7vP3mqg8WM Harpsichordist, *Elaine… Continue reading A Well-known Haydn Piano Sonata is pinned!
A Love Story Woven on a Chopin Canvas
A few years ago, I received a telling message through my Authors Den website. John Bidwell, a spirited short story writer and poet, shared more than a literary connection with me. He waxed poetic about his late mother and father, Eleanor and David, who were pianists and 1950's classmates at Oberlin. (my alma mater) A… Continue reading A Love Story Woven on a Chopin Canvas
