Chiming in the New Year with my favorite piano performance picks!

Grigory Sokolov grabs a deserved spotlight in this bedazzling performance of Schubert's Klavierstucke No. 1 http://youtu.be/zuwi9W3A3tM Bruno Sainmangeon, producer and documentarian captured Sokolov in the same acoustically favorable Berlin space that Murray Perahia chose to deliver the memorable Bach Partita in E minor: http://youtu.be/ELShZDVjoFw Add in Perahia's most recent tour de force in Japan: Beethoven's…

Comparing Interpretations of Bach Prelude in C minor, BWV 847 (Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1)

Over a year ago, I posted a tutorial about the harmonic rhythm of Bach's C minor Prelude (WTC I) to help myself and others navigate strings of 16th notes with an awareness of shape, direction, and resolution. This was my springboard to learning the composition and it remains a good reference. http://youtu.be/yAa8YcW7lMI However, my you…

Piano Instruction: Can we over-analyze a Bach fugue?

Little Bach Fugue in C, BWV 952 required insights into its organized structure so I could better teach it. But how much analysis was required and could it be trusted?

My Top You Tube Picks for 2013, What are yours?

My note: I've listed links to blogs posted about these performers. PIANO Grigory Sokolov Complete piano recital, Theatre de Champs Elysee (for astounding fusion of technique/lyricism/wide dynamic palette--having everything and anything at his disposal to draw upon from his rich musical repository) http://youtu.be/o7qUMHm3LOI Irina Morozova: Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11,…

A J.S. Bach Little Prelude: Making decisions about phrasing and articulation

The Urtext (original) editions of Bach's keyboard music offer sparse directions about phrasing/articulation, (groupings of notes) so the player has to make important decisions that reflect a Baroque style. But what are the guidelines in a process that has an intellectual and affective dimension? To the extreme, some pianists use pedal and soak up linear…

J.S. Bach and tempo in his Little Preludes

How do we make decisions about the time frame reference of Bach's music?

My Favorite Video Performances of Beloved Pianists: Do you have some to share? (UPDATED)

Update: Approaching still another New Year, I will add more favorite performances by pianists to the group: These inspiring players include Irina Morozova, Cyprien Katsaris, and Georgy Cziffra plus Yeol Eum Son playing Gershwin's "Embraceable You." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENgYKfy6WAs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYY47zdi8So http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdN95IQ83d8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhtDSpI_KVs ****** Since it's the New Year, here are some of my picks, though I'm a…