It's always a relief to find a compatible partner in the universe of piano tuning and repair. From my perspective, finding Paul Larudee, (RPT) Registered Piano Technician, meant that my Steinway M, 1917, rebuilt three times between NYC and California's Central Valley, would obtain a spot on Concert A, 440 tuning without any qualifications about… Continue reading A Piano Technician to Treasure!
Decades ago when I resided in Fresno, California, agriculture's heartland, I visited a local assisted living facility to serenade seniors. With a portable Casio digital keyboard snuggly packed into my Malibu's trunk, I headed to a rewarding lunch hour of music-making. Meticulously, I'd practiced a medley of "oldies" to please aging residents: Songs by Hoagy… Continue reading My Edvard Grieg Memoir with an unlikely framing
It took me only moments to turn back the clock to the 18th International Chopin Competition (2021) to pinpoint why I was compelled to speak up after being disappointed by the latest Third Round picks in this year's Chopin 2025 EXPO. The jury selections followed a grueling launch of 85 pianists in the First Round--whittled… Continue reading What is not right about the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw, Poland!
It's been two years since I last heard Mitsuko Uchida dish up a serving of mellifluous Mozart that she tenders phrase by phrase, with nuances of pure poetry. https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2022/03/28/mitsuko-uchida-and-mozart/ 3/24/2024 Performance at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley, California The pianist's runs, so well-shaped, curvaceous, and keenly melodic, afford a model for students of the piano, teachers,… Continue reading Mitsuko Uchida returns to Zellerbach Hall with a feast of Mozart Piano Concerti
One of my piano students who is learning J.S. Bach's Little Prelude in E minor, BWV 941 wanted to explore the modulations permeating this soulful work to advance her understanding of phrasing. The Analysis: In a series of broken chords through 22 measures, the composer artfully departs from the home key of E minor to… Continue reading J.S. Bach, Harmonic Analysis and Phrasing
https://youtu.be/U4-A28lJfrQ A fun-filled romp through a short Rondo form last movement invites a mood lift of One beat per measure, rather than a rigid progression of 3/8ths counted methodically. In this sense, I'm reminded of Vivace movements (very brisk) from Classical era symphonies that are conducted with a single stroke of the baton, measure by… Continue reading A Perky Finale to Clementi Sonatina in C Major, Op. 36, No. 1
As teachers, we're in a position to advise our students about navigating big stretches that may not comfortably fit hands that are small or even moderate in size. George Gershwin's Prelude No. 2, a bluesy lullaby, is exemplary in requiring artful phrasing of relentless measures that have these wide interval spans beyond the reach of… Continue reading Small hand challenges playing Gershwin’s Prelude No. 2
Most piano students experience the nemesis of hard-falling, accident-prone thumbs during their scale and arpeggio romps. If unchecked, these power-grabbing fingers of each hand have a tendency to interrupt smooth-playing keyboard journeys. As a start, a player should imagine a scale or arpeggio as a seamless outflow without "bumps" or undesirable "accents." Even in a… Continue reading Piano Technique: Folding in Thumbs for smooth keyboard transit
I often wonder why our music mentor community does not openly share a collective frustration with editors who permeate piano compositions with impossible fingerings. These sources of disarray can be Masterworks by Scarlatti, Mozart, Schumann, Schubert, et al, tarnished with "un-pianistic" maneuvers that beg for labor intensive revisions. Often a preponderance of these Internet driven… Continue reading A Teacher’s Challenge: Navigating Piano music with Awkward fingerings
We clarify and refine our teaching skills through self-examination at the piano. As mentors, we simultaneously enjoy a window into our students practicing from week to week. Together we grow as music sharing partners. This leads to what I periodically post in the form of self-teaching tutorials that reach my pupils and well beyond in… Continue reading Forward Arm Rolls and Rotations
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