Creative phrasing or reading between the lines

We are taught as piano students to have respect and reverence for what the composer notates in his score as pertains to tempo, dynamics and other embedded forms of expression. (i.e. directives such as poco rit., calando, note slurred legato and non-legato, etc.) Yet, these are only framings that give life to expression only when…

Tchaikovsky’s “Sweet Dream” requires a balanced synthesis of voices

At first glance, most piano students will not realize the amount of detailed work and analysis that applies to learning one of Tchaikovsky's most endearing miniatures from his Op. 39 Children's Collection. However, after an initial reading and overview, it becomes crystal clear that each voice must be parceled out and then re-integrated in a…

Imagination fuels expressive piano playing

As my local and Online piano students gear up for their bi-annual music sharing this coming Saturday over Skype, a commonly expressed concern is how to harness the imagination to feed a musical journey right from the opening measure of a piece to its final cadence. The challenge for everyone embodies a centered period of…

Van Cliburn’s Tchaikovsky No. 1 concerto revisited

Van Cliburn's named popped up on one of the piano forums. Would he have made the same formidable impression in today's Moscow Competition as he did in 1958? The answer is simply YES, and resurrecting a flashback of his winning performance sheds light on how and why his Tchaikovsky 1, at least for me, stands…

Early stage learning, and ways of knowing a new piano piece

One of my adult students has embarked upon studying Tchaikovsky's "German Song," Op. 39, and in her initial baby-step exposure to the composition, she has already explored multiple ways of "knowing" the work. http://youtu.be/ocd8Ci0Ny_E http://youtu.be/iEfP45vQIqs 1) Setting a fingering for each hand, and counting beats through each measure in a sub-divided way (within a slow…

Tchaikovsky’s “Harmonica Player” fits snugly between a Song and Dance

When I first stumbled upon "The Harmonic Player," No. 12, from Tchaikovsky's Op. 39 Children's Album, my first thought was, "Why on earth did the great composer include such tirelessly redundant music with an unimaginative harmonic scheme and belabored melody." For certain, as a stand-alone, it could be easily passed over--- dismissed as a throwaway…

Tchaikovsky’s “Mama” gives double messages

"Mama" is a lyrically spun out tableau evoking the endearing, universally loving mother, but as many can attest, moms may often send out double messages. In Tchaikovsky's Op. 39, Children's Album, MAMA has number 4 status among 24 beautifully descriptive pieces, and with its remarkable dualism, in parallel tenths between the soprano (top line) and…

My first day learning a new piece and what was accomplished (Video)

In keeping with my resolution to learn new music quickly but thoroughly, I've set out today's first experience with Tchaikovsky's colorful, "Winter Morning" (Op. 39, No. 2, Children's Album) to give students of piano, ideas surrounding their first encounter with a composition: how the physical, musical, cognitive and affective (emotional) dimensions of a work, can…

Tchaikovsky and his solemn chorale

Last night I discovered one of the most gorgeous hymns composed in the Romantic genre. It is Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "In the Church," Op. 39, a perfect segue way to Christmas. My diverse journey through the composer's Children's Album has been a potpourri of moods and colors sprinkled through "Sweet Dream," "Playing Hobby-Horses," "Song of…

If it sounds like a lark, it must be one (Tchaikovsky’s “Song of the Lark”)

http://youtu.be/Hu43yQUbgcA After I recorded Tchaikovsky's precious tableau from his Op. 39 Children's Album, I discovered a true-to-life rendering by Russian pianist, Igor Galenkov, who delicately imported a bird to embellish his performance. http://youtu.be/sqdVlA7c_bg *** Instruction: The rolling forward wrist motion in Lark http://youtu.be/AXspi9vh3vY ***