It's about time a pianist, teacher, composer and author made it to the big screen. Seymour Bernstein is the star of a 81-minute documentary that's drawing critical acclaim in early Festival showings. On the East Coast, Seymour: An Introduction is slated for two important fall screenings at the prestigious New York Film Festival at Lincoln… Continue reading Pianist, Seymour Bernstein is the subject of an Ethan Hawke produced documentary
Tag: With Your Own Two Hands by Seymour Bernstein
Piano playing at its most inspirational level
Divine music-making from a seasoned pianist in a memorable retrospective
Piano Technique: The dipping wrist, and how it defies convention (Videos)
One of my adult students echoed a belief that has resonated for generations in piano studios across the country, if not the world. The OLD school of thought was that you played piano with a rigid, arched hand, and if you slipped into a longer, relaxed curve, or dared to DIP your wrist below the… Continue reading Piano Technique: The dipping wrist, and how it defies convention (Videos)
The joy and value of teaching a piano student over many years
Claudia, age 6 playing a duet with me I recall Elaine Comparone, the renowned harpsichordist having described a student she had mentored for 35 years before a move cut short a lasting musical relationship. "She was the real deal," the musician insisted. Seymour Bernstein, author, With Your Own Two Hands, often shared the joy of… Continue reading The joy and value of teaching a piano student over many years
The Chopin Bb minor Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 1, and arm/hand rotation/phrasing (Video)
Chopin's Bb minor Nocturne (Night Piece) requires a player to use a full arm rotation to fluidly play the arpeggios in the left hand that span over an octave. These broken chords which fill a large space by their expansion, create a Romantic underpinning for the molto cantabile heart-rending melody in the treble. If the… Continue reading The Chopin Bb minor Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 1, and arm/hand rotation/phrasing (Video)
The Piano Repertoire: Does making fingering/hand adjustments constitute a “swindle?”
Seymour Bernstein, author of With Your Own Two Hands, remarked that "Chopin wrote out an outline for an intended method of teaching piano. And when he died he left it to Charles Alkan who never finished it. Wouldn't you think that Chopin would stress at the beginning that everything depends upon a deep emotional involvement… Continue reading The Piano Repertoire: Does making fingering/hand adjustments constitute a “swindle?”
“When Do I Play My Best?” An inspiring message from Seymour Bernstein
Seymour's playing in this tableau is divinely beautiful. And having sampled the pianist's artistry through many of his posted You Tubes, I wonder why he didn't get the recognition he deserved during his formative years, playing in public. At least now, at 85, he's enjoying a renaissance of interest in his teaching, music-making, and musical/life… Continue reading “When Do I Play My Best?” An inspiring message from Seymour Bernstein
