Vibrant music-making at rest or at play

Musical silences spring to life in a rare and beautiful performance of C.P.E Bach's G Major Keyboard Sonata.

Ruminations about why some virtuoso pianists book on the continent, leaving the US behind

I couldn't help but obsess over why Grigory Sokolov, for example has no foreseeable concert appearances in the US. Surely I would have flown to NYC, perhaps for a LIVE main course plus a dessert of encores at Carnegie. Horowitz said on camera, circa, 1987, that the 57th Street Hall of musical fame was NOT…

A remarkable, up close and personal documentary about Vladimir Horowitz (on You Tube)

A historic, 50 minute-long, Maysles made film gives a unique glimpse of the pianistic legend as he records Mozart concerto no. 23 (A Major) under the baton of Guilini (personally selected) In between movements, Volodya schmoozes with the page turner, fawning journalists, plus an assortment of friends, hero-worshippers, whose conversations are permeated by off the…

Fingering snarls in Mozart’s Allegretto, Sonata in C, K. 545 and suggested remedies from the experts

We all have our nemesis. The last measures (68-73) of Mozart's rondo: Allegretto, K. 545, Sonata in C Major, have ensnared me, barring smooth passage to final cadence. For others the journey is uneventful. Who knows? Size of hands, finger length, state of mind, and lack of sleep, might be variables. But more often than…

Learning a J.S. Bach Invention requires an understanding of right-side-up, upside down, inside out, and other relationships

Knee-jerk technology brings the keyboard closer to an Online piano student

By reassigning a web cam to my knee, I was able to assist a student with a nagging measure.

Revisiting Bach’s Fugue form (BWV 847 in C minor)

Bach's Fugue in C minor, BWV 847 is analyzed and taught

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…

Patrick Schmidt sparks an East Bay Cultural Renaissance in the Meet-up Universe!

Everyone loves a self-starter--a wide-eyed visionary who transforms dreams into reality. Patrick Schmidt comes quickly to mind, immersed in his universe of mult-media explorations but always reaching out to an "international" community of creative spirits. Here's how he describes himself: "I'm a tinkerer, artist, scientist, crafter, and many other things. I do small sculpturing and…

An afternoon of all that Jazz with pianists, Dick Hyman and Dave Frank

Dick Hyman, jazz pianist, shared his art with an engaged NYC audience in the good company of moderator, Dave Frank.