Despite the raging battle on Capitol Hill over health care legislation that threatened the loss of insurance to millions if enacted, a particularly vulnerable population of SENIORS engaged in music study, found sanctuary in a daily connection to the piano. Their "escape" to a universe of loving immersion became a mental prompt at the start… Continue reading The Benefits of Piano Lessons for the Aging student
As mentors, we can easily recall our student days when well-practiced pieces tanked upon arrival at our piano teacher's home. Even ascending the staircase to the threshold of the apartment, our heart rate quickened, and we felt cold, clammy and faint. It was automatic over-drive for the first 20 minutes--an adrenaline crisis of magnitude. Yet… Continue reading Student: “I get so nervous when I play for you!” The Teacher responds!
I had intended to title this posting, "Falling in Love Again"-a tribute to the music of Alexandre Tansman. It would highlight an affaire de coeur ignited by Amazon. (No Saturday Night Live script in progress) I would encapsulate the day I'd ordered what was supposed to be a copy of a new adult student's album… Continue reading Experiencing the first Sunrise in your playing
Yesterday afternoon I found myself mentoring a student about the nuances of a composer's language and style in the Impressionist genre. Claude Debussy's Reverie, with its palette of blended colors was on display--naturally intoned in vowels rather than consonants, while its liquid phrases begged for supple wrist and relaxed arm infusions of energy. My pupil's… Continue reading Teaching the Language of Debussy in Reverie
Right now, as I'm posting these words in Berkeley, CA, my student, Claire, (an international lawyer) who avidly practices the piano in two different time zones, is perched high up in her apartment overlooking Sydney Harbor. It's 19 hours past Pacific Standard Time over there, or the next day in Australia. As a consequence, we… Continue reading A Motivated adult piano student with an International profile
A pianist's stunning win at a Major Competition held in Cincinnati reverberated through the international music cosmos with a singular, attached recording opportunity. The first place winner, Marianna Prjevalskaya, who had already put herself on the map as a globe-trotting recitalist of major import, added to her list of kudos with a notable recording of… Continue reading World Piano Competition Winner, Marianna Prjevalskaya shares thoughts about Recording
A rising young pianist who placed 4th in the grueling 15th International Tchaikovsky Competition, but earned special RECOGNITION by the Moscow Music Critics Association, scored a unanimous victory on stage at Berkeley's Hertz Hall. (February 12th, 2017 at 3 p.m.) Without question, the 27-year-old French pianist, Lucas Debargue made an indelible impression on members of… Continue reading Run to hear Pianist, Lucas Debargue!
This week reaped a set of Internet-channeled treasures along with an off screen, chance meeting with a Rosina Lhevinne student at a Berkeley bus stop. The first On Air stop-off was Seymour Bernstein's riveting hour-and-44 minute long interview that covered his Korean war service: a rekindled journey of interspersed infantry training, piano recitals and chamber… Continue reading Favorites, On AND Off the You Tube screen
I rarely write what is characterized as a fluff piece, a filler blog that meanders around the powers of positive thinking and related platitudes. Such flighty commentary often sounds time-worn and replete with cliches. Yet, I have to admit that in my own cosmos of practicing and learning, having all-embracing "PATIENCE" frames my most fundamental… Continue reading Patience and Practicing
Why not pair Mendelssohn and Chopin in a harmonious duo. Two piano lessons transmitted over the Internet were framed by the same period expression: mellifluous melodic threads against relentless rocking motions in the bass. A Boat song and Nocturne respectively swayed in TWO, requiring an examination of recurring bass line arpeggios that frequently spanned beyond… Continue reading Two Romantic era piano lessons are wedded beautifully together
Arioso7's Blog (Shirley Kirsten) 