Pianist, Beth Levin weighs in on Competitions

Beth Levin is more than a pianist. She not only concertizes, records, presents symposia and teaches, but devotes quality time to arts commentary. At La Folia.com, she critiqued Schumann's Kreisleriana in tribute to an era she embraces in her spread of LIVE performances and recordings. http://www.lafolia.com/schumanns-kreisleriana/ *** http://youtu.be/m8SL7ub1VJI (Imported photos and video produced by Randolph…

Piano Technique: Spot checking for relaxed arms, wrists, and hands (Video)

I think of a whole arm/wrist/hand continuum when playing the piano, and I urge students to alleviate tension anywhere in the spectrum by lifting arms off the keys with a feeling of buoyancy. In this gesture a pupil can monitor the sensation of hanging, dead weight arms in space, and then gently practice lift-offs and…

Going into the Finals at the Alaska International Piano-E-Competition, and thoughts about COMPETING

Neither memory lapses nor occasional note slip-ups impeded any of the five selected Piano Finalists from forging ahead to the Chamber Music and Concerto Rounds of the Alaska-based E-Competition. My two particular favorites, Marianna Prjevalskaya and Alexey Chernov honored Schubert with gorgeous performances of the composer's A Major (D.959) and C minor Sonatas (D. 958),…

Awe-inspiring playing at the Alaska International Piano-E-Competition

This is the first Internet channeled "e-competition" that features a crop of well-trained adult pianists. The preceding Yamaha Disklavier sponsored events were youth-based and originated in the Midwest--(Minnesota to be exact) With current Disklavier technology flying high, the newest venue for pianists to dish out their talent with satellite assistance, is the great state of…

Piano Technique: Executing Tremolos as occur in Beethoven’s Sonata “Pathetique”

I've picked up various ideas about practicing tremolos from the piano forums as applies to the Alla Breve section of the "Pathetique" Sonata No. 8 (movement 1) and extracted a valuable tutorial from a colleague who posted it to you tube. At first I concurred with pianist/teacher Benjamin Steinhardt that rolling the C broken octave…

Seymour Bernstein: From Maine with Love

When Seymour packs his bags for the summer, escaping Manhattan's stifling heat, he takes along his soulful music and fistfuls of almonds. The maestro, known for his beloved book, With Your Own Two Hands retreats to an awesome, cabin-like sanctuary that sits on a cliff overlooking the ocean. (It's his daily source of inspiration.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeQ2tJ90OMs…

A common chorus among adult piano students

As decades pass, and each adult piano student on his personal journey chimes in with a greeting at the start of a lesson, I've noticed a synchronized choir of commonly expressed thoughts. The riveting idée fixe that resonates LIVE and through SKYPE channels, is like the redundant motif of Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique. "I really want…

Piano Technique: Wrist flexibility and relaxed arms

Livia Rev, Hungarian born pianist, who's 98, demonstrates in her playing how flexible wrists and relaxed arms spin beautiful phrases in legato and staccato. In a romp through Czerny studies, we observe her conspicuous, elastic wrist motions. http://youtu.be/LWjnPeQmrKA In a separate video posted to you tube, Rev, literally takes a student's hands and dips the…

Adult Piano Instruction: Sight-reading, Solfeggio, and Transposition

I reserve the last 10-15 minutes of my lessons with a few adult students for sight-reading, sight-singing with solfeggio, and transposition activity. While I begin with short pieces in five-finger positions, the requirement to transpose these in a Circle of Fifth progression (playing Major and Relative minors) is a valuable ear-training experience. In the following…

Exploring a Chopin Nocturne with a theoretical awareness

This week I mass-emailed a note to my brood about the need to take a reputable theory course side-by-side with private piano lessons. Because the teaching hour is packed with technique, new repertoire, review, memorization, a need to deepen knowledge in the universe of theory/harmony and ear-training is a must. By example, I tried my…