An Evening with pianist, Yuja Wang at S.F. Davies Hall

Yuja Wang presented a colorful solo piano recital in more ways that one..

My afternoon at the San Francisco Symphony with Yuja Wang, Pianist

It was a shock to my nervous system to hear a LIVE concert! I had been getting so used to iPod fed classics and You tube streamed performances that I forgot what I was missing. From my seat at terrace right, almost hanging over the stage, I heard amazing instrumental clarity and orchestral color, though…

Piano Technique: A fire and ice approach to learning pieces at breakspeed tempo

One of my Oberlin Conservatory piano teachers regarded Vladimir Horowitz as a fire and ice player. He referred to the maestro as having the uncanny ability to turn out a hot performance with a cool demeanor. (The physical control, of course, was AMAZING!) Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75ZAOwgzoAE Same applies to Yuja Wang, pianist, who delivers a sizzling…

The Gift that keeps on Giving: Cyprien Katsaris shares thoughts about pianist, Gyorgy Cziffra and his ‘Bumblebee’ transcription

In a compelling and somewhat controversial radio broadcast beamed from Boston, Katsaris takes the reigns and regales Georgy Cziffra, a celebrated pianist whose career never reached the summit that Horowitz attained. Katsaris is brutally honest about his own displeasure with this state of musical affairs and harps on the "transcriptions" that Cziffra composed and realized…

Comparing performances of Chopin’s Waltz in C# minor, Op. 64, No. 2 (VIDEOS)

Last night I sat down at my Steinway M grand and quickly shuffled over to my Haddorff (known as "Haddy") fully intending to record some comments on the lovely C# minor Waltz. As I looked at the dotted-eighth/sixteenth figure that permeated the composition making it stand out as unique among Chopin's Waltzes, I suddenly experienced…