Natural Fingering – A Topographical Approach

“The black keys belong essentially to the three longest fingers” CPE Bach “Please do not think that I am so naïve as to ignore the logic of the circle around which our scales are built and the center of which is C. I merely stress that the theory of piano playing which deals with the hand and its physiology is distinct from the theory of music.” Heinrich Neuhaus The art of fingering is a huge subject, not least if studied historically. While many professional players stress the importance of good fingering we often find fingering suggestions offered by renowned editions to be clumsy, odd or simply out of place. New York pianist and teacher Jon Verbalis book Natural Fingering is a rich resource on the subject of piano fingering. Verbalis delves into fingering techniques focusing on a topographical approach, and how they relate to the ideas found in F. Chopin´s un-finished Piano Method (Projet de Méthode). Thomas Fielden appears to be the first to have introduced the term “
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Top Picks of 2013

We wish all readers a Happy New Year with a list of highly recommended reading the most popular articles of 2013 from Piano Street’s Classical Piano Blog: Breaking News: Mysterious Mozart Cadenza Identified! Volodos in Vienna Do We Judge Music by Sight More Than Sound? The Great Piano Scam Master Teacher Wijn is Growing Flowers and Plants Steinway Update: Code Name “Edelweiss” Outbid by a True Piano Lover More is More and The Art of Perfection – Master Piano Technician Peter Salisbury Turns a Steinway Into Two Samsung Smashes Haydn in Gothenburg Barenboim’s Decca/DG Deal Opened Up for Neglected Chopin The Art of Improvisation – Risky Business and Living It All at the Same Time The Case of Ravel András Schiff Almost Won Grammy Without Pedal

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Piano News Flash Revamped

In addition to the weekly articles here on the Classical Piano Blog, Piano Street has for many years been covering the daily news flow of piano related news in a few different formats. At first we published it here in the form of monthly link collections under the name Piano News Flash (see example) before moving on to even more frequent updates in our Twitter Feed. While appreciated by readers, neither of these two formats have been meeting our goals from a user experience perspective. Keep up to date on a new level Today we are launching our completely new Piano News Flash platform which takes the concept up to a completely new level. The new feature activated today in all Piano Street members accounts presents daily piano related news and interesting links in the form of an editorial introduction with a link to external resources for further reading. With the News Flash we are aiming for a clear and concise presentation of carefully selected news so that you, by spending no more th

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International Piano – Jan/Feb 2014

A new issue of International Piano is out! Content highlights: Menahem Pressler receives Indiana University Medal at 90th birthday gala concert First World War centenary: How the events of 1914-18 shaped pianism On the brandwagon: The face of modern-day patronage Summer schools: Irish masterclass, Dublin International Piano Festival and Academy, Course listings Cache benefits: Online resource iplaythepiano.com The Tobias Matthay sound: His legacy on record Meeting Alice Herz Sommer: Musician and inspiration Piano Street Gold members have instant online access to the digital version of the magazine.

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AST Updated: 700 Piano Pieces Added

Are you also getting confused when listening to music on YT?If you are like most other Piano Street visitors, you regularly listen to and enjoy piano music on YouTube or music streaming services like Spotify or Naxos Music Library. Compared to the era of LPs or CDs, the sheer amount of recordings we have instant access to today is completely overwhelming. Blessing or curse? While this is mostly a blessing for everyone who loves music, it can also be confusing. Sites like YouTube are not exactly designed to promote concentrated listening. How often do you listen to a complete Beethoven Sonata without being distracted? Many of us often end up just skipping around, in the vague hope of finding something even better or more interesting. An idea was born So two years ago, having 2800 piano pieces in our sheet music library, we got the brilliant but crazy idea to create a tool which could give you easy access to the best videos and streaming audio tracks while studying the score. This seeme

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Leonardo da Vinci’s Viola Organista comes to life after 500 years!

Hear the world premiere of a new instrument: Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472) coined the term Renaissance Man after applying the concept of Renaissance Humanism and opined that such a man would be able to do all things if he will. Even though Leonardo da Vinci was only 20 when Alberti died, he more than fulfilled the elder man s vision. He sketched diagrams for 20th century parachutes by observing falling leaves, drew up plans for a submarine, and sketched a helicopter after seeing the whirling seeds of the maple tree. “Music is the food of the soul” - Leonardo da VinciIn addition to these scientific pursuits, he found time to be one of the greatest artists of all time. Many people don t know, however, that this incredible thinker was also a musician. According to his biographers, Leonardo was an outstanding lira da braccio player for his time, and he used this viola type instrument to improvise while he sang. He also played the lute and probably the organ. As for keyboard inst

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Pleyel Turns the Last Page?

A Pleyel was Chopin s favorite piano; he once said, when I m feeling energetic and strong enough to find my own sound, I need a Pleyel piano. Ignaz Pleyel, a student, friend and confidant of Franz Josef Haydn, began producing pianos in 1807. His innovations include the first upright pianos in France, the sustained sound and metallic frames. In addition to Chopin, such luminaries as Stravinsky, Debussy, Saint-Saëns, Ravel, Liszt and Grieg made Pleyel pianos their darlings too. Watch pianist Janina Fialkowska introduce and play a 1848 Pleyel grand piano: Pleyel closing the Saint-Denis Workshop After more than 200 years producing 250,000 of the highest-quality pianos in the French tradition, Pleyel will be closing the doors of its one remaining factory. Undercut by business is war tactics from Asian piano makers, Pleyel s insistence on producing hand-crafted, tailor-made works of art instead of mass-produced models failed. The company s spokesman and manufacturing head, Bernard Roques,

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Pianos for People

From the late 18th century, when the piano began to supplant the harpsichord as the world s chief keyboard instrument, it s been a fixture in many places. People had a piano in the parlor; churches had one in the basement for choir practice, and every school auditorium had one. Pianos even graced the stages of silent movie theaters during the early 20th century. In the 21st century, as electronic instruments become more popular as less expensive options than traditional pianos, wood-and-wire keyboards are finding their way into landfills and junk heaps. Non-profit organization Pianos for People doesn t want these pianos uselessly deteriorating when others could benefit from them. Their mission is to restore and recondition these instruments to working order and then deliver them, free of charge, to needy and deserving families and groups. There are many people who simply cannot afford a keyboard instrument of any type. While a suburban family might only need a simple spinet for their

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Volodos in Vienna

You can keep your Lang Langs, your Yuja Wangs, your Evgeny Kissins… I d swap their collective virtuosity for one evening of Arcadi Volodos s consummate pianism. To my mind, he has produced nothing finer on disc than this live recital, captured in Vienna last spring. Gramophone Magazine Volodos in Vienna is a recital album by Arcadi Volodos recorded live at the Musikverein in Vienna. Gramophone Magazine rated this performance in its CD version as the best instrumental recording of 2010. The first half of the recital consists of varous pieces by Scriabin and Ravel s Valses nobles et sentimentales. Here in the second half we hear Volodos perform Schumann s Waldszenen and Liszt s Dante Sonata : Volodos Recital Vienna 2010 Schumann Waldszenen, Op. 82 1. Eintritt Im Walde 2. Jäger Auf Der Lauer 3. Einsame Blumen 4. Verrufene Stelle 5. Freundliche Landschaft 6. Herberge 7. Vogel Als Prophet 8. Jagdlied 9. Abschied Liszt from Années de pèlerinage, Second Year: Italy No. 7, Après Une Lec

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Pianist Lang Lang appointed UN Messenger of Peace

Capitalizing on the popularity of the pianist Lang Lang, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on October 28 designated the world-renowned Chinese as a United Nations Messenger of Peace with a special focus on global education. There are 57 million children around the world who don t regularly attend school. Mr. Lang has been a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF since 2003 and recently said he relishes his new mandate. He has donated significant funds to that global organization from the proceeds of his concerts and has also supported other causes, such as relief for the victims of the Haitian earthquake. Lang Lang performing F. Chopin s first Waltz at the UN ceremony.Lang Lang s work on the United Nations Global Education First Initiative begins with his October 28 appointment, and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is excited. The initiative has three main goals: Ensuring every child attends school Bettering education throughout the world Educating all children in the responsibilities associated wit

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