Do We Judge Music by Sight More Than Sound?

During the summer several interesting articles that deal with the conception of audibility vs. visibility have been presented by international media. It may seem counterintuitive, but an expert from University College London, concert pianist and psychologist Chia-Jung Tsay has brought forth a theory that general physical appeal and visual aspects of performance are more important than actual playing in the judgment of musical competitions. In fact, experts polled as part of this study were given three musical examples of just the contestants playing and were asked to evaluate. The experts chose a consensus winner from among the recordings as the best musical performance; however, in many cases, their choice was not the eventual winner of the competition. The author notes that inferior playing won the day by looking more passionate, skillful and composed. The author conducted six other experiments in addition to the experts listening to recordings. Nrp.org: How To Win That Music Compet

http://www.pianostreet.com/blog/articles/do-we-judge-music-by-sight-more-than-sound-6207/

Announce your Piano Recitals and Events at Piano Street

Following a recent discussion on the forum regarding whether or not to allow announcements of piano competitions, masterclasses and recitals, we have decided to open two new sub boards of the Miscellaneous section in order to provide room for relevant and non-commercial advertisements. Recitals http://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?board=33.0 In line with Piano Street s mission to stimulate and promote live piano music performances, all members are welcome to post announcements and invitations to their upcoming piano recitals. While the global coverage of our member base will often make distance an issue if you want to attend a fellow member s recital, the 6.000+ daily unique visitor to pianostreet.com might hopefully lead to a few more people in the audience. Events http://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?board=32.0 The event board is open for members and organisation managers to post information about piano competitions, masterclasses, courses and other piano related events.

http://www.pianostreet.com/blog/site-news/announce-your-piano-recitals-and-events-at-piano-street-6188/

Yuja Wang at Verbier Festival 2013

In this 3 minute interview Yuja Wang tells us, among other things, the secret of her harmony between fingers and spirit: Interview video Interview Yuja Wang & Joshua Bell plays Beethoven s Kreutzer Sonata, 3rd mvt. Watch the 2013 Verbier Festival concerts in free replay on medici.tv!

http://www.pianostreet.com/blog/video-picks/yuja-wang-at-verbier-festival-2013-6170/

Mr. John A. Paulson loves Steinway's pianos - buys the whole company!

John A. Paulson, the hedge fund billionaire, already owns three Steinway & Sons pianos: the medium model M grand, the larger model O and the nearly seven-foot-long model B, together worth tens of thousands of dollars. While Paulson & Company owns stakes in companies, it has never before bought one outright. But Mr. Paulson said that the calculation was rather simple — he loves the pianos.Mr. John A. Paulson loves Steinway's pianos - buys the whole company.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/08/14/paulson-agrees-to-buy-steinway-for-512-million/