Guest editor Stephen Hough curates this special edition of International Piano. Content highlights: The art of preluding: A look back at improvised introductions Alkan’s bicentenary: Celebrating neglected composer Charles-Valentin Alkan Larger than life: Anton Rubinstein’s piano prowess Of pianos and fortepianos: Unchartered sound worlds Lost generation: Careers cut short by tragedy Soviet style: Can notes can have a nationalistic identity? Symposium: The Second Viennese School Sheet music: Lullaby by Stephen Hough How to practise: Make time offstage worthwhile Piano Street Gold members have instant online access to the digital version of the magazine.
http://www.pianostreet.com/blog/piano-news/international-piano-novdec-2013-6376/Thursday, October 31, 2013
Monday, October 14, 2013
Steinway Sold: Code Name “Edelweiss” Outbid by a True Piano Lover
The calculation was rather simple — Mr. Paulson loves Steinway s pianos, so why not buy the whole company? Back in July, equity firm Kohlberg & Company, reached an agreement with Steinway to buy the company for $35 a share ($485 million). But piano enthusiast and billionaire John Paulson, presumably after reading Piano Street s post encouraging others to make an offer , began to pursue Steinway in earnest and read a book on the company to help bring himself up to speed. After finishing the book, Paulson surprised everyone by offering $38 a share on August 14. Kohlberg bowed out of the running, but later that day, a secret challenger turned up under code name Edelweiss with a raised bid of $39 a share. Not to be outdone, Paulson increased his bid to $40. Steinway declared him the winner, and the identity of the secret bidder Edelweiss was revealed. It was Samick Musical Instruments of South Korea, one of Steinway s biggest shareholders before the buyout. For terminating its prior agr
http://www.pianostreet.com/blog/piano-news/steinway-sold-code-name-edelweiss-outbid-by-a-true-piano-lover-6231/Friday, August 30, 2013
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/Thursday, August 29, 2013
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/Friday, August 23, 2013
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/Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Super Mario on Piano -– The Czerny Studies of Our Time?
Are there any pianists out there who have never played studies by Czerny as part of their training? Probably not many. But why not practice video game music in order to develop a more contemporary piano technique?
Read more and get hold of some piano sheet music for Super Mario!
Read more and get hold of some piano sheet music for Super Mario!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Franz Liszt – 200th Anniversary
Today, October 22 2011, marks the 200th birthday of Franz Liszt, the greatest piano virtuoso of his time, inventor of the modern piano recital and one of the most influential composers of the 19th century.
Piano Street here presents a collection of material, piano sheet music and links to resources for you to enjoy in order to commemorate the great Franz Liszt.
Happy birthday, Franz!
Visit the Franz Liszt 200 years tribute at pianostreet.com
Piano Street here presents a collection of material, piano sheet music and links to resources for you to enjoy in order to commemorate the great Franz Liszt.
Happy birthday, Franz!
Visit the Franz Liszt 200 years tribute at pianostreet.com
Monday, August 15, 2011
Can you do the Beethoven G Major concerto blind test?
The first movement of Beethoven’s 4th concerto opens with the solo piano, playing simple chords in the tonic key before coming to rest on a dominant chord. Can recognize who is who of the 10 famous pianists in this recording?
http://www.pianostreet.com/blog/video-picks/can-you-do-the-beethoven-g-major-concerto-blind-test-3587/
http://www.pianostreet.com/blog/video-picks/can-you-do-the-beethoven-g-major-concerto-blind-test-3587/
Friday, March 25, 2011
Using the Piano Pedals
Watching somebody play piano you don't wonder how the keys work - at most you may wonder how the pianist manages to hit them so fast! However when it comes to the pedals many people don't actually know what they do exactly. This is why for most beginners the pedals are quite intriguing.
You could literally watch hundreds of pianists and focus solely on their feet, yet still not truly know what the pedals are used for. The following is a simple article designed to show you what the pedals are and how they work, also some advice on how you should use them yourself when playing the piano.
Left and middle pedals
There are at most three pedals on a piano. The left pedal differs depending on which piano you use: on a grand piano it moves the hammers slightly over to the left, while on an upright piano it brings them closer. For upright pianos this means the note sounds softer, while on grand pianos it not only softens the note but because the hammer hits a different amount of strings for each note it creates a nice muted timbre.
For pianos that have a middle pedal the function can differ, it isn't really seen as an crucial aspect of the piano. However, on concert grand pianos the middle pedal will allow you to sustain certain notes for longer, that is the ones that are held when the pedal is pressed.
The left and right pedals are the most important, while out of these the left pedal is the easiest to use. If you are playing on a grand piano use it sparingly, because of the fact that it alters the sound somewhat and is best used as an effect, unlike on an upright piano where you use it simply when you want to play a softer sound.
The Right Pedal - the soul of the piano!
There is so much that the right pedal is used for that it really needs a book unto itself, however for the sake of keeping things short and informative I will just briefly look into the basic use of it.
The right pedal works by lifting all the dampers off each string. This accomplishes two things: when you push the pedal down you are able to sustain the note you hit for as long as the string vibrates or until you lift the pedal back up. The other strings that you haven't struck also vibrate in time with the original note, allowing for a nice rich sound.
There are some pieces in which the right pedal will be used almost unendingly, for example if you were to play a Chopin Nocturne. The main thing to know when playing such a piece is when to perform a pedal change - this is when you release the pedal momentarily in order to clear the sound.
The easiest way to learn how to properly use the right pedal is to find piano sheet music that comes with instructions on when to use the right pedal. However, start out learning the piece without actually using the pedal at all. Ask your piano teacher to help you as well. Eventually you will get to grips with the whys and hows of pedalling, then you can start incorporating it into your practice from the outset. Most new players try to do too much too soon and instead of making the music sound as it should they will instead blur the sound and use the right pedal in all the wrong places.
Just remember to practice without the pedal occasionally and focus completely on your fingers, this way you will get to grips with each piece nicely before you have to start thinking about what your feet are doing at the same time. Go through each piece slowly and carefully until you have it perfected.
Experiment And Listen
It is important to remember where you are playing; this is because the surroundings will affect the sound a piano makes. For example, in a smaller room with less acoustic you will need to use the pedals more often in order to make the sound resonate, while in a large hall you will not need to do this as much because the hall itself will help the sound to resonate.
Each piano may sound slightly different and react to the pedals being pressed in various ways. For this reason you need to experiment with each piano and listen carefully as you push the right pedal down. Becoming skilled with the right pedal is actually one of the hardest things to do and some people can find it daunting. However, you mustn't give up because of this, simply look at it as something really worth while to practice and become great at.
You could literally watch hundreds of pianists and focus solely on their feet, yet still not truly know what the pedals are used for. The following is a simple article designed to show you what the pedals are and how they work, also some advice on how you should use them yourself when playing the piano.
Left and middle pedals
There are at most three pedals on a piano. The left pedal differs depending on which piano you use: on a grand piano it moves the hammers slightly over to the left, while on an upright piano it brings them closer. For upright pianos this means the note sounds softer, while on grand pianos it not only softens the note but because the hammer hits a different amount of strings for each note it creates a nice muted timbre.
For pianos that have a middle pedal the function can differ, it isn't really seen as an crucial aspect of the piano. However, on concert grand pianos the middle pedal will allow you to sustain certain notes for longer, that is the ones that are held when the pedal is pressed.
The left and right pedals are the most important, while out of these the left pedal is the easiest to use. If you are playing on a grand piano use it sparingly, because of the fact that it alters the sound somewhat and is best used as an effect, unlike on an upright piano where you use it simply when you want to play a softer sound.
The Right Pedal - the soul of the piano!
There is so much that the right pedal is used for that it really needs a book unto itself, however for the sake of keeping things short and informative I will just briefly look into the basic use of it.
The right pedal works by lifting all the dampers off each string. This accomplishes two things: when you push the pedal down you are able to sustain the note you hit for as long as the string vibrates or until you lift the pedal back up. The other strings that you haven't struck also vibrate in time with the original note, allowing for a nice rich sound.
There are some pieces in which the right pedal will be used almost unendingly, for example if you were to play a Chopin Nocturne. The main thing to know when playing such a piece is when to perform a pedal change - this is when you release the pedal momentarily in order to clear the sound.
The easiest way to learn how to properly use the right pedal is to find piano sheet music that comes with instructions on when to use the right pedal. However, start out learning the piece without actually using the pedal at all. Ask your piano teacher to help you as well. Eventually you will get to grips with the whys and hows of pedalling, then you can start incorporating it into your practice from the outset. Most new players try to do too much too soon and instead of making the music sound as it should they will instead blur the sound and use the right pedal in all the wrong places.
Just remember to practice without the pedal occasionally and focus completely on your fingers, this way you will get to grips with each piece nicely before you have to start thinking about what your feet are doing at the same time. Go through each piece slowly and carefully until you have it perfected.
Experiment And Listen
It is important to remember where you are playing; this is because the surroundings will affect the sound a piano makes. For example, in a smaller room with less acoustic you will need to use the pedals more often in order to make the sound resonate, while in a large hall you will not need to do this as much because the hall itself will help the sound to resonate.
Each piano may sound slightly different and react to the pedals being pressed in various ways. For this reason you need to experiment with each piano and listen carefully as you push the right pedal down. Becoming skilled with the right pedal is actually one of the hardest things to do and some people can find it daunting. However, you mustn't give up because of this, simply look at it as something really worth while to practice and become great at.
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