How to choose a new piano11 September 2009
So here it is, you are close to your dream: owning you own new piano. You get the impression to reach a stage, but I tell you, the adventure has only just begun. You will see that choosing a piano isn’t that easy. What range of price, which size? It is not that easy to find one’s way around as each manufacturer has very convincing argument points.
The 5 most difficult piano pieces7 March 2009
It is a question I’m often asked and find it quite hard to give an answer. The notion of difficulty is a subjective one, and what may seem difficult to you may seem easy to someone else. This ranking does not thus escape my subjectivity – these are the most difficult piano pieces according to [...]
Piano moving13 February 2009
Today, after a few days off for personal reasons, I’m going to talk about piano moving. Being pianist and moving is not always that simple. A piano is a very heavy piece requiring particular care.
Above all, I strongly advise not to do it yourself, although it is sometimes really tempting to save money. It may [...]
10 tips for improving memory at the piano20 January 2009
Some of you asked me following my article on memory and piano performance what are my tips for improving memory at the piano. This is what I am going to share with you today. How to optimize memorization of works? What I do to learn by heart scores I play? Here is my list:
In order [...]
Memory and piano performance16 December 2008
So today I’d like to talk about memory and piano performance. A problem, which scares all of us, amateurs as professionals. Since Liszt, “the inventor” of modern recital, it has become compulsory to do without score on stage. Did Liszt had in mind that he was going to torment generations of pianists? I don’t hope [...]
One of my favorite pianists5 December 2008
It occurs to me that I haven’t dedicated a post to Brad Mehldau yet. Consider it done with this video from “resignation”, in which you can listen to the American Pianist playing in trio with Jorge Rossy and Larry Grenadier.
Born in 1970 in Jacksonville, FL, Brad Mehldau recorded his first opus in 1995 for Warner, [...]
On piano keyboards25 November 2008
The keyboard: we find it enjoyable or we hate it because too heavy, we blame it for all evil or we praise it because it has let us play well. Each mechanics is different and gives the pianist a different feeling when playing. I received several questions about this topic from a reader, which I [...]
Piano exercises11 November 2008
You certainly recognized him: it’s Czerny. Why Czerny? Well, Czerny’s work encompasses 861 opuses, but nowadays the only “works” for which he’s remained famous are his exercises, which worried many budding pianists. Allow me to wonder about these well-known exercises, not only those by Czerny but by others as well.
Why I don’t play Bach31 October 2008
Some time ago, I was asked a really interesting question. Uncomfortable too : Why don’t you play Bach? I didn’t noticed this lack in my programs, and after having taken a look at my past programs, I indeed found out that Bach was reported missing. However, I’m fond of his music, and, as many pianists [...]
Borge, Hambro and the Liszt Rhapsodies21 October 2008
Let’s take a breather today. The following video shows a sketch where the American-Danish musician and humorist Victor Borge with his stooge Leonid Hambro go into a four hands performance of Liszt’s second Hungarian Rhapsody.
The Clown Prince of Denmark as he was nicknamed in his adoptive country (the USA), was a very famous entertainer and [...]