Play the Octaves with Two Hands: Chopin’s and Liszt’s Redistributions in Their Own Works
Autumn 2021; Vol. 13, No. 3
The practice of playing one or more notes with a different hand than prescribed by the composer, commonly known as “redistribution,” is used widely by pianists today, though the practice has its critics. Some pianists contend that redistribution violates the composer’s intent and should be avoided. Other performers, especially those...
Autumn 2021: Book Reviews: Piano-Playing Revisited: What Modern Players Can Learn From Period Instruments by David Breitman
Autumn 2021; Vol. 13, No. 3
Warning: this book may lead to prolonged practicing and thorough reexaminations of one’s approach to Classical and early Romantic repertoire. It had this effect on me, and I believe it will have an impact on my playing and teaching henceforth. While reading the book, I...
Autumn 2021: Book Reviews: Hannabelle’s Butterflies by Charlene A. Ryan
Autumn 2021; Vol. 13, No. 3
This colorful storybook is for any young musician who has struggled with performance anxiety, who feels shy about sharing music with others, or who simply does not look forward to playing in recitals. The book tells the story of Hannabelle, a little girl who loves...
Autumn 2021: Questions & Answers
Autumn 2021; Vol. 13, No. 3
Q: I want to begin the new school year “on the right foot!” What are the most important things that I should prepare before my students return to lessons this fall? Happy New Year! While we’re used to hearing this greeting in late December/early January,...
Where Do We Begin?
Autumn 2021; Vol. 13, No. 3
Where do we begin in order to teach a new piece successfully, emphasizing the importance of musicality and expressive playing? Learning a new piece requires students to focus on a variety of musical elements, from figuring out the sound quality to reading the notes and mastering new...
Positive Recitals for Young Students: Setting the Stage for Success
Autumn 2021; Vol. 13, No. 3
A piano recital can be magical: an impressive venue, an elegant grand piano, polished musical performances, a beautiful reception, delicious refreshments, excited children, beaming parents, and a proud teacher. Although this setting may be thrilling for some, not everyone may share the same excitement. For...
When The Well is Dry: Reigniting the Spark for Teaching
Autumn 2021; Vol. 13, No. 3
“Carrie, you’re breaking the phrase right before the last note!” I call into my laptop. Carrie stops playing piano and then turns to squint into her camera with a confused look on her face. “You’re breaking the right-hand melody just before the G but the...
Luxuriant Piano Playing: A Wellness Principle
Autumn 2021; Vol. 13, No. 3
Carrying the proactive view into piano study, I would say that the physical enjoyment of playing is the key to a lifetime of pianistic wellness. Not just asking ourselves “was that correct?” or “was that what the teacher wanted?” but, far more importantly, “did that...
The Piano Magazine Lives On
January 2009; Vol. 1, No. 1
Let’s take this moment to celebrate the marriage of Clavier and Keyboard Companion. As these two magazines begin life as one, it is important to remember that Clavier Companion’s debut issue continues a long lineage of grand old piano magazines. Pianoforte, the first piano magazine, appeared in London in 1797. In that year...
Chopin and Pleyel
May 2010; Vol. 2, No. 3
Translated by Deana Shuman The first concert in Paris Chopin’s first concert in Paris (February 25th, 1832) played a determining role in the artist’s career, leading to his recognition as a composer and a pianist, providing him contacts with music publishers, opening the most influential salon doors to him, and thereby assuring...
Which Chopin?
May 2010; Vol. 2, No. 3
There have been numerous collected editions of Chopin’s music since his death, and few of them agree on anything. Why is this? The answer lies principally in the complexity of the source tradition, and I include under that heading both manuscript and early printed sources....
The life of Chopin (and autographed piano)
May 2010; Vol. 2, No. 3
The Chopin Foundation of the United States has in its possession a rare and unique item: a Pleyel piano with the autograph of Frederic Chopin. This well-traveled piano has touched many lives and resided in multiple countries, not unlike the man who signed it. As...
Robert Schumann and the art of musical composition
May 2010; Vol. 2, No. 3
Following hard on the heels of the Mendelssohn bicentenary, 2010 marks the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Robert Schumann (1810-1856), a composer who will surely garner his full share of symposia, concerts, and special events reassessing his place in the European canon. To a...
The Pedal Piano and the Schumanns
May 2010; Vol. 2, No. 3
In 1845, Robert Schumann wrote what are undoubtedly some of the most beautiful and enduring pieces of music for the pedal piano, his Six Etudes in Canon Form, Op. 56; Four Sketches, Op. 58; and Six Fugues on the Name B-A-C-H, Op. 60 (for organ or pedal piano). Schumann was an enthusiastic student of counterpoint, and his...
Eleventh chords in jazz and popular music
May 2010; Vol. 2, No. 3
There is a swath of New York’s Catskill Mountains, a two-to-three hour drive from Manhattan, that until recently was euphemistically known as the Borscht Belt. As a teenager I spent my summers playing in dance bands in the area’s resort hotels. The predominant clientele were middle-class Russian Jews-one of...