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Piano Inspires Discovery
A space dedicated to inspiring the love of piano and music making through educational and inspirational content.
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Five Things You Might Not Know About Margaret Bonds
Check out Sarah Rushing’s archived webinar of Margaret Bonds: Troubled Water, where she explores the preparation, practice, and interpretation of this unique piece. 1. Margaret Bonds was raised by four independent, career-oriented women. At the tender age of four, Bonds’s parents divorced. Instead of growing up in a traditional family structure, Bonds was raised by…
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This Week in Piano History: The Demise of Hanon
THIS WEEK IN PIANO HISTORY, we remember composer and organist Charles-Louis Hanon, who died on March 19, 1900 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. Author of the infamous collection The Virtuoso Pianist, Hanon is little known besides this work. Hanon was born in Renescure, a village in northern France. He learned to play organ and later moved to…
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Teaching Students to Love Classical Period Repertoire: Q&A with Suzanne Newcomb
Don’t miss Suzanne Newcomb’s Inspiring Artistry contribution about Beethoven’s Sonatina in G Major, which includes information on how to effectively teach the piece. Why is it important for students to learn Classical-period repertoire? What are some of the benefits? Classical-period repertoire represents the foundation of much of the piano music that follows it! Baroque composers…
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How To Travel to NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference without Breaking the Bank!
Register for NCKP: 2023! Click here to register. Having spent a good amount of the last 30 years zig-zagging the skies as a music technology consultant, I have personally experienced nearly every curveball air travel can toss my way. In all this time, through quite a bit of trial and error and by picking up…
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Five Things You Might Not Know About Claude Debussy
Check out Andy Villemez’s video of Debussy: La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin, L. 177/8 where he explores the preparation, practice, and interpretation of this unique piece. 1. When referring to his own music, Debussy hated the term “impressionism.” The life of most composers includes small, or even lengthy battles in how their music is…
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This Week in Piano History: The Birth of “Mr. Harmony”
THIS WEEK IN PIANO HISTORY, we celebrate the birth of composer Mario Ruiz Armengol, who was born on March 17, 1914. A Mexican composer, Ruiz Armengol wrote a number of important piano works including a sonata, the 31 Piezas para niños, and 12 Estudios. Ruiz Armengol was born into a large family in Veracruz, Mexico.…
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“Piano Inspires” Webinar: William Chapman Nyaho Interview
The Frances Clark Center was thrilled to welcome William Chapman Nyaho to our “Piano Inspires” Webinar series. Please enjoy his engaging conversation with Dr. Jennifer Snow, CEO of the Frances Clark Center, and we encourage you to join us for all of our upcoming webinars. https://pianoinspires.com/webinars/ In this installment of our Piano Inspires… series, Dr. Jennifer…
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Five Things You Might Not Know About Filip Lazăr
Check out Danny Milan’s video of Lazăr: Pièces minuscules pour les enfants, Op.16 where he explores the preparation, practice, and interpretation of this unique piece. 1. He was a founding member of the Society of Romanian Composers. Also known as the Romanian Composers’ Society (Societatea Compozitorilor Romani), this organization was founded by Romanian composers George…
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This Week in Piano History: National Black Women in Jazz and the Arts Day
Happy National Black Women in Jazz and the Arts Day! Created by the organization Black Women in Jazz, this day celebrates the remarkable impact of Black women in jazz and all the arts. Today, we are highlighting several Black women pianists and composers who have made special contributions to our field. Nina Simone, born February…
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Five Composers You Might Not Know Were Influenced by Indonesian Gamelan
We encourage you to watch Regina Tanujaya’s archived webinar here: “Piano Music by Composers of Asian Heritage, Part 2,” who’s joined by Chee-Hwa Tan and Li-Ly Chang, and Luis Sanchez. This webinar shares appealing and accessible piano teaching music by composers of Asian heritage. 1. Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Debussy first heard the gamelan at the…
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Five Things You Might Not Know About Cécile Chaminade
Don’t miss Angela Miller-Niles’s Inspiring Artistry contribution about Chaminade’s Aubade, which includes information on how to effectively teach the piece, all the way from preparation to performance. 1. She was the first woman to receive the Légion d’honneur in 1913. The Légion d’honneur is the highest French order of merit. At 56, Chaminade was enjoying…
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This Week in Piano History: The Concert with an Audience of Legends (Including Liszt, Mendelssohn, and Wieck!)
THIS WEEK IN PIANO HISTORY, Chopin had his premiere at the Salons de Pleyel in Paris on February 25, 1832.1 Chopin’s first concert after arriving in Paris, this debut marked one of the few times the Parisian public was able to hear Chopin’s performances. Chopin initially left Poland for a concert tour throughout Europe, but…
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Effectively Teaching Young Students: Q&A with Sara Ernst
We invited our followers to submit questions for Sara Ernst about effectively teaching young students to practice. Today, Sara is answering those questions! We encourage you to read Sara’s article, “Practicing Alongside Our Intermediate Students,” in the Winter 2022 issue of Piano Magazine. Additionally, enroll in our self-guided, online course titled The Beginner Course: Establishing…
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This Week in Piano History: The King of Etudes
THIS WEEK IN PIANO HISTORY, we celebrate the birth of pianist and composer Carl Czerny who was born on February 21, 1791. Although primarily known for his numerous etudes, Czerny was a prolific composer publishing over 800 works with opus numbers. Czerny was born into a middle class family in Vienna, Austria. His father, Wenzel…
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Five Ideas for Choosing a Spring Recital Theme
We encourage you to watch Holly Kessis’ archived webinar here: “Piano Inspires… Innovation in Practice“ with Igor Lipinski, Brianna Matzke, Joy Morin, Melody Ng, Jason Sifford, and Jennifer Snow. This webinar is a celebration of innovation in organizations, teaching practices, and teacher education. 1. Less is more. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with ideas, so…
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This Week in Piano History: The Ragtime “Scott” You Might Not Know
THIS WEEK IN PIANO HISTORY, we celebrate the birth of major ragtime composer James Sylvester Scott who was born on February 12, 1885. Scott produced a number of hits including Ophelia Rag, Frog Legs Rag, and Grace and Beauty. Originally from Neosho, Missouri, Scott was born to former slaves James Scott Sr. and Molly Thomas…
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What We Can Learn From Historical Pianos: Q&A with Charlotte Tang
We recently invited our followers to submit questions for Charlotte Tang about historical pianos. Today, Charlotte is answering those questions! We encourage you to watch Charlotte’s Inspiring Artistry repertoire video on teaching Scarlatti’s Sonata in D Minor, K. 213. Join us on social media for the opportunity to have your questions on a variety of…
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This Week in Piano History: The Pianist Who Could Crack a Joke
THIS WEEK IN PIANO HISTORY, we remember the debut of The Victor Borge Show on NBC-TV on February 3, 1951. Borge’s brilliant comedic routines brought humor to the classical music concert hall in ways previously not experienced. Born in Copenhagen, Borge’s musical studies with his parents, who were both musicians. His father supervised his early…
