Pianist

Towards the end of this unusual summer I enjoyed listening to archive broadcasts of BBC Proms. One concert which had me on the edge of my seat was a 1997 Prom – the first solo piano recital in the festival’s history – given by Evgeny Kissin. It touch

www.pianistmagazine.com Warners Group Publications plc Director: Stephen Warner Publisher: Collette Lloyd Warners Group Publications 31-32 Park Row, 5th Floor, Leeds LS1 5JD Editor: Erica Worth [email protected] Tel: +44 (0)20 7266 0760 Edit

EMAIL: [email protected] WRITE TO: The Editor, Pianist, Warners Group Publications, 31-32 Park Row, Leeds, LS1 5JD. Letters may be edited. I was delighted to read about the EPTA Festivals project inside Pianist 113 [www.epta-uk.org]. I have

1 Think like a singer. Choose speeds, phrase shapes and pedalling to create inner lines that sound singable, and which avoid the appearance of disconnected melodic notes. 2 Hunt out inner voices. These may languish inconspicuously lower down in a sco

Bridge Miniature Pastorale No 2 (p43): For the first 16 bars, play the crotchet staccato chords very lightly to help focus the listener on the tune. Through bars 37-52, a similar effect is doable, though this will be harder to pull off because the me

Key C major Tempo Allegro moderato Style Late-Romantic Will improve your: ✔Hand-crossing technique ✔Articulation ✔Grace notes This light-hearted piece was written by American composer George W Chadwick. [There is more to read about Chadwick above the

Key F major Tempo Allegro/Andante Style Baroque Will improve your: ✔Non legato ✔Ornamentation ✔Use of dynamics Playing Baroque keyboard music on the piano can attract strong views. But only because performers have so many choices to make. The followi

Key A flat Tempo Andante tranquillo Style Romantic Will improve your: ✔Voicing of melody ✔Phrasing ✔Thumb agility This glorious piece began life as a Mendelssohn song. Called Auf Flügeln des Gesanges (On Wings of Song), the song is No 2 from the 6 Ge

‘Moving forward.’ Seldom will two words bring greater joy to piano teachers as they look forward, at long last, to their first face-to-face lessons with pupils. However, must we relish the possibility of shunning Zoom, Facetime and Skype for good as

It’s a fairly simple story. When I was a pupil at the Purcell School of Music, every year there was a spring piano course focusing on a particular area of the repertoire. Each student was assigned a piece and participated in masterclasses given by a

The smooth, glassy textures of this opening prélude, together with its nonchalant rhythmic scheme, instills a sense of serenity through its iterations. The melody, harnessed within the conffines of an octave, render it effectively a miniature study i

Well, this wasn’t something I ever intended to do at the outset, but was a gradual conviction. I always wanted to eventually record the major works and had at least a third of his oeuvre in my repertoire already. So after I recorded the Douze Etudes

1 Boost your concentration by structuring your practice sessions and setting achievable targets.2 Analyse and deconstruct technical difficulties rather than fudging them.3 Work on multiple pieces to keep your mind engaged.4 Challenge your brain by me

• Reading music and playing the piano enhances mood and quality of living, especially among older adults. Studies have reported less acute feelings of isolation, reduced anxiety and enhanced brain function.• The brain functions on a ‘use it or lose i

After the disastrous premiere of his First Symphony, Sergei Rachmaninov was plunged into a depression that lasted for three years. He suffered insomnia, lost his self-confidence and stopped composing. In desperation and on the recommendation of his a

If you or someone you know are affected by the issues raised in this story, you may find the following services helpful The NHS publishes an extensive A-Z of UK-based mental health charities that may be of help www.nhs.uk Anxiety UK provides therapy

Sally Cathcart Alfred Music ISBN: 9 781470 613440 (Bk 1); -613457 (Bk 2) Sally Cathcart is a piano teacher, ABRSM examiner, and co-founder of The Curious Piano Teachers, an online community for piano teachers. These two workbooks aimed at young begin