Transcriptions and paraphrases played an important part in shaping Liszts role as leading musical figure of his generation.
The first pianist to play the entire range of the keyboard repertory from Bach to Chopin, his historical curiosity and ambitions did not stop there. He transcribed both famous and less well known vocal and orchestral [...]
Contrary to their name, the four scherzos are not light-hearted compositions, and the first three, in particular the Scherzo in B minor, have very strong dramatic accents.
The first and last make the most of the ternary form, with extreme contrasts between the outer sections, full of restless motion, and the melodious middle episodes. [...]
From Mozarts fabulous legato that flowed like oil to Beethovens oceanlike surge, from Clara Schumanns touch sharp as a pencil sketch to Rubinsteins volcanic and sensual playing, The Great Pianists brings to life the brilliant, stylish, and sometimes eccentric personalities, methods, and technical peculiarities of historys greatest pianists. Pulitzer Prizewinning (1971) critic (New [...]
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PIANISM by Aiko Onishi, CreateSpace, 2009, 134 pp.
Distinguished pianist and pedagogue Aiko Onishi sums up her wide-ranging knowledge about the piano and music-making in Piansim.
What other source describes the different physical gestures required to produce so many different kinds of sound? not just singing tones, [...]
A legend among pianists of the twentieth century, Artur Schnabel (April 17, 1882 August 15, 1951) was an Austrian pianist, who also composed and taught. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura. Among the 20th centurys most respected and most important pianists, he displayed a vitality, profundity and [...]
Continue Reading →by Elyse Mach (Vols. 1 2, 1980, 1988, on Dover as a single volume 1991)
Introduction by Sir Georg Solti. Over 50 black and white photos are included.
Revealing, candid thoughts about themselves, their careers, music they play, life of a concert pianist. Machs interviews will enhance the pleasure of any concertgoer. People [...]
Continue Reading →The series of recordings of Bachs Well Tempered Clavier with pianist Martin Sturflt continues. This new installment includes the masterful opening of the second set, Prelude and Fugue no 1 in C major, along with two from the first set; the expressive and introspective no. 18 in G-sharp minor and the large scale concertante Prelude [...]
Continue Reading →Being produced to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Chopins birthday, The Flying Machine takes the eternally fascinating and affecting tudes, and crafts a celebration of the role that music and dance play in our lives, especially in our first pre-teen steps into the adult world.
The premier was a one-off film event at the [...]
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