Piano Street visited Cremona last weekend to meet with Italian and international pianists and piano brand representatives at the Piano Experience. Read more...

In Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No.1, Faust gets seduced by Mephistopheles’ intoxicating violin playing on a wedding at the village inn. Hear it performed by Valentina Lisitsa in this new video. Read more...

Daniel Barenboim describes music as different from human interaction through speech. If two people cross talk each other, then neither understands the other. Conversation only works if one talks and one listens and then switch roles. In music, the conversation isn’t verbal, so each participant’s voice is heard and understood at the same time. Hear him explain this musical principle. Read more...

British pianist Stephen Hough addressed the issue of shrinking and ageing classical music audiences. Admitting that it’s a complicated issue, and acknowledging that many ideas have been floated – better education, more creative repertoire, lower pricing etc – he went on to focus on one of the more practical aspects of the subject: the intermission. Read more...

The rare combination of Yuja Wang and famous drummer and multi-percussionist Martin Grubinger performed together at the Concert Hall of NCPA in Beijing on August 18th. In this exceptional and particular formation, a special version of Bartók’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion was presented along with “One Study One Summary” by John Psathas. Read more...

ABRSM has released a new Piano syllabus for candidates taking exams in 2017 and 2018. The syllabus offers a broad selection of inspiring pieces that have been carefully selected to offer variety and new challenges to teachers and learners alike. It features a range of works from composers from around the world. Read more...

When Johannes Brahms was celebrated in Malmö, Sweden, legendary pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja played both piano concertos at the very same concert. Piano Street talked to Ms. Leonskaja after one of the rehearsals. Read more...

The Piano Street team would like to say a special thank you to all piano fans around the world who like us on Facebook, where our page has recently passed 20,000 likes! Read more...

2016-10-21Edison famously said he never failed; he just did it wrong 10,000 times. In this case, we musicologists and audiophiles can rejoice that he succeeded on the 10,001st try with the Edison phonograph. Imagine hearing a recording of Tchaikovsky's voice! Read more at classicfm.com

2016-10-18If you play in Vienna, you'll be in the greatest concert hall on Earth. If you play in the Sydney Opera House, despite it's world-famous looks, you'll be in nearly the worst. Even great performers sound poor in poor halls. As time goes on, however, more and more audience members than ever before are developing a keen ear for what they like, and acoustic designers are taking what they have to say very seriously when either building a new hall or renovating an old one. Read more at businessinsider.com

2016-10-20Jorg Widmann drew on the inexorability of the second movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in Eb when he composed his 'Trauermarsch'. He was obsessed with the work. The German composer also took a page from Percy Grainger's playbook from 'Hill Song No. 2', which is a musical stream of consciousness. Widmann composed at a furious rate until the piece emerged as a 'Funeral March'. Read more at wbur.org

2016-10-19Clara Schumann, the wife of famous composer Robert Schumann, was at least his equal as a musician. During her life, she had a greater effect on the world of music than her husband not only because she outlived him by 50 years but also because she was a great teacher as well as pianist. The Birmingham Conservatory has within its walls one of Clara's pianos. Because it lacks a serial number, it was probably custom built for her. Read more at birminghampost.co.uk

2016-10-17The laureates of the major international piano competitions are lifted up as the paragon to which all up-and-coming artists should aspire. Many performers, however, citing such claims as partisan judging, backroom deals, and the unrelenting pressure on the musicians, are angry that there is no other method of discovering talent. Read more at pianosao.com

2016-10-16In the Townsend family, music has always been center stage. From Tom Townsend playing keyboard in garage bands in his youth to his late son's fascination with both the piano and the drum set, the world of music enriched the family's lives. After Alex Townsend died in a car wreck six years ago, Tom began to give away instruments in an effort to help others discover music, which was important to Alex. Read more at people.com

2016-10-15Glenn Gould brought Bach into the public consciousness in 1955 with his youthful, devil-may-care recording of the 'Goldberg Variations'. Even he, however, acknowledged the problems associated with playing Bach on the piano, where intricacies of voice leading get lost around middle-C. The harpsichord, with its sound resembling, as Beecham put it, 'two skeletons copulating on a corrugated tin roof', allowed such voice leading to speak more clearly than it does on the piano. Read more at spectator.co.uk

2016-10-14It's not just Birkin bags or Charles David shoes that beget knockoffs. In a world where new Steinway pianos can run into the six figures, restored Steinways can be a wise investment. There are some unscrupulous restorers, however, who use after-market parts of dubious quality, which results in there being a lot of Steinways that are no longer Steinways. Read more at wsj.com