Comments for Piano Street's Classical Piano Blog

Comment on Breaking News: Mysterious Mozart Cadenza Identified! by Carlinton

Carlinton — Wed, 29 May 2013 03:48:41 +0000

This is great news! Mozart is a great composer and I love is work. Thank you Roberto for locating this piece. As time goes by, I am sure that more discoveries will be made as it relates to music, especially compositions for piano.

Thank you Piano Street for sharing!

Comment on FLAC — Better than MP3 For Classical Piano Music? by Erik B

Erik B — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:10:16 +0000

I was surprised to see this article was posted in March of THIS YEAR. Of COURSE Flac is better than mp3 as there is no LOSS in the encoding, therefore it sounds exactly like the wav from the ripped CD it came from.
This has been true for 12 years or so.
For giving someone a sample of a file or song, a mp3 can give a very good idea of real thing, personnaly I carry 320kbps versions of all my flac’s in my car and it does the job.
But when in front of my home speakers in the sweet spot, mp3’s quickly show their limits, especially in the high spectrum. But also in the “out of phase” contents of recordings. Once you’ve heard exactly how it appears in the mix, you’re always looking for it, and you find it.
For those who can, listen to a mp3 file in MONO and invert the phase or one channel, You’ll know exaclty what I mean.

Comment on Digital Piano Test with Simone Dinnerstein by Dave

Dave — Sat, 18 May 2013 18:40:49 +0000

I bought a Yamaha P96 keyboard a couple of years ago (less than $1,000) and I’ve found it useful for learning the notes/fingering, and for basic practicing with a headset. The music school I attend has Yamaha pianos and with a bit of practising on them at the school, I’ve been able to come up with some decent interpretations of some of Brahms’ intermezzos and the like. I don’t like listening to myself play when I’m still learning notes and fingering, so being able to turn down the volume (and use a headset) is great.

Comment on Hannes Minnaar: The Path to Becoming a Concert Pianist by Glenn Vanstrum

Glenn Vanstrum — Fri, 10 May 2013 22:23:39 +0000

Fascinating interview. Thanks, Nils.

Comment on Digital Piano Test with Simone Dinnerstein by William Boggs

William Boggs — Mon, 06 May 2013 17:54:29 +0000

I think the digital piano sounds ok compared to the real acoustic piano, but it still leaves a little out. With that being said, if you can afford the 15K pricetag you are probably not worried about it.

Comment on Digital Piano Test with Simone Dinnerstein by Marilyn Crosbie

Marilyn Crosbie — Wed, 01 May 2013 09:44:06 +0000

I agree with Simone about the superior sound of a good acoustic piano. However, I also agree that it is nice to be able to practice with a headset on.

Comment on Digital Piano Test with Simone Dinnerstein by David Brokaw

David Brokaw — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:19:45 +0000

The Yamaha AV N2 may be wonderful, but at $15,000 it is not what most people are in the market for. In addition, I have yet to find a music store that has a floor model to try out.

Comment on Practicing Perfection: Memory and Piano Performance by Andre Lavergne

Andre Lavergne — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:39:38 +0000

Hello piano Street.

What a great gift you make with: Practicing Perfection: Memory and Piano Performance
Je suis très heureux d’avoir accès à ce volume et je vous en remercie beaucoup.
Soyez certain que j’en ferai grand usage. J’espère seulement que la langue ne sera pas trop une contrainte pour moi.

Merci encore.

André Lavergne

Comment on Practicing Perfection: Memory and Piano Performance by Federico

Federico — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 02:06:28 +0000

One week. No more than 2 hours a day.

Comment on The Case of Ravel by Connie Huggins

Connie Huggins — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:07:34 +0000

Although I can consider myself little more than a dilettante in the music world (and at age 85 will probably never be more than that!) I was fascinated by your comments. Your association of musical ideas of a given period with its literary forms recalled a paper I wrote when I returned briefly to school in the late 1980’s, entitled “Gothic Architecture in Sound and Stone”, in which I compared the growth of music from monophony through polyphony with concurrent changes in architectural styles from Romanesque to Gothic. Not only the sound of the music, but its appearance on the written page proceeded almost hand in hand with the addition of ornate embellishments, particularly in religious architecture. I did not go beyond baroque and classical styles musically, but the movements through atonal music and the angular, disconnected architecture of later years certainly bears out the same idea.

I also found your statement, “interpretation is absolutely not an exact science and that what we ‘do’ today is partly to do with current tastes and fashions” to ring true. My father had a recording of Paul Whiteman conducting Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”, with the composer at the piano, performed in Carnegie Hall in the early 1930’s. Unfortunately, the record was broken during my last move, but I recall listening to it with astonishment: Gershwin’s interpretation of his own music was nothing like the performances we hear today.

Thanks for all your “food for thought.”