Classical Piano Music!

Brain mapping has come far in the world and we can read a lot about recent research in this area. Scientists have for instance been able to map the mutual brain connections utilized in language development and musical training. A newly-charted region in the human brain, which so far has not been seen in other animals, may be responsible for extremely fine motor control such as our unique ability to play piano. Read more...

The annual international music festival celebrating the legacy of Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941) opened in Warsaw in late October and is now running for almost a month. This year the event also marks the centennial of national independence, which Poland regained after World War I. Piano Street's Patrick Jovell visited the festival in Warsaw and the Paderewski Birthday Celebration Concert. Read more...

Since the first edition of Boris Berman's Notes from the Pianist's Bench was published in 2000, it has been read by countless pianists, piano teachers, and piano students throughout the world. The book has been translated into several languages and adopted as a required text in universities and conservatories. Just recently, it was published in a second edition, available in both print and electronic formats. Piano Street's David Wärn met Mr. Berman at the Cremona Musica Piano Experience, to talk about the contents of the book, and about the changes and updates of the new edition. Read more...

The Concert Grand Piano, one of the most complex instruments of all time, is now in Lego form. Built entirely from 2798 authentic LEGO bricks, it accurately captures the mechanical details of a real piano. Read more...

The First World War showed no mercy to artists and many died or returned injured. The Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein lost his right arm on the battlefield and Maurice Ravel composed the "Piano Concerto for the Left Hand" for him. The piece was performed by Yuja Wang in a recent concert in Versailles, 100 years after the "Treaty of Versailles", in which the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra commemorated the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War. Read more...

Hubert Rutkowski's new CD is a portrait not only of Chopin, but of the composer's favourite instrument: Rutkowski plays a Pleyel piano from 1847. In his search for a genuine Chopin/Pleyel sound he has also turned to historical recordings of Raul Koczalski and Moritz Rosenthal, students of Karol Mikuli, who was in turn a student of Chopin himself. Read more...

Destination: Rachmaninov - Departure, the first installment of a two-part journey, explores Rachmaninov's Second and Fourth Piano Concertos. In his seventh title as an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist, Daniil Trifonov reunites with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the leadership of music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Read more...

"The Yellow Label", Deutsche Grammophon celebrates its 120th anniversary this year with events all around the globe. Today, November 6, pianist Lang Lang performs Mozart's C Minor Concerto in a live streamed gala concert in the Berlin Philharmonie. Read more...

2018-12-08"The so-called early music move­ment - music from the past played on instruments for which it was originally composed - had begun in the early 1960s. When I said I wanted to take up early piano, it was laughed at." Read more at scmp.com

2018-12-07"Uchida, born in the seaside town of Atami in 1948, left Japan when she was 12, for Austria, where her father was Japan's ambassador. "I'm a European. That's how I think of myself. Until I play in Tokyo and then I feel Japanese." Read more at theguardian.com

2018-12-06A new album is on the way from pioneering synthesist and composer Vangelis, featuring new piano compositions and piano arrangements of some previously released works. Read more at hhhhappy.com

2018-12-05Chang explained that he programmed "La Valse" as a prayer for peace, both the final moment on the program as well as on his album "Aleph", of which he donates 20% of the sales to UNICEF. Read more at tpr.org

2018-12-04"Over a decade ago, about 80 percent to 90 percent of our clients were institutional, but in recent years, the number of individual clients has been growing," Wei said. "Now the ratio is about half and half." Read more at chinadaily.com.cn

2018-12-03Pianist Evan Shinners takes over for the digital player piano and performs the works of J.S. Bach for any who wish to stop, sit and listen. Read more at fox5ny.com

2018-12-02"Worlds lie beyond piano keys: city sounds, cigarette smoke, skylines, and romance expressed between the downbeats in a cadenza the color of your eyes." Read more at vpr.net

2018-12-01Fibonacci numbers are present in the notes that make up musical scales. For example, the Pentatonic scale has five notes, the Diatonic scale has eight notes, and the Chromatic scale has thirteen notes. In addition, the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes in any scale create the basic foundation of chords. Read more at classicfm.com