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...

2018-12-14Join the Kennedy Center and NPR for this annual holiday tradition highlighting jazz pianists and their favorite seasonal music. This year, Jason Moran will be joined by Booker T. Jones and James Francies, among others. Read more at npr.org

2018-12-13 Pianist Claire Huangci dedicates herself to Sergei Rachmaninoff's 24 Preludes in her latest release. Hear and see his famous C-sharp minor Prelude Op. 3 No. 2, from her highly acclaimed album. Watch now at youtube.com

2018-12-12"The tremendous achievement of Schiff's lecture-recitals lies in pulling Beethoven back to earth, and into the workshop - where the pianist's craft is as joyous to observe as that of the composer he interrogates." Read more at newyorker.com

2018-12-11Musical Merchandise Review reveal their Dealers' Choice Awards for 2018. Read more at worldpianonews.com

2018-12-10"We spend so much time getting it right, but it's important to reconnect to the message of the music. I have to remind myself, and my students, that there's such a thing as too much practice." Read more at sfcv.org

2018-12-09Tempo Rubato is a potent factor in musical oratory, and every interpreter should be able to use it skillfully and judiciously, as it emphasizes the expression, introduces variety, infuses life into mechanical execution. Read more at interlude.hk

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"Mitsuko 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