Classical Piano Music!

We start the new year with a list of highly recommended reading from Piano Street. These are the 12 most read, discussed or shared articles of 2018. Read more...

The celebration of the holidays is not complete around NPR without the sounds of a jazz piano sprinkling joy and good cheer. This year’s intergenerational program of accomplished pianists reflects both the history of the music and its future. Read more...

As a collaborating partner, Piano Street is proud to present the first issue of ”The World of Piano Competitions”, a new magazine initiated by PIANIST Magazine (Netherlands and Germany) and its Editor-in-Chief Eric Schoones. Here we get a rich insight into the world of international piano competitions through the eyes of its producers and participants. Contributing Editors: Gustav Alink (Alink-Argerich Foundation), Stuart Isacoff, Patrick Jovell (Piano Street), Mario-Felix Vogt, KaJeng Wong. Piano Street is happy to share this first issue with our readers free of charge! Read more...

Sabine Liebner’s unfaltering decision to only play music to which she feels an inner affinity has led to her being primarily active as an interpreter of new music. She has premiered many works by contemporary composers and made important contributions performing and recording the music of 20th century composers like John Cage, Morton Feldman and Galina Ustvolskaya. For Liebner, music making is the solitary exploration of unknown terrain. She tries to listen to a score with no preconceptions, to discover its innate musical language. The results are often intriguing, and can sometimes even prove addictive, as in her recording of Stockhausen’s Klavierstücke I-XI. Read more...

A rare item that belonged to Glenn Gould has sold at auction in New York on December 5th for $100,000 US. The score of Bach’s Goldberg Variations contains the Canadian pianist’s detailed markings used while making his iconic 1981 recording of the piece. Read more...

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...

2019-01-23"I explain how the piano works, how reading music works," says Connick. "I take people from as basic as it possibly gets, and walk them through some fundamental concepts of playing, through intermediate and advanced concepts." Read more at usatoday.com

2019-01-23"Lang Lang has also chosen pieces which hold particular resonance in specific cultures, such as Sweden's Limu, limu, lima and the popular Chinese Jasmine Flower. He says, "The folk songs from around the world that I encountered on my travels are another reason why this album is of such personal importance."" Read more at prnewswire.com

2019-01-22"Another important general point is that of pedalling. There is a tendency to over pedal when playing Chopin and blur the nuances of the pieces; especially in those technically more demanding passages. This must be avoided." Read more at cmuse.org

2019-01-22Of course, it is a matter of taste. Piano concertos occupy a special place in pianists' hearts, bringing both orchestral grandeur and power as well as the soft and intimate sounds of chamber music. Read more at classical-music.com

2019-01-21Composer and pianist R. Nathaniel Dett was the first African-American to graduate from the prestigious Oberlin Conservatory in 1908. Read more at wrti.org

2019-01-20TianQi (Angel) recently visited IPR's Studio A, where she performed music by Beethoven and Chopin. Read more at interlochenpublicradio.org

2019-01-19"This will be my only Liszt album, at least for the next few years; I'll be continuing the Rachmaninov cycle, both the solo piano works and the concerti, but apart from that my next big project is the complete Beethoven concerti with Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic." Read more at prestomusic.com

2019-01-18The first China International Music Competition will be held in Beijing from May 4 to 21, 2019. Twenty outstanding contestants from around the world, ages 17 to 28, have accepted the invitation to participate. Read more at pianistmagazine.com