Piano Street’s Top Picks of 2025

We wish you a Happy New Year with a list of highly recommended reading from Piano Street. These are the most read, discussed or shared articles of 2025.

/The Piano Street Team

When Practice Stagnates – Breaking the Performance Ceiling: Robotic Training for Pianists

“Practice makes perfect” is a common mantra for any pianist, but we all know it’s an oversimplification. While practice often leads to improvement, true perfection is elusive.
But according to recent research, a robotic exoskeleton hand could help pianists improve their speed of performing difficult pianistic patterns, by overcoming the well-known “ceiling effect”. Read more >>

Pianist Ruth Slenczynska at 100 – A Unique Musical Messenger!

Ruth Slenczynska, one of the most mesmerizing pianists alive today, celebrates her 100th birthday on January 15, 2025. A former child prodigy, her nine-decade career represents a living link to the Golden Age of the Piano, embodying its spirit through her artistry, her lineage, and her role as a keeper of its traditions. Read more >>

Happy 150th Birthday, Maurice Ravel!

March 7 2025, marks the 150th birthday of Maurice Ravel. Piano Street presents a collection of material and links to resources for you to enjoy in order to commemorate the great French composer. Read more >>

Watch the Chopin Competition 2025 with us!

Great news for anyone who loves Chopin’s music! Piano Street’s Chopin Competition tool now includes all 1,848 recorded performances from the Preliminary Round to Stage 3. Dive in and listen now! Read more >>

The Memories of a Piano – 80 Years After the Atomic Bomb

“Akiko’s piano” survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and has featured in concert performances, films, and special events, conveying its message of peace. Now, 80 years after the bomb killed its owner, it has also participated in the Hiroshima premiere of the play Borrowed Landscape. Read more >>

The Quiet Revolutionary of the Piano – Fauré’s Complete Piano Works Now on Piano Street

In the pantheon of French music, Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) often seems a paradox—an innovator cloaked in restraint, a Romantic by birth who shaped the contours of modern French music with quiet insistence. Piano Street now provides sheet music for his complete piano works: a body of music that resists spectacle, even as it brims with invention and brilliance. Read more >>

A New Kind of Piano Competition

Do piano competitions offer a good, fair, and attractive basis for a complete pianist and musician? In today’s scene, many competition organizers have started including additional elements for judging with a focus on preparing the competitor for a real, multifaceted musical life that reaches beyond prize money and temporary fame. Ralf Gothóni, the creator of a new kind of piano competition in Shanghai, shares his insights with us. Read more >>

Argerich-Alink’s Piano Competitions Directory – 2025 Edition

In today’s crowded music competition landscape, it’s challenging for young musicians to discern which opportunities are truly worthwhile. The new 2025 edition of the Argerich-Alink Foundation’s comprehensive guide to piano competitions, provides valuable insights and inspiration for those competing or aspiring to compete, but also for anyone who just wants an updated overview of the global piano landscape. Read more >>

From Sacile to Symphony Halls: The Fazioli Phenomenon

For Paolo Fazioli, music isn’t just a profession – it’s a calling. In connection with the introduction of Fazioli’s new model F198 and the presentation of The Cremona Musica Award 2024, we had the opportunity to get an exclusive interview with the famous instrument creator and award winner. Read more >>

The Piano Taking Center Stage at the 2025 Verbier Festival

For piano lovers, the Verbier Festival 2025 again shaped up to be a dream come true. This summer, the festival was rolling out one of its most interesting piano lineups yet, blending household names, rising stars, and even a little jazz for good measure. This compilation video provides a captivating glimpse into the festival’s diverse performances, featuring 20 minutes of piano excellence. Read more >>

The Many Voices of Alfred Brendel

Alfred Brendel, the Czech-born Austrian pianist, essayist and poet, died peacefully at age 94 on June 17, 2025, in London. Celebrated for his deeply intellectual interpretations of Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert and Liszt, he reshaped classical performance with clarity, wit and literary flair. His legacy endures through recordings, writings and mentorship. Read more >>

Women and the Chopin Competition: Breaking Barriers in Classical Music

The piano, a sleek monument of polished wood and ivory keys, holds a curious, often paradoxical, position in music history, especially for women. While offering a crucial outlet for female expression in societies where opportunities were often limited, it also became a stage for complex gender dynamics, sometimes subtle, sometimes stark. From drawing-room whispers in the 19th century to the thunderous applause of today’s concert halls, the story of women and the piano is a narrative woven with threads of remarkable progress and stubbornly persistent challenges. Read more >>

The World of Piano Competitions – issue 2 2025

The World of Piano Competitions magazine is a well-established reference for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of today’s international classical piano landscape. In this new issue, Chopin stands at the centre — not merely as the focus of a competition, but as a celebration of a unique musical legacy. Read more >>

New Piano Market Statistics: Inside the Quiet Transformation of Piano Playing

For those of us who spend our lives on the bench — whether teaching, practicing for a recital, or simply playing for the love of it – the piano has always been a singular concept: wood, felt, strings, and soul. Yet, recent global market reports reveal that the definition of our instrument is expanding and evolving in ways that affect us all. Read more >>

Bringing Florence Price Back to Life: An Inside Look with Pianist Han Chen

A new recording of Florence Price’s Piano Concerto shines new light on the pioneering composer’s legacy. In this interview, Piano Street talks to pianist Han Chen, who reflects on Price’s fusion of Romantic and African American idioms, and the personal journey of interpreting her music for modern audiences. Read more >>

The Crucible of Keys: A Century of Glory and Grit at the Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition

The piano world is buzzing with excitement this summer. As we predicted, recent media channels have been dominated by news and updates from three of the world’s most prestigious piano competitions: Chopin, Cliburn, and Queen Elisabeth. In its recent issue, the magazine “The World of Piano Competitions” dedicated a special feature to the Queen Elisabeth Competition Read more >>