World of Beethoven videos

[bronnestam]

My friend and piano idol Per has an outstanding technique and he is the best Beethoven interpreter I have ever heard. He started to play 40 years ago, at the age of six, made his official concert debut at 12 with the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, and today he lives in the U.S. and performs with all the great orchestras and conductors all over the world.
Most concert pianist stars seem to teach mainly master class students on an advanced level, but Per gives valuable guidance also for stupid amateurs like me, about things that are often quite overlooked. Here is the new Vimeo site with some brand new videos, both Beethoven pieces and instruction videos.

This is an opportunity not to miss. Enjoy!

https://vimeo.com/user29797356

[toughbo]

Love it, thanks!

[keypeg]

Bronestamm, thank you for posting this.  I'm working on exactly these kinds of things with my teacher.  I was self-taught and have a host of things to undo and redo.  The (2nd?) video where he drops the arm - that is actually something I did at some point.  It's not just about "arm weight", but if you are constantly "holding up" your arm, it gets tiring.

There is something that I'd like to see addressed - dunno how to comment directly there.  Namely:
- He has the body and the arm, with arm weight and the rest, and (typically) it is shown through chords.
- In another video he gets into finger action, and also the motion and role of the thumb.

What I would like to see is a video where he combines BOTH together.  When you play a scale, you don't just use the fingers - something is happening with the arm mechanism, i.e. some of what he demonstrates using chords, are also at play for these fingery things.

In fact, where he has the thumb exercise, you will see his elbow subtly going in and out: there are micromovements.  These are very important, because if we try to hold the arm still and only move the fingers or thumb, something is going to lock up.  Also, our fingers are an extension of the arm.  There is a danger that someone watching the video will try to do just that -- move the thumb in such an exercise, and not allow the natural motion that should occur.

In the opening video, where he plays music, you can see all those motions working together.

[bronnestam]

Thanks, I will forward your posting to him. We had contact recently because I had some ideas for upcoming videos and he said he planned to record some new ones this weekend ... aaand plans often change there, I know.    But still.

I once asked him why he sometimes do some, what I thought, excessive movements with his fingers and he said it is a way to resolve tensions.

[bronnestam]

Amendment: I forwarded your posting as I said and I got a quick reply. He said that your feedback was very good and worth considering and it might a video about this soon - he is making some new videos this weekend, confirmed! 
But for this particular thumb exercise you should try not to have a physical movement in the elbow, that is, just a minimal one. This goes for this exercise only.


So, stay tuned ... As I said before, he has got raving reviews from all over the world for his outstanding technique, so getting this opportunity for free is quite awesome.