World’s biggest piano helps funding an even bigger piano
Visit piano maker and experimentalist David Klavins’ workshop in Stuttgart and climb the stairs up to the world’s biggest piano: The Klavins-Piano Model 370 In October 1987 the Klavins-Piano Model 370 (370 cm high) was introduced to the public. Until today this instrument represents an absolute novum by several means, being an unique example of substantial progress on a field […]
Why is Debussy’s Clair de lune the most downloaded piece?
A challenge for both the intermediate pianist and the professional, Debussy’s Clair de lune seems to contain specific qualities which both instrumentalists and listeners find attractive. The piece, which is a part of the composer’s Suite Bergamasque, is the most downloaded piano score in Piano Street’s sheet music library. Due to its popularity it appears in many re-arranged versions for […]
Piano Street at the Music Education Expo 2015 in London
Music Education Expo takes place on March 12-13 2015 at The Barbican in London. It is the largest national music education conference and exhibition in the UK, and it’s completely free to attend if you register in advance. Piano Street will present new educational material at our stand D31 at the exhibition. We hope to see you there!
International Piano – March/April 2015
A new issue of the magazine International Piano is out! Swiss pianist Andreas Haefliger speaks to IP about Beethoven, Berio and his passion for kung fu; we discover how Hungary’s new instrument looks set to change the face of piano manufacturing; IP’s panel of experts reveal the secrets behind the art of accompanying; and your guide to 2015’s piano festivals. […]
How to Prepare for a Piano Competition – an Interview with Mariam Batsashvili
Soon after the 10th International Franz Liszt Competition Utrecht, Piano Street’s guest writer Alexander Buskermolen spoke to its most recent winner: the Georgian 21 year old pianist Mariam Batsashvili. The main theme for this interview with the first female winner of this particular competition in The Netherlands: how to prepare for a competition and what happens if you win? Mariam […]
Practicing Piano Helps Much More Than Just Musicianship
Many parents have told nearly innumerable children that “practicing builds character.” Even though those children scoffed at their parents, their mothers and fathers had more on their side than just an old platitude. Recent research from the University of Vermont College of Medicine has shown substantial correlative evidence that studying piano, and, by extension, practicing, not only produces boosts in […]
Medical Professionals See Irregular Heartbeat in Beethoven’s Music
Music is said to speak to the heart of both composers and listeners alike. Our tickers race along with the bracing strains of Mendelssohn’s “Italian Symphony,” while they throb slowly and reverently during the “Lachrymosa” from Mozart’s Requiem, K.626. A combined group of researchers from the University of Washington and the University of Michigan recently studied the music of Beethoven […]
New Piano Design for the Future
If Han Solo were going to sit in on keyboards with Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes in the Mos Eisley cantina, he might just prefer his 88 keys to be designed by this galaxy’s newest, and most forward-thinking, piano constructor, Gergely Bogányi. The Hungarian’s creation is constructed completely of carbon fiber and sits upon two sinuous legs designed to […]
Minimalist Philip Glass sought to maximize his piano-playing potential
By the time Philip Glass had decided to better himself as a pianist, he had already been a successful composer for almost 30 years. His music had been used in the Olympic Games and movies, and he had been a worthy successor to such seminal minimalist composers as Reich and Riley. The journey he began in 1994 covered the following […]
International Piano – January/February 2015
A new issue of International Piano is out! Content highlights: Jeremy Siepmann explores piano duos with some of the world’s leading exponents Cover story: The return of Ivo Pogorelich Mature pianists: The next generation of musical role models Cruise ships: Life on the open seas Piano partnerships, part four: Piano trios The Piano Etude: The evolution of the genre, in […]
Behind the Scenes of the Piano Puzzler
So, what is a Piano Puzzler? On the air every week, Bruce Adolphe re-writes a familiar tune in the style of a classical composer. One listener gets on the phone, and the caller listens to Bruce play his Piano Puzzler. They then try to do two things: name the hidden tune, and name the composer whose style Bruce is mimicking. […]
Top Picks of 2014
We wish all readers a Happy New Year with a list of highly recommended reading from Piano Street’s Classical Piano Blog. These are the 10 most read, discussed or shared articles of 2014: Yearly top lists: 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2013 Moonlight Trapped in the Sonata Form? How can we explain the immense popularity of the sonata […]