A wonderous pianistic display of female artists and piano jazz styles, NPR presents A Jazz Piano Christmas – the annual holiday tradition featuring four celebrated jazz pianists performing their favorite seasonal music. Winner of the Kennedy Center’s Mary Lou Williams Jazz Piano Competition Helen Sung and 2018 NEA Jazz Master Joanne Brackeen return to the Terrace Theater, along with Brazilian […]

A new issue of the magazine International Piano is out! Bertrand Chamayou explores the mystery and spirituality of Liszt, Debussy and Ravel; German manufacturer Steingraeber & Söhne puts the piano back into fortepiano; Australian pianist Piers Lane on turning 60; and is it ethical to release discarded recordings? Plus, scaling the heights at the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in […]

A new issue of the magazine International Piano is out! Louis Lortie waxes lyrical about great pianists of the past while continuing to experiment with repertoire, old and new; Ivan Ilić rediscovers the music of Czech-French composer Antoine Reicha; the musical repercussions of Russia’s 1917 Revolution; and is there such a thing as a ‘Nordic style’ of piano playing? Plus, […]

Cremona again marked its presence as the world capital of instrumental music exhibitions with the 2017 edition of the Cremona Musica which combined top level artists, manufacturers, academia and pedagogy. With 180 programmed events during three days (September 29 until October 1), Cremona Musica covers every aspect of the interacting and delicate zones where the market, competence and public get […]

What could you possibly do if you were bored with your life in former East Germany? Well, with the right motivation you could start collecting data about pianos and their makers. Growing up in East Germany, Jens Witter first learned to love piano music because his father played for the Central German Broadcasting station. While working in a piano factory […]

Strangely enough, it would be quite easy to attend piano recitals for years and never hear a note of Sibelius. Now Norwegian pianist Leif-Ove Andsnes makes an adventurous raid into Sibelius’ native Finland and want us to change that. It is not surprising that his playing is immaculately detailed and sympathetic. The Finnish master wrote over 150 works for piano, […]

A new issue of the magazine International Piano is out! Boris Giltburg explores how his Russian roots have deeply influenced his cultural and artistic outlook, and explains why the music of Rachmaninov never fails to move him; we catch up with pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy as he celebrates his 80th birthday; and the development of piano music and pianism […]

A new issue of the magazine International Piano is out! Canadian virtuoso Marc-André Hamelin shares his passion for rare repertoire and explains why it’s important to understand the mechanics of music; celebrating the achievements of pianist-composers; Andrew Brownell introduces his new edition of Hummel’s Concerto in A minor; and Beethoven’s mighty Hammerklavier on disc. Plus, how to practice scales and […]

For the first time in the history of The Cliburn Competition, semifinalists were required to perform a Mozart concerto. This was not only based on the fact that the Cliburn Foundation’s CEO Jacques Marquis is a classical concerto fan, but rather from the aim of judging how competitors show musical maturity and the delicate world of the Austrian master. As […]

The final round of quadrennial Van Cliburn Competition kicked off on Monday. This year, there have been a few changes in the competition. There was and will be, of course, plenty of aggressive and loud playing. There will be technical brilliance and a certain flair. One might hope that there would also be some introspective greatness, too, but “lots of […]

Sir András Schiff’s eloquence as a teacher and profound insights as a thinker about music make his Masterclass sessions irresistible to participants and audiences alike. Through the course of this event an outstanding young musician, chosen by Sir András himself, will explore some of the repertoire featured in the previous evening’s concert. Los Angeles Times recently hailed Schiff for his […]

A new issue of the magazine International Piano is out! Beatrice Rana, one of the brightest lights in a new generation of young stars, speaks to International Piano about her love of Bach’s Goldberg Variations; Bechstein’s new CEO brings energy and investment to the German piano-maker; our repertoire guide to Liszt’s otherworldly Bénédiction on disc; and Maurizio Pollini at 75. […]