Anthony Tommassini, classical music critic for The New York Times, invites us all to a mini-lecture at the piano on dissonance. With a series of examples by well known composers, Tommassini elaborates on one of the most crucial components in Western music. Two or more notes sounding together in such a fashion as to create great tension are said to […]

Let’s go to New York City. After letting her finish her coffee we can hear Yuja Wang, not at the usual Steinway showroom in Manhattan where most pianists pick pianos for their performances, but on the floor at the Steinway and Sons factory in Astoria, Queens. National Public Radio (NPR) chose the most natural setting for any pianist interested in […]

Many are names of things we hold dear. An enigmatic musical poet, world- renowned pianist Glenn Gould continues to captivate years after his untimely death in 1982. Gould followed his sensational 1955 New York City concert debut at the age of 22, by taking his talent to the Soviet Union and became an equally prodigious star there, in the midst […]

Chopin revolutionised the nature of piano music composed both technically and emotionally but the actual musical instrument that provided his greatest source of inspiration was the female voice. Other important parts of Chopin’s inspiration came from the women in his life. For 10 years, George Sand exerted her powerful influence on him, and he also gleaned much from listening to […]

When NPR invaded Jeremy Denk’s home he was seriously practicing the piano etudes of György Ligeti. His music is “continuous madness,” Denk says. “Wonderful, joyful madness.” Denk has a great talent for making you fall in love with the most complex music, letting it sound completely natural. He admits, “I’m atuned to the weirdnesses. I guess that’s something I like […]

A highly regarded pianist featured in the Philips label’s Great Pianists of the 20th Century series, Stephen Kovacevich is particularly known for his thoughtfulness, re-creative intensity and original artistic approach. In 1959, Kovacevich went to London, where he studied with Dame Myra Hess. A highly influential teacher, Hess recognized and encouraged Kovacevich’s affinity with Beethoven’s music. His numerous and acclaimed […]

The recent discovery of a new portrait of J. S. Bach opens up to the question: if we can see Bach with new eyes, how can we listen to Bach with new ears? One of the most remarkable contributions to the idea that there is a world of Bach on the piano after Glenn Gould is the recording of three […]

Steinway & Sons recently announced that Vladimir Horowitz’s legendary Steinway Model D continues its tour through 2014. This is a unique chance for the public to see, hear and even play the master’s favorite instrument – the Steinway CD 503 – used on his tours during his last years 1985-89. The CD 503 has a very light and extremely touch-sensitive […]

To mark the one-year anniversary of the death of legendary pianist Van Cliburn, the Fort Worth-based foundation that bears his name hosted The Van Cliburn Memorial Concert in Sundance Square Plaza on February 27. In the first event of its kind, eight former Cliburn Competition award winners performed short solo recitals on the outdoor stage of the plaza in downtown […]

“You can keep your Lang Langs, your Yuja Wangs, your Evgeny Kissins… I’d swap their collective virtuosity for one evening of Arcadi Volodos’s consummate pianism. To my mind, he has produced nothing finer on disc than this live recital, captured in Vienna last spring.” — Gramophone Magazine Volodos in Vienna is a recital album by Arcadi Volodos recorded live at […]

In this 3 minute interview Yuja Wang tells us, among other things, the secret of her harmony between fingers and spirit: Interview video Interview Yuja Wang & Joshua Bell play Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata, 3rd mvt. Watch the 2013 Verbier Festival concerts in free replay on medici.tv!

“… one of the few musicians in the world today who could accurately be described as legendary.” — The Times Daniel Barenboim marked his new affiliation with Decca and Deutsche Grammophon labels in 2010 with four releases. Two releases on DG were devoted to Chopin: a solo recital recorded in Warsaw, with Waltzes, a Polonaise, a Fantasia, a Nocturne and […]