With hot summer sun, flowers and bumblebees showing up, let’s enjoy an inspirational clip from the Oscar award-winning film “Shine“. Arguably, this scene shines the brightest of them all. Australian pianist David Helfgott was the subject of the 1996 Oscar-awarded film Shine, which dealt with the pianist’s formative years and struggle with mental illness. He became known as a child […]

“There’s never been a time when improvisation was given the respect it deserves. By virtue of the holistic quality of it, it takes everything to do it. It takes real time, no editing possible. It takes your nervous system to be on alert for every possible thing in a way that cannot be said for any other kind of music.” […]

In February 2013 at the invitation of star conductor Christian Thielemann, the legendary Italian pianist Maurizio Pollini returned after almost 25 years to the Dresden Staatskapelle and gave his first performance at the Dresden Semperoper ever. The celebrated, 70-year-old pianist played Brahms’ 1st Piano Concerto in D minor, Op. 15. The interpretation in this unforgettable ARTE broadcast was honored by […]

Concert pianist Simone Dinnerstein shows you what to look for in a digital piano by putting a handful of models to the test.

Pianist András Schiff’s latest recording was nominated for Grammy and gained international attention because of its lack of using the sustain pedal. In this interview Schiff explains and demonstates his ideas on this widely discussed topic on how to play J. S. Bach’s music, and more specifically, the “Well Tempered Clavier” (BWV 846-893) on a modern piano. Hear samples at […]

British concert pianist Joyce Hatto had a breakdown on stage in 1976 and did not play again in public for 25 years. In her late 70s, she apparently made a miraculous comeback. She was playing complete cycles of Rachmaninoff concertos, Mozart sonatas, Beethoven sonatas, Liszt Transcendental Etudes, and many other compositions. She was hailed as the greatest British pianist of […]

The new year is rapidly approaching, so before the end of the Debussy-year 2012 we should take the chance to watch this film by Anthony Tobin, celebrating the genius of Debussy. It was shown by G. Henle Verlag during the Frankfurt Musik Messe, 2012, in connection with their release of three volumes of the complete piano works of Debussy. “The […]

Now in its 14th season, Carnegie Hall’s Perspectives series is an artistic initiative in which select musicians are invited to explore their own musical individuality and create their own personal concert series through collaborations with other musicians and ensembles. When asked to be a 2011–2012 Perspectives artist, pianist András Schiff was adamant about one thing: He wanted to focus on […]

G. Henle Publishers produced some unique and educational videos that will give you a insight into the traditional craft of music engraving, a process employed by Henle up until the 1990s. This movie was filmed in the year 2007 and produced in 2011 for NAMM and G. Henle Publishers, directed by Martin Marris. Henle still employ a variety of techniques […]

French composer Olivier Messiaen was a synaesthete who experienced colours when he heard or imagined music. He devised his own system of modes (scales) based on his synaesthesia and in some scores he actually notated the colours, to help the performer in interpretation. Here is a unique video clip from one of his famous classes at the Paris Conservatoire. A […]

Hedonist and altruist at the same time, favorite of the gods and philanthropist, melancholic and sanguine serious artist, a gifted musician and brilliant pianist, egomaniac and family pet. Arthur Rubinstein, a great character and great cosmopolitan, a man who loved life, the music and the people so much. The recent documentary film (2010) about the life and work of Arthur […]

In an age where Lady Gaga can sell hundreds of millions of albums and yet a CD of Beethoven sells a few thousand at best, Stephen Fry hosted this special event in the Barbican Hall, London, to discuss the role and perceived decline of classical music in today’s society and what can be done to keep its spirit alive. Author […]