Great Pianists #1 Vladimir Horowitz

First movement

Mozart Concerto #23 in A major: K. 488 click on that to see Horowitz play the second movement

It's interesting to me how the personality of Vladimir Horowitz takes his own immense talent (and that of all the composers he plays) so matter-of-factly. His fingers play all the dark and intense moments and all the joyful moments of music with all the emotion you love to hear, but you notice he does not wear the emotions all over the rest of him. He always seems happy and his inner musician doesn't project inner turmoil, like the following: "Inner Turmoil #1" and "Inner Turmoil # 2". He doesn't distance the listener by trying to project his introversion on you: he likes the approbation of anyone who will give him a little compliment (In the end of the first clip of this post to the page turner: "See, wasn't that good? Did you like that?" he seems to ask him) He gives that cute little wave to his wife, Wanda, in the beginning and she, as usual looks none too impressed. He is one of those rock solid piano greats. No Introverted Tortured Soul here. Just Magic.

Music Education #6 Supporting Young Musicians

Children don't have to be analyzed or asked about whether they are willing to work or if they are talented prior to starting lessons. That's like asking a seed if it wants to grow. Just put it in the right environment and feed it. It grows.

I really am thankful for how my parents handled my musical development. They put me in the environment, then gave me a good balanced kind of support. Nothing too wildly enthusiastic (which kids may distrust) and always patient and loving. Nothing too hard core, either- I didn't feel like I was fulfilling their pride, or the embodiment of their dream. It was a relief to me knowing that they were enjoying what I was doing and felt no pressure from them except for reminders to practice if they thought I was forgetting. My Mom would remind me every day to practice until the days came where she would start saying, look, can you do something else now, you've been practicing for four hours...

My parents paid for everything and that is a LOT. For YEARS. Lessons for Piano and Violin, and Orchestra. Instruments, maintenance, tuning, gas and time. And what to them was probably noise pollution: putting up with repeating my favorite (highly dissonant) sections of Ginastera, Shostakovich and Prokofiev 37 times in a row.

I am glad my parents protected me by not embarrassing me by exposing my faults to my teachers right in front of me. What children overhear about themselves can really mark them in their own minds. I never heard my mom bragging about me except that once someone asked her, "Is your daughter talented?" and she answered "Yes." I always remembered that. If I overheard her tell people I was lazy, I probably would have acted more that way. Probably my mom doesn't know this story, but once when I was eight years old I got in a fight with a strong five year old whose seven year old brother was watching and egging him on. "Sometimes he gets vicious," was the older brother's comment. When the little brother heard that, he adding kicking and biting to his technique. Maybe he didn't know that sometimes he get vicious, but now that he heard that, he strengthened his newly self-conscious reputation. Kids are like that. I mean- they act on what they learn are others' impressions of them.

My mom never stuck up for me to my teachers either when I was lazy. She just calmly listened to the teacher let me have it. But there was deeply sincere encouragement- "You think you're not doing well, or not enjoying it? You haven't been practicing very much recently- get a few good hours in the next few days- you'll feel better about it. That's all you need and you'll be making lots of progress again." It was always gentle, calm encouragement, and sincere. I could trust sincerity.

Music Education # 5 Learning the Grand Staff with the Hot Note Game

On the floor of my studio I have just installed (with the help of my children) a gigantic grand staff. I suppose it is about 5'x8', and is situated so that the pianist on the bench has the best view of it. The lines are made of shiny blue gift wrap ribbon which contrasts well with the dark hardwood floorboards and are tacked down on either end with masking tape bar lines. The spaces are large enough for feet to step in. I cut out two huge, movable paper clefs on the left side so students can learn how to place them themselves.

Tonight I sat one of my children down on the piano bench while I began stepping all over the lines and spaces, and we suddenly found ourselves playing a funny game that I have to share with you: When you the parent (or teacher) are standing on a line, as long as the student isn't playing that note, everything is fine. But as soon as they find the correct note, pretend your line instantly heats up and you say "Ooh- HOT! Ow! Ow!" and jump to another note on the staff. Then you can say, "Ahhh, that's better!" but then the little one on the bench is busy trying to find the next right note as fast as possible on the piano to make you jump again! Two feet at once is for intervals of a second, a third, etc.

I am curious to know how this will work with my beginners. Maybe there will be a way to incorporate the composer figurines in this game.

Domenico Scarlatti was a famous Baroque harpsichordist (born in 1685: the same year as J.S. Bach and Handel!) who is famous for his five hundred fifty-five keyboard Sonatas. They are knows for their virtuosity and their sparkling energy. One of their particular technical demands is frequent hand crossovers which he employed liberally (…until his increasingly ample girth prevented him in old age.)

Scarlatti is so distinctive. He was an Italian living in Spain and Portugal, working for the nobility there. That’s a lot of energetic musical culture wrapped up into one guy! I have found that his music doesn’t play too well on a lot of upright pianos because of brilliant repeating notes. Grand pianos have gravity to help get that hammer back down in position to spring back fast enough, not like uprights, whose hammers travel horizontally. Scarlatti’s repeated notes are always obvious, as in his Sonata in D minor, K. 141 (see this unbelievable version by Martha Argerich)

Other things that happen often in Scarlatti’s music are sudden key changes to the parallel major or minor (like jumping from D major to D minor without a modulation) and those famous trills that often happen at the end notes of the two halves of the Sonatas. The most incredible performer of Scarlatti is Michelangeli. (I love that movie!)

Listening to the Repertory: What the Piano Can Say in the Hands of Gilels

This famous Prelude (G minor, Op. 23, No. 5) by Sergei Rachmaninov is played by the Russian Pianist Emil Gilels. This performance is remarkable for his human, his personal sound. The texture is incredible in this; the melodies and the inner voices getting special treatment in so many ways, his amazing, unflagging energy and sense of timing.

The most incredible clip of Gilels can be found linked here (along with other war footage) of him playing this Prelude as a young man for Russian Soldiers about to enter combat. Please look this up- you won't regret seeing him (beginning at minute 1 hour 10 minutes.) Shortly after that you will see Sviatoslav Richter, (Hey, anybody heard of the Revolutionary Etude in C sharp minor? That record player is a bit fast!) and then followed by Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli! Emil Gilels was allowed by Soviet Russia to make tours accompanied by government officials. Once when Franz Mohr, (one of the greatest piano technicians ever) had a rare moment with him alone, he said, not knowing what the response would be; "I'd like to give you this," and gave him a Bible. Gilels snatched it out of his surprised hands and in a second it had disappeared into his coat. "Thank you!" he exclaimed, "You don't know what this means to me!" He did not know what happened afterwards. It was perhaps the only time they were together like that. Franz Mohr tells this story in his book My Life With the Great Pianists.