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Re: What is your favorite piano brand?
@Gail Thiele The action on M&H pianos is going to differ hugely depending on year and other factors. The action on mine (a 1994) was pretty heavy, and tiring on fast things like the Schubert…
- Mark_Alexander
- 1 mth ago
- Discussion of the Week
- Reported - view
Re: What is your favorite piano brand?
@Kenneth Hoyle I have a M&H BB from 1994, one of the last produced by Falcone. I bought it in 2004, after trying a number of pianos in that size range. For some reason,…
- Mark_Alexander
- 1 mth ago
- Discussion of the Week
- Reported - view
Re: "Small" notes in Chopin Barcarolle
@Jane Fleming The strategy of starting at the end of the piece and working backwards is how I've worked on the Barcarolle. But when I finally got to the first two pages,…
- Mark_Alexander
- 2 mths ago
- 1
- General Discussion
- Reported - view
Re: "Small" notes in Chopin Barcarolle
@Jane Fleming Congrats on getting a few beautiful moments in the Barcarolle. So far the only such moment I can kinda-sorta approach is the dolce sfogato. Ah yes, Rach.…
- Mark_Alexander
- 2 mths ago
- General Discussion
- Reported - view
Re: "Small" notes in Chopin Barcarolle
@Jane Fleming Well, I just turned 70. Not a lot of time left to get the Barcarolle in shape, along with the Brahms Op. 119 #4, more of the Ravel Tombeau -- the list goes on and on.
- Mark_Alexander
- 2 mths ago
- General Discussion
- Reported - view
Re: "Small" notes in Chopin Barcarolle
I'm pretty sure that Garrick talked about trills in his lesson (start them on the upper note), and there is something in the notes at the back of the Padereswki edition that says the same thing.…
- Mark_Alexander
- 2 mths ago
- 1
- General Discussion
- Reported - view
"Small" notes in Chopin Barcarolle

I've watched Garrick Ohlsson's lesson the Barcarolle, but I'm still confused about when to place the "small" notes at various places in the music: on the beat, or before the beat,…
- Mark_Alexander
- 2 mths ago
- 11replies
- 61
- General Discussion
Re: Pogorelich and Chopin Op. 55 #2
@Jane Fleming I do remember seeing that video when it came out. Friedman is great with the duet voices, but I find it way too fast. That's just me; I'm not a huge fan of speed.…
- Mark_Alexander
- 3 mths ago
- General Discussion
- Reported - view
Re: Pogorelich and Chopin Op. 55 #2
@Aleksandra Bogomaz Thanks for that very interesting info. And speaking of Argerich and the Chopin competition, I understand she was responsible for moving Kate Liu down to 3rd place in 2015.…
- Mark_Alexander
- 3 mths ago
- 1
- General Discussion
- Reported - view
Pogorelich and Chopin Op. 55 #2

Ben Laude's interview with Emanuel Ax talking about Arrau and the late Chopin E flat Nocturne (op. 55 #2) was interesting. I have been working on this piece for several years,…
- Mark_Alexander
- 3 mths ago
- 5replies
- 149
- General Discussion
Re: Alicia de Larrocha and Iberia
Thanks for that great video! I'd always avoided Iberia because of its reputation for extreme difficulty. But I looked at Henle's difficulty rating for the various pieces, and some of them are level 7,…
- Mark_Alexander
- 4 mths ago
- General Discussion
- Reported - view
Re: Question about pricing for piano camp 2025
Thanks for the replies. I suppose in fairness I should expect a higher price compared with Sonata, given the private sleeping quarters and more grand pianos.…
- Mark_Alexander
- 6 mths ago
- 1
- General Discussion
- Reported - view
Question about pricing for piano camp 2025

One of the reasons I signed up on Tonebase recently was that I thought I might like to attend the 2025 piano camp. I saw that the 2024 camp offered a discount to Tonebase members,…
- Mark_Alexander
- 6 mths ago
- 13replies
- 231
- General Discussion
Re: Sostenuto in Chopin Op. 62-1
Thanks, Ellen and Judy. Your responses are very helpful!
- Mark_Alexander
- 7 mths ago
- General Discussion
- Reported - view
Sostenuto in Chopin Op. 62-1

I'm working on the Nocturne Op. 62 #1, and am puzzled by the "sostenuto" marking at the start of the A flat section (measure 37). How does one interpret this?…
- Mark_Alexander
- 7 mths ago
- 3replies
- 103
- General Discussion

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