Week 4: Share It

Tammy Amazingly terrific playing!.. You are not an amateur. Definitely near concert level I think.. :-) Applause !..

Dustin Anderson Hope you feel better soon! A friend of mine has ear ringing and this is a huge issue for musicians. Hope yours goes away quickly.

Peter William I think “advanced” will suffice.

Larry K As a rule I don't look (forget about playing) at scores from Rach concertos. They are frighteningly and horrendously difficult. Also require very large hands. Hope at least text reading is accurate of what the great pianists have written and spoken about this concerto. If you want to see the epitomy of playing of this piece may I suggest a name. "Yunchan Lim" .. if you Google you will find what you need. If you already knew about this continue to enjoy his concert. :-)

Peter William Oh, Rach’s concertos will forever be out of reach for me.

There is a shortcut to playing them, shown here,

https://youtu.be/ifKKlhYF53w?si=MtmmgXexRgEDvGvD

Larry K ha ha. Super funny pianist..lol!

Tammy What a wonderful playing, Tammy! It has all the elements this incredible music requires. This is your concert and I love your lyrical phrasing, as well as your personal and deeply touching use of rubato and dynamics. Bravo!!

Larry K I have small hands, so I better get hold of those blocks of wood quick smart 

Mark Cooper I’m thinking about mass producing them. All you’ll need is someone to act as a “chord changer.”

Those guys do other skits. I believe I had tickets to see them at the 92nd St Y in New York.
 

My recollection is that Covid caused the cancellation of the concert, along with the last concerts of Angela Hewitt’s Bach series.

Sigh.

Larry K what a shame , especially the Angela Hewitt concert, is she no longer performing??

we only occasionally get high calibre overseas pianists coming to perform down here in Australia. I did see Andras Schiff  several years ago .

a bit off topic , but I gather you live in the NY area, I’m a huge fan of David Hurwitz, do you know him , have you met him in person ? 

Mark Cooper I believe she is still performing. It’s just that I missed the series and never got a refund. 
 

Schiff is great. I saw him once.

We lived in Manhattan for 20 years. I got a job out of town so I was away from the city for training when Covid hit. We stayed away five months and lived out of three suitcases.

Then, we decided to move out. I lost my Russian piano teacher. It was sad.

We feel like we have had enough of New York and may move to Philadelphia.

I gather that guy is a critic but I don’t know him. New York is a huge, crowded place that is a real test of your sanity, lol.

Larry K I have seen that skit. I generally don't find them very funny. 

Maria It’s a living. I do find that one to be hilarious.

Larry K ok fair enough 

a shame you lost your Russian teacher. I did study for a few years with a Russian/ukranian teacher,  learned a lot from him .

i have a first cousin living in borough park , but I haven’t been to NY for many years unfortunately 

Dave hurwitz has a you tube channel, it’s very informative and entertaining, worth checking out 

Mark Cooper Yes, it’s sad to lose teachers due to circumstances.

I’ll look for Dave Hurwitz.

I can recommend Bill McGlaughlin’s program Exploring Music. I listen to it on FM radio every weeknight. 

Yes, I still have an FM tuner, but it can be streamed here,

https://www.wfmt.com/programs/exploring-music/

 Bill started piano lessons late, at 14, but went on to play trombone in orchestras and to conduct.

billmcglaughlin.com/about-bill

Larry K yes I’ve heard of that program , I think one could catch it on a local Fm station here

I am also old enough to remember Karl Haas….

Larry K That one was funnier than some of the others that I have seen, such as this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9k7ByNYPzU

Mark Cooper I think I have listened to Adventures in Good Music. It was broadcast until 2007, I believe.

I used to date a classical DJ and loved hanging out in the studio with her. I had listened to her on the radio for years before meeting her. When I heard her radio voice on my phone, I almost fell out of my chair. 
 

So, I have kept my two channel stereo system and have a beautiful Accuphase T-1000 tuner that I listen to every day. FM forever. I like it when people introduce me to music. I don’t want to DJ my whole listening life.

Maria Nice on the funny video above. Emanuel Ax playing at 1/1000th of the tempo will still sound beautiful. I will pay tickets for that concert. lol!

Maria Piano is hard, comedy is harder, in some ways. 

The Chopin waltz redeems any of the comedic failings. 

If I recall correctly, I had a ticket to see this act at the 92nd St Y in New York. Covid caused the cancellation.

I love the part about the choreography. My Russian piano teacher had a student from Juilliard who banged her head on the fall board because of her choreography. My teacher bluntly told her to knock it off. 

For students who stared at the ceiling, she would say, there is nothing up there that can help you. Haha.

Larry K Enduring these kind of comments from your Russian piano teacher would have motivated you to become a world class pianist!. There would be no need for talent.. just endless work and endurance.. lol! I would dread going to a teacher like this, because in my case - it would be non stop comments like these - that I may have to endure and maybe even a gentle 'don't come back again please'. In my doctoral field I did see some instances of this happening to others ( but theoretical physics is not exactly a walk in the park !  lol! )

Peter William Oh, no, she was a sweetheart, and a great teacher, but she didn’t tolerate foolishness.

Flailing around on the bench is foolishness and needs to be called out. It was not improving the woman’s playing, it was a distraction, besides which she almost gave herself a concussion. 
 

Surely, one cannot write nonsensical papers in a PhD program and not be rebuked, can they?

My teacher was endlessly encouraging to all adults. She would say to me, you have ten fingers, you can play this!

She would never send you away. She would find you intriguing because of your scientific background.

She had totally changed her viewpoint from the elitist state supported Russian school of thought to the open-minded American school that holds that anyone can study and learn the piano, or any instrument, at any age.

But, you know, studying the piano is serious work and has to be approached with respect. 

I miss my teacher very much. If I were still living in New York, I’d still be studying with her.

You would be lucky to find such a teacher. I encourage you to look for one.

Tammy So wonderful, Tammy! And the Barcarolle is something I want to resurrect, too, so that's a good reminder. And that part at 2:20 in the Rach first movement ramps up the difficulty very quickly! When I have tried to read it/play it, I'm like, "whoa, this is going to take a long time,"; I think tonebase could do a tutorial just on those measures! :)

Tammy Wow Tammy, such a beautiful and powerful performance! Those bass notes really command respect. Brava!