PIANO & MUSIC EDUCATION
Devoted to all aspects of music education, this page features music festivals, events, and venues, as well as piano master classes, exam preparation, and competitions.
Etude Op. 97 No 1 by Anton Reicha
Some readers will know that I write a regular ‘how-to-play’ article for Pianist magazine. If you’ve yet to discover this magazine, you can find out much more by clicking here. My article focuses on elementary level pieces for students of around Grade 1 – 3 level. It’s actually called a ‘beginners how-to-play’, but in reality…
Beethoven Piano Concerto Project: David Alexander
Beethoven’s piano concertos are amongst the most emotionally satisfying in the whole piano repertoire. Pianist and teacher David Alexander has been programming all five concertos in London. He has been doing this as part of his own Beethoven project for the past few years. On January 10th 2019 he will be performing Beethoven Piano Concerto…
At The Piano: a study series by G. Henle Verlag
Many will know G. Henle Verlag as a sheet music publishing company with a difference: they are one of the few publishers who can claim to produce world-class Urtext editions. From music students through to professional musicians, G. Henle’s volumes are probably the most popular worldwide, with the familiar smoky deep blue covers adorning a…
PIANO WEEK: What happens on a piano course?
Piano courses are becoming increasingly popular and it’s not hard to see why. They afford students the opportunity to meet like-minded new friends, enjoy excellent tuition, fine food, and a mini ‘holiday’. If the course happens to be situated in a beautiful place, so much the better. For the last two weeks I have been…
A Lecture Recital with Mitsuko Uchida
I am currently in Shropshire (near Wales, UK) for two weeks working at a Summer piano school and music festival called PIANO WEEK. I’ve been coaching pianists both young and old through workshops, presentations, piano and composition classes. It’s certainly a most enjoyable opportunity and I relish the chance to meet a group of like-minded…
The Piano at the Proms 2018
Summer just wouldn’t be Summer without the BBC Promenade concerts, which begin this evening and run for two months, concluding on September 8th. This year the world’s largest and most famous classical music festival consists of seventy-five evening concerts plus many Prom ‘extras’, including copious free events, workshops, talks and family occasions. The concert series…
Cadenza International Summer Music School
When the academic year ends Summer schools begin, and they now appear to be more popular than ever. Students have so many options to choose from that it must be a challenge deciphering which might offer the most inspirational learning experience. I will spend two weeks in Shropshire this year. This will be from July…
A Masterclass with Murray Perahia
If you read this blog regularly, you’ll know I often highlight masterclasses. Here’s an interesting set of classes by celebrated American pianist Murray Perahia. It was recorded at the Paul Hall on October 12th 2017 at the Juilliard School in New York. The participants and repertoire are as follows: Qi Xu performs the first movement…
Josef and Rosina Lhévinne and the Russian Piano School
Josef and Rosina Lhévinne were a formidable partnership in the piano world. Both renowned teachers, Josef toured and gave many solo recitals. He also performed two piano concerts with his wife. Rosina became a celebrated teacher at the Juilliard School in New York. The film linked here gives a real insight into the Lhévinne method…
A Master Class with Stephen Hough
I recently discovered this interesting selection of videos, which appear on YouTube, highlighting master classes given by eminent British pianist Stephen Hough. They were recorded in last year (2016) at the Aspen Music Festival and School in the USA. Featuring a wide range of standard repertoire (including Reflect dans l’eau by Debussy (Images Book 1),…
The London College of Music Piano Syllabus 2018 – 2020
The much awaited London College of Music (LCM) piano syllabus has finally been published. A new syllabus is always exciting – both for student and teacher. I am an enthusiastic supporter of piano exams; they provide a veritable goal for anyone learning, particularly for younger players. And whilst an exam syllabus should never be used…
Sight-reading success with Paul Harris & Faber Music
During November, Faber Music are hosting a fabulous Piano Month and are celebrating with a new piano resource magazine: The Faber Music Piano Catalogue. As well as copious information about each publication, the new magazine also includes articles from some of their well-known piano writers and composers such as Pamela Wedgwood, Anthony Williams, Karen Marshall…