Hamish Milne: reflective memories

The relationship between piano teacher and piano student can last a lifetime. When the teacher passes, inevitably, the student takes stock and reflects. Concert pianist and pedagogue Hamish Milne was a highly respected, much-loved piano professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he taught for over forty years. He died earlier this…

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Pianists Corner: a piano resource with a difference

As regular readers of this blog will know, I always enjoy introducing piano resources. Pianists Corner is a new website specifically for pianists. And it’s a piano website with a difference. Pianists Corner is the brainchild of French engineer and scientist Bruno Saint-Germain. Bruno, who is based in Paris, has been building this site for…

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Pianists From The Past: Jacques Loussier

The Pianists From The Past series continues today with the first article featuring a jazz player; French pianist Jacques Loussier (1934 – 2019). This article has been penned by British pianist, author, writer, composer, and music educator Mark Tanner, who recalls his first encounter with Loussier’s music. Over to Mark… The French jazz pianist, Jacques…

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Étude in A minor by Louise Farrenc

Louise Farrenc (1804 – 1875), pictured above, was a French Romantic composer. In her lifetime she enjoyed a considerable reputation, and whilst the majority of her compositions are for the piano, her chamber music is generally regarded as her finest work. She eventually opened a publishing house with her flautist husband Aristide Farrenc, and Éditions…

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Kindly speaking the truth

Canadian piano teacher and music examiner Amy Boyes lives in Ottawa where she also works an adjudicator, judging piano festivals and competitions. She believes that music educators must always strike a careful balance between kindness and criticism when giving feedback to students, and, in today’s guest post, she highlights an issue which can emerge after…

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Pianists From The Past: Teresa Carreño

My Pianists From The Past series continues with this fascinating post detailing the incredible life and career of Venezuelan pianist and composer Teresa Carreño. This article has been written by Venezuelan pianist and pedagogue Clara Rodriguez, who is professor of piano at the Royal College of Music Junior Department, and a noted exponent of South…

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Piano Music by Women

Over the past few months, musicians have been carefully rethinking their work; the pandemic has forced artists to develop in a completely new direction. The internet has proved a splendid alternative platform. We have witnessed new online concert series’, master classes, workshops, and for teachers, copious online lessons. I’ve enjoyed performances from international artists, many…

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Pianists From The Past: Halina Czerny-Stefańska

My Pianists From The Past series continues this week with the following article featuring Polish pianist Halina Czerny-Stefańska, which has been written by British pianist and pedagogue Gareth Owen, who is head of keyboard at Eton College and professor of piano at Junior Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Over to Gareth… I had the…

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Positional Piano Playing

‘Positional piano playing’ is a term I use for a particularly helpful technique which allows students to locate and play note patterns with ease. At my most recent Finchcocks piano course (held at the end of last year), I applied this technique in one of my classes with several adult students, and to their amazement…

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Pianists From The Past: Cyril Smith

My Pianists From The Past series continues today and this article has been written by British pianist and pedagogue Julian Saphir. Julian’s past pianist of choice is the British concert pianist and pedagogue Cyril Smith, with whom he had a personal connection. Over to Julian… One day in the Spring of 1991, during my third…

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