Pianist and piano professor Julian Jacobson continues his Beethoven marathon series. Beethoven’s monumental Sonata in B flat major Op. 106, known as the ‘Hammerklavier’, is today’s chosen topic. Ah, the redoubtable Hammerklavier. Beethoven’s “ne plus ultra” piano work, unless it be the Diabelli Variations. The piece that was regarded as unplayable, a closed book, until…
Tag: Piano Series
On preparing for a Beethoven Marathon Part 3: Julian Jacobson
Concert pianist and teacher Julian Jacobson’s series highlighting the preparations for his forthcoming Beethoven marathon concert continue. Here, Julian discusses why he will be performing them all from memory. Why from memory? Why oh why, as I sometimes ask myself when a particularly fiddly bit of detail, often in the early sonatas, proves especially recalcitrant….
On preparing for a Beethoven Marathon Part 2: Julian Jacobson
This is the second article in a series written by pianist and piano professor Julian Jacobson. Here, he traces his journey from the beginning, and explores the reasons why he feels drawn to this repertoire. Is Beethoven my favourite composer, as people tend to assume? The answer is “yes and no and perhaps”. My personal…
On preparing for a Beethoven marathon Part 1: Julian Jacobson
This guest post has been written by Julian Jacobson who is a concert pianist and a piano professor at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Julian is no stranger to this blog, and, over the course of the next few weeks, he will be running a series of posts charting his…
Chord Playing and Improvising 2: Christopher Norton
Today’s post is the second in a series of five by renowned composer Christopher Norton. In each post, he is offering a free copy of one of his piano pieces, each one hailing from his popular series, Connections. ‘Open Window’ can be found in Book 4 and, in this article, Chris imparts a few valuable…
Chord Playing and Improvising: Christopher Norton
This is the first of five articles written especially for this blog by renowned composer and educator Christopher Norton. These posts are intended to encourage classical players (and teachers) to explore jazz and pop styles. ‘Deep in Thought’ is the first piece and you can download it here for free. Chris also offers some practice…
Teaching Through Composition: Thinking in phrases at Initial level – Jeni Warder
Teacher, writer and composer Jeni Warder has penned my latest guest article. Jeni, who owns and runs the Keys Piano School in Bolton, UK, is writing a regular column on this blog. Here, she is focusing on teaching composition to young students. You can read Jeni’s previous posts here and here. Recently I was given…
Finding Their Voice: Progress Through Composing by Jeni Warder
Jeni Warder is my guest writer this week. She is the founder and creative director of the Keys Piano School in Bolton (UK). Jeni is writing a series of posts for this blog focusing on using composition as a helpful learning tool for younger students. Composing our own, original music is always a liberating experience,…