The Piano
In 1698 the world was changed forever: Bartolomeo Christofori invented the fortepiano. It was totally unlike the two keyboard concert instruments in use at the time. The pipe organ is actually a wind instrument and…
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“ATHLETES WITH SMALL MUSCLES”
On the making of the virtuoso pianist: Leon Fleisher, brilliant and celebrated pianist and mentor-teacher of the last century, said of pianists: “We are athletes, but we’re athletes with small muscles.” To be a virtuoso…
Why pay musicians?
To be honest, I was initially scratching my head with this title, because to me (as a pianist), it’s immediately obvious why we “should” pay musicians – it’s our work, our livelihood, it’s how we…
Boo!
Hector Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique is the classical music equivalent of a modern day horror movie. It has it all: bucolic pastoral scenes, a ballroom dance, a horrific death and ending with a macabre scene of…
When listening becomes sacred…. Between Friends, 2022
While compiling the program notes for QSCM’s Between Friends III concert, June 11 I came across this statement by Leonidas Kavakos upon performing the premier of Lera Auerbach’s Violin Concerto No. 4. “I have said…
FEELINGFUL * PRESENT * LIVE! Between Friends III – June 11, 2022
Saturday June 11, QSCM’s “Between Friends III” event, live at St Paul’s United Church, Stirling ON (7 pm) celebrates connection and deep feeling. Performed by cellist Amahl Arulanandam and pianist Petya Stavreva, the program is…
Fingering: A trigger of imagination?
For the uninitiated, “fingering” refers to the numbers written above or below notes corresponding to the fingers of the hand with thumbs being “1”. Fingering is indispensable for keyboard and string players. It is meant…
My Pandemic Repertoire
Dmitri Kabalevsky (1904-1987) was a contemporary of the notorious “Russian Five”, composers Shostakovitch, Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, and Cui. However unlike them, he was loved by the Soviet government and he enjoyed a tenured position at…
Alexander Glazunov: the most influential composer you may never have heard of
Alexander Glazunov was born in Russia in 1865. He grew up steeped in the late romantic tradition of Russian music. The music of Tchaikovski was a great influence on his compositional style. As a composer,…