The history of piano interpretation is divided into two great eras. From the end of the eighteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century, we can only speak of prehistory of interpretation because the sound documents are completely missing. From the beginning of the twentieth century to nowadays, the increasing number of recordings let us make the so-called history of interpretation.
From the end of the eighteenth century …
“The fingers become like pillars or rather arches under the dome of the hand, a dome that in principle can bear the full weight of our body. I compare the arm, from shoulder to fingertip, with a hanging bridge, one end of which is fixed on the shoulder and the other to the five fingers on the keyboard. The bridge is flexible and resilient whereas it’s supports are strong and …
Vienna, October 1767.
Out of ten children recorded in the death register, nine had died of smallpox.
The engaged princess Maria Josepha of Habsburg Lorraine, betrothed to Ferdinand IV of Bourbon king of Naples, contracts the disease and dies at sixteen.
All theaters in the Empire are closed for six weeks.
Leopold Mozart makes the decision to leave "this haunted city" and heads with his family to Olmütz, two hundred kilometers north.
After two days …
Teaching traditionally begins with reading. This happens because music is handed down through the written text and not by oral tradition, which is completely disappeared. Therefore, since we know music through writing, the first step according to tradition is to learn to read.
Starting with reading is profoundly wrong: connecting the reading with hearing the sound and looking for it on the keyboard is something very complex.
Instead, we should start with …
The influence of Field and Hummel, distinguished pianists, in the genesis of the Chopinian musical style has been widely examined by musicologists. Instead, it is interesting to research the tradition of instrumental style - the musical schools - that Chopin got to know in his formative years.
Chopin's first teacher was Wojciech Zywny, Bohemian. His musical education seems to be discreet. His specific knowledge of piano technique …