Honens Competition Finals in Calgary Nov. 5-6
The finalists of the Honens International Piano Competition have been named, and will be competing at the ever-uppercase EPCOR CENTER's Jack Singer Concert Hall on November 5 & 6th at 7.30 PM. Tickets are available through the Honens website or ticketmaster.ca, and cost from 40-85$.
Piano Term of the Week: Attacca
The Italian musical term "attacca" can be seen in piano music having more than one movement:
Piano Cat Named ASPCA Cat of the Year
Nora the Piano Cat™ - the rescued feline whose piano-playing skills drew over 15 million YouTube views; inspired Lithuanian composer Mindaugas Piečaitis to write orchestral accompaniment to her famous piano bit, and earned her the noble trademark symbol at the end of her name - can now add "Cat of the Year" to her list of achievements.
The ASPCA gave Nora her Cat of the Year award yesterday in Manhattan, stating on their website:
"Though her talents are unrivaled, Nora has been named the ASPCA Cat of the Year as much for her musical abilities as for her pluck and drive to prove that shelter pets--far from being castoffs--often make the best animal companions."
Nora was rescued from an animal shelter in South Jersey by Betsy Alexander and Burnell Yow, and was brought to their Philadelphia home where she became enamored with the ivories. The Philadelphia Daily News writes:
"Nora learned to play the piano by observing [Betsy] and by watching her give lessons. An animal behaviorist posited that Nora wanted the attention Alexander was giving to her students."
- Read Nora's rags-to-riches story on her official website
- Watch the full "Catcerto" on its official website
Image © Burnell Yow
How to Enhance the Sound of Your Piano Room
A room either works with or against a piano's timbre. Your piano room might need some tweaking in order to complement the voice of your piano. Learn some easy ways to control the acoustics of your piano room, and help your piano's best qualities stand out.
Piano Term of the Week: Rinforzando
The Italian musical term "rinforzando" (or rfz) might remind you of another common musical command:
Piano Terms of the Week: All of Them!
I invite you to check out the freshly organized piano glossaries, which now have over 200 musical terms and phrases! Browse alphabetically, by language, or search categories such as volume & dynamics and tempo terms. New terms and helpful illustrations are constantly being added, so be sure to bookmark:
Is Your Piano Tuner Worth Your Money?
If tuning a piano were easy, we'd all save hundreds of dollars a year -- but it's not. It takes years to develop the skills necessary to become a successful piano tuner; and those who seek professional certification must be tested on a few key abilities to ensure competence and efficiency.
But what if your tuner isn't certified? A lack of certification doesn't always mean a lack of professionalism (or a cheaper bill), so you should weigh the pros and cons of hiring an uncertified piano tuner before inviting a new tuner into your home, instrument, and wallet!
Piano Term of the Week: Cut Time
Cut time is one of those musical terms whose meaning can change with context. It also goes by a few different names, and can be expressed with one of two time signatures.
Image © Brandy Kraemer
Dame of Piano de Larrocha Passes On After 75-Year Career
Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha, one of the greatest and most renowned pianists of our time, has died at the age of 86.
De Larrocha began playing piano at age 3, and was performing publicly at age 5. She went on to win countless awards, including four Grammys and the prestigious title of Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France.
But, ironically, the most impressive part of de Larrocha's art was that she was not an original composer. She focused her disciplines on technique, and by the end of her career had mastered (very truthfully so) nearly every playing style imaginable. Her use of dynamics is something I personally find breathtaking (and genious in her performance of Liszt's "La Campanella.") If you haven't already had the pleasure, I highly suggest listening to her interpretations of some of your favorite composers.
D.E.P. Alicia de Larrocha, y gracias.
How to Read Musical Repeats
If it weren't for musical repeats, we'd have pages and pages of redundant musical notes and commands; and when you begin reading piano music, you'll notice repeats signs decorating even the simplest piano songs.
Repeats are written in different ways depending on the complexity of the piece:
- Standard repeat signs, which are attached to staff barlines
- Segno and coda marks, which work in conjunction with phrases such as D.S. al fine
Image © Brandy Kraemer