So I recently came into possession of an upright piano, the first acoustic piano I’ve had in my residence in about, oh, five years. Until the pandemic hit, I had mainly practiced at generous churches that let me use their instruments. More recently, I got a very serviceable electric keyboard that became a lifeline in... Continue Reading →
Reaching the end of the concerto-ranking journey (I won't be doing the Baroque), I think my biggest takeaway is a huge surge in appreciation for Mozart. His piano concertos are just a really incredible body of work. I also applied a more analytical eye to Beethoven concertos that I had grown up loving but hadn't... Continue Reading →
This category was always going to be the Beethoven and Mozart show. I listened to some auxiliary composers to keep it fair, but these two masters just absolutely dominated the genre in their time. Mozart's oeuvre can be intimidating. 27 concertos?! Where to start? Never fear. I've done the listening. A lot of this will... Continue Reading →
About this time last year I was finishing up a multi-week exploration of the greatest piano sonatas from each period from Classical to contemporary. This topic may not be as cosmically significant as the Spider Nebula (pictured above), but I think it's worth discussing in the piano community. I always meant to create a landing... Continue Reading →
Yeah, I know. You’ve probably been hearing Beethoven on the radio, from your piano students, from your local orchestra, and from everyone who is scrambling to make Beethoven’s 250th anniversary a big deal (even though it’s not till December 2020). But have you heard this piece? I sure hadn’t. And I’m….really into Beethoven. If you're... Continue Reading →
Years ago, I stumbled on a website where a music lover had made a list of his or her favorite pieces for a variety of moods. That list encompassed all classical genres, and it was pretty comprehensive. Some of the associations led me to discover music that soon became some of my favorite. To show... Continue Reading →
Hal Leonard Classical Piano Blog 