Lang Lang's Piano Performance at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert

If you had to prepare a concert, fit for a Queen, what would you perform?

Well, Lang Lang had that rare honour, and on this occasion in June 2012, it was
Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody #6 and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue [excerpt]. The recital was for  Queen Elizabeth II, who had her Diamond Jubilee, the 60th Anniversary since she was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom.

Here's the video below, enjoy.



On the UK Guardian newspaper's website, [8:07pm] there was a report that Elton John was refusing to go on stage after this display of virtuosity! Lang Lang's choice as performer, provoked some lively discussion, especially from pianist James Rhodes, British pianist who wrote in the telegraph blog: Why was there no British pianist at the Jubilee concert? Lang Lang playing butchered Gershwin isn't good enough.

Footage on the BBC website is also available.

Top Global Piano Commercials (Adverts) from Cheetos to Shampoo

The piano sage blog is pleased to present piano featured commercials advertisements from the last 50 years.

Hamlet Cigars (UK) 1966, a piano teacher, a classic. Disonant piano playing which transforms to the theme of Bach's Air on a G String.



Michael Jackson - performs for a 1992 Pepsi Ad - with excerpts from "I'll Be There" (USA)



Bob Hoskins - It's Good to Talk Product - BT (British Telecoms) 1995. Bob Hoskins plays some excerpts of the great piano accompanied love songs, in this advertisement for phone company British Telecom.



Marks and Spencers (UK) - Loans Advertisement 1998. Jazz singing on top of a piano - perhaps inspired by the Fabulous Baker Boys movie?


Piano Stairs Ad for Volkswagen, which is shot in Stockholm, Sweden. The piano keys activate sounds as people step on them, clever genius! c2009


Myleene Klass was in the UK's Popstars tv competition band 'Hearsay, she's also a classically trained piano graduate from the Royal Academy of Music. Pantene (UK). This came out in 2009, to advertise hair product Pantene Pro V's 'Volume and Body'


Cheetos (USA) "Take a Cheetos Break"  2011 playing Chopsticks to the annoyance of the Piano salesman

Andras Schiff on Chopin: legacy, character, and life.

Chopin Portrait by Maria Wodzińska 1836

In 1999, pianist Andras Schiff collaborated with Mischa Scorer,
Chopin with Andras Schiff 1999 production: Classical Tv Entire Video [high quality] : or on Youtube:  Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6. It's not the first time the two had collaborated, previously in 1997 they produced the Wanderer for BBC Omnibus about the life of Franz Schubert. Below is a summary of the ideas Schiff presents about Chopin, his life, composition characteristics,  musical influences, and legacy.


Characterising Chopin's Music
Chopin grew up in the Polish countryside, and the folk music such as mazurkas influenced his composition, it's considered by Schiff as the most Polish utterances (characteristic). It was his favourite genre of music, and kept his connection, adds Schiff to his country through polonaises and mazurkas.

Asked how he would describe his music, it always contains an element a Polish word 'zal' which means it contains an element of the polish word: sadness, nostalgia, sorrow,  regret, melancholia, up to a degree of fury and anger. Schiff says it is with his music he could open up and pour out his soul.

Chopin's musical upbringing and education
Born in 1810, Chopin grew up in Warsaw, Poland at the time when was under Russian rule.
Chopin's both parents were musical. Chopin's father, a teacher, played the flute and violin, his mother sang
and played the piano. Chopin picked up a lot from this experience, by listening and singing along.
It is interesteresting to note, adds Schiff that, Chopin never really had piano lessons. [Although, wikipedia indicates Zywny was chopin's first piano teacher] His first teacher, Czech Wojciech Zywny, a violinist and composer, taught Chopin love and respect of the music of Bach and Mozart, whom he regarded as having the best taste. Chopin's 24 preludes and fugues, in fact are directly inspired from Bach's - which are regarded as essential technique, which the impressario Hans Von Bulow called the "Old Testament of the Piano". 

Enrolled at the, Warsaw Conservatory, studying under Jozef Elsner celebrated composer of operas, so he had a great formal training of counterpoint, harmony and composition, but never of piano playing, so Schiff wonders how he became one of the greatest composers of the piano, which he marvels as close to a 'miracle'.

By age 18,19 Chopin was firmly established in the musical society of Poland, he had written his both two Piano Concertos, and established as a national celebrity. He had even performed for the Tsar of Russia. It was recognised he needed to seek wider opportunities within Europe so he had to 'cut the umbilical cord' of his fatherland. In, november 1830, age 20, he left Warsaw for Vienna, a very important and vital step for Chopin. He never returned to Poland. On Chopin's wish, after he died,  his heart was taken back to his native Poland.

Paris & the soirees
September 1831 was when Chopin arrived in Paris, Schiff notes that this was a great time, with a new bourgeoisie class emerging, with a love of literature, architecture and the arts, and a good family would own a piano. So Chopin provided  piano lessons to these families and  attended these families' frequent soirees (small intimate circles of friends) improvising and playing till 5 or 6 in the morning.  Attendees could immerse themselves in Chopin's music forgetting all their troubles and miseries. Chopin disliked performing for large audiences, but had to in order to further his reputation. His concerts at the Paris Conservatoire, became legendary events.

Capturing Revolutionary Spirit
Europe was in turmoil politically and economically, following the Napoleonic wars at this time. On the way to Paris, he heard that the latest Polish uprising against Russian occupation had been crushed, which Chopin reflects in his Revolutionary Etude in C# minor, written at this time, which Schiff believes is the most tragic and dramatic in Chopin's music. In his diary, he writes of his despair fearing that his friends and family are raped and executed.

Chopin's pianistic innovations

After Chopin you couldn't write piano music the same way again, he has revolutionised and changed the sound and concept and approach to the piano.He has innovated piano technique, such as,  in fingering, using the thumb on the black keys, which was previously forbidden. Chopin's fingering allows more of a liberty of playing on the keyboard. Schiff displaying a plastercast of Chopin's left hand, describing it as elegant and aristocratic. Chopin had an enormous stretch in his hands and great suppleness. Chopin was the first to say the hand has a natural position on the keyboard, each finger has a distinct character and personality, and therefore should not be similar to each other. Chopin recognised that that 4th finger is a weak one (he called his 3rd finger a long nose and the 4th a disobedient one). So Chopin wrote to the requirements of the hand, which Schiff demonstrates with the Etude in Ab. Chopin's idea of virtuosity, the cultivation of the beauty of sound. Schumann and Mendelssohn revered Chopin's music, however Chopin was not as recipricol in his admiration, not even opening Schumann's Kreisleriana, which was dedicated to him for months.



Chopin's legacy 
Chopin was one of the greatest composers ever,on the highest level as Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and Schubert. He has been portrayed as a wild flamboyant romantic, physically weak and fragile, dying of consumption; a very sentimental image; [however] there is no element of sentimentality in his music.
One of the great Chopin interpreters and womaniser adds Schiff, Artur Rubinstein said that Chopin's music was the greatest seducer.

Further Reading

• Chopin's 'Soul and Heart',  Byron Janis, Wall Street Journal, 2010

Lefties: Poet, Pianist & Nobel Prize Winner: Tomas Tranströmer & Concert Pianist Leon Fleisher - Left-Handed Piano Playing and Repertoire

The first left handed piano was made in 1998, this is a mirror image or reverse of a normal piano - but with the bass up on the right and the highest notes on the far left. This assumes you can play with both hands, but what happens with you lose complete control of your right hand altogether. Can you still play? let's look at these inspiring stories from a nobel prize winner and some notable concert pianistss.

Tomas Tranströmer at the piano

Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2011. Tomas is also a keen pianist, however, a stroke has meant that he can only play with his left hand. He still performs in recitals, in some cases, his poetry is read while he plays.






Interview with Tomas Tranströmer 

Paul Wittgenstein - Left Handed Pianist

Leon Fleisher lost use of his right hand fingers and thumb after a gardening accident which almost ended his concert career. However, he was inspired to continue on thinking of Austrian Concert Pianist, Paul Wittgenstein, whose right arm was blown off during world war I. Wittgenstein commissioned compositions for the left hand from distinguished composers, Richard Strauss, Korngold, Hindemith, Prokofiev, Ravel and Britten. So now, there's established repertoire for the left hand. Fleisher cites there must be over 1,000 compositions in existence for the left hand alone, including a Brahms arrangement for left hand of Bach's Chaconne for solo violin written for Clara Schumann when she injured her right hand.


Probably one of the most well known is Ravel's Concerto for the Left-Hand.

Ravel's Concerto for the Left - Hand performed by Leon Fleisher

James Rhodes, plays Etude Pour La Main Gauche "Etude for the Left Hand" Op. 36 by Felix Blumenfeld


Further reading (left handed pianists and repertoire)

• Leon Fleisher: 'My life fell apart...' (Independent, UK May 2010)
• Nobel Prize Winner Plays One-Handed Piano After Stroke (ABC News, USA, Oct 2011)
• PIANO MUSIC for the LEFT HAND ALONE Necessity is the Mother of Invention (Forte Piano Pianissimo website) 
• A piano that's right for lefties (BBC News, 1998), [Grand Piano for the Left Hand]
• Review: The House of Wittgenstein by Alexander Waugh, Daily Telegraph UK, Sep 2008

Gilmore Young Artist - Conrad Tao - Pianist Extraordinaire..

Conrad Tao and George Li are two US based young  pianists who have won the 2012 Gillmore Young Artist Prize. Previous recipients include Jonathan Bliss and Yuja Wang.  Conrad started playing tunes on the piano at 18 months and formally started learning the piano after the violin around age 3. His first piano performance at 4, and by age 8 he was performing his first concerto - Mozart Piano Concerto in A Major K414 with the Utah Symphony. His biography with the record label IMG reveals that he has even composed his own piano concerto and received from Obama, the Presidential Scholar for the Arts in 2011. As of August 2011, Conrad studies under Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky at the Julliard School of Music (pre college level).

Watch his label IMG Artist's Press Video


Conrad performing the Bach Ouverture in the French Style, BWV 831, Movements 5-7 at Julliard in 2010


Conrad performs the Rachmaninov Prelude Opus 23 No.2 in B Flat Major


Conrad Tao performs Carl Vine Piano Sonata, 2nd Movement at Julliard in 2010

How to play Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu C# Minor: analysis, tips, masterclasses Opus 66

Chopin's Fantasie (or Fantasy) Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor Opus 66 is one of the most popular pieces for grade 8 and above musicians to play. In order to play this piece effectively I have found the most suitable
masterclasses and tutorials from youtube and summarised them.

Firstly, Paul Barton gives the background, inspiration and form of  the Fantasie Impromptu, and inspiration from Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and Moschelles.


Paul Barton Tutorial summary

Introduction, analysis, origin and influence of the Fantasie Impromptu C#m  [0:00 to 6:12]

• The term Impromptu was first used by a musical publisher in 1817, so a Romantic period invention, and can be defined as freestyle. 
• Fantasie Impromptu is in ternary form - or A-B-A.
• Chopin didn't publish it in his lifetime
• The fantasie impromptu has a lot of similarity, therefore likely to be inspired from Moscheles' Impromptu in Eb [2:30] (similar in character and tempo, and form) and third movement of the Moonlight Sonata [3:00] (similar in key - C#m and form) with one of the same runs.

Paul Barton's Practical tips (excerpt) [6:12 to End]

• The right hand plays semiquavers against triplets in the left hand, if you have trouble fitting the notes together, Paul suggests accenting the notes that fall on the beats and the other notes will fall in place.
• Play all the notes legato, clearly and even as you can, which takes lots of slow practice and try not to overpedal.

Katsaris Masterclass
In 1992, French Pianist Katsaris, first Prize winner of the  International Cziffra Competition 1974,  gives a masterclass on the Fantasie Impromptu for Japan's NHK TV (part 1 of 4)


Katsaris Masterclass Summary Part 1: 

• Impromptu is defined as unexpected or improvised, the piece is an elaborated improvisation [and should be played as such.]
• The fast right hand melody is in two groupings of semiquavers (cut common time) so you could practice analytically and slowly the right hand melody dotted crotched (dotted 1/4 note) to build up speed.
• Mood of the piece: The piece should be played more feverish, trembling, like leaves and trees in the forest quivering and trembling. 4 notes in the right hand against 3 notes in the left hand.  Think of a whispering wind blowing. 
• Broken chords with accents: Play into the In this section, play the piano deeply (more weight) where the accented melody is especially when the thumbs play on the accent marks. Play them as chords to find the right balance with the thumb on the accent marks. Take time between the long phrases (this is demonstrated in part 2) by waiting a little bit at the end of each phrase. You can think of a bell sound effect for the accents. 

Katsaris Masterclass Part 2: 




Katsaris Masterclass Part 2 Summary: 

• Turn your hand into the direction of the accented notes, in effect adding more weight to the accented note. Practice the accented note repeating it four times. 
• Different colours in these phrases and this section - think that you are on a horse which runs in the wood, and your beautiful long hair is against the wind. So in effect a feeling of total freedom. [2:50] and at the end of this bridge, play pp pianisimo, to create a nice transition effect (perhaps a calming of the storm)

Katsaris Masterclass Part 3: 




Katsaris Masterclass Part 3 Summary: 

• When Chopin played the same piece two or more times, or a repeating section, he liked to play it in different ways. So you can try with pedal and without pedal, which creates a different colour.
• Or play a little bit slower
• Some of the colouristic emotions you encounter in this section are: lamentations - which becomes revulsion which becomes anger (end of the section), [hmm sounds a bit like the Yoda mantra!] add weight in the keyboard.
  Section B - Major Key [5:30] - Largo and Moderato Cantabile Section
• The new colour effect is a sunny spell as it's in a major key. It's a new sound world.
• Communicate the emotion but same time reserved, but it must always sing, each finger sings, think of the Bel Canto. Sing, even if it's not forte, sing.
• Listen to the sound, control the sound, use the ear to control the sound (right hand melody).
• Be aware of the tenor countermelody, [8:00] and also remember to make these sing.
• Think of a little secret, something you haven't told anyone, communicate this here.
• Bring out the following colours: Hope [9:30], delicacy and elegance.

Katsaris Masterclass Part 4: 



Katsaris Masterclass Part 4 Summary: 
Section B - Major Key [5:30] - Largo and Moderato Cantabile Section (continued)

• Colouristic effects: Abandon yourself [1:15]  
• In the pp pianisimo sections think of a 'telling your secret' motif as mentioned earlier.
• Each note must sing with phrasing, think of the bel canto, or even a violin to make the piano sing and sound more than a mere percussion instrument [5:05 - comparison with Chopin Ballade #1 in G minor]

Finale - A Section [5:40]

• When restarting the finale A section, start PP pianisimo not very fast and without much pedal. So in effect you are carrying over the mood and pianisimo effect from section B.
• Think of the leaves trembling but in the night, not loud, very light. 
• Bars 116, 117 and 118 Accent on the little finger, the upper part (right hand)
• [7:42] Tortured and Suffering [bars 119-122]
• Bars 130-137 Melancholic remembrance - phrase melody,  pianisimo and singing which dies and becomes almost nothing.

Further Resources

• Alternative versions: Final version that the most performed version of the Fantasie Impromptu in C#m is the first draft, here Artur Rubinstein plays the final version which has differences

• Video tutorials from the Arioso7 blog
• Sheet Music  (IMSLP)
• Fundamentals of Piano Practice (Chuan C Chang) Fantasie Impromptu  Practice tips (page 61-63) 

Actor Pianists - Hugh Laurie OBE (from TV Show House) plays the piano!

Hugh Laurie (source wikipedia)

Actor Hugh Laurie OBE, Golden Globe award winner for his role in US tv show House started learning piano at age 6. (more about Hugh's musical background)

Following the success of his comedy duo with Stephen Fry, where he performs a memorable piano masterclass sketch. Laurie has been able to advocate comedy and piano to entertain on tv and the silver screen.





Here's a song he performs a comedic song "Mystery"


His own humourous ode to 'America'


Hugh Laurie and Geena Davis playing 'Heart and Soul' in Stuart Little

BBC's "Mad But Glad" -Pianist Nick Van Bloss, Tourette's Syndrome, and creativity!

Mad but Glad
The 2007 BBC Horizon documentary Mad But Glad explores creativity and tourette's syndrome.  It's popularly theorised that Mozart suffered from Tourette's syndrome due to his toilet humour in his letters & symptomatic uncontrollable use of profanity. Another symptom, would be uncontrollable muscular activity like a facial or vocal tic. This documentary features the pianist Nick Van Bloss who got his break from this documentary and is now a concert pianist, and  featured in International Piano magazine for his recent recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations.

In the course of the documentary,  a scan of of Nick's brain activity during a creative and non creative process revealed his tourette's syndrome brain showing an "endless flow of creativity" - "unstoppable" and in a sense "can't switch his creativity off."

Creative genius and the senses
Nick suffers from "low latent inhibition"; where everything is exaggerated beyond the norm; figuratively
everything on fire all the time,... sensory input is so high, it eventually overwhelms them. It was suggested in the programme that geniuses such as Picasso and Van Gogh suffered from similar mental states, and to me,  it's quite evident by Van Gogh's paintings.

There was a schizophrenic artist featured in the documentary that sees endless connections (symptomatic of schizophrenia), he is inspired by the very dissonant late Beethoven string quartets in his art. The levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine (as dopamine inhibitors are used to treat schizophrenia) demonstrate the link between creativity and schizophrenia; characterised by  loose association - capacity of a word to set off another idea and on and on.

Insight from Oliver Sachs
When talking to Oliver Sachs, Nick says he likes Bach because it has emotion behind it yet is very controlled.
Sachs discusses what may be happening with Nick's mental state: a hightening of emotion and perception, and for these to be translated into action (ideal for a pianist). He also reaffirms the role of the dopamine as regulating the flow of emotion, thought, and  perception. A fascinating documentary, perhaps some insight into  the madness that Schumann encountered! (although this is widely believed due to manic depression or even syphylis, or all the above perhaps?)