Musical Monarchs: Queen Victoria, Felix Mendelssohn and King Henry VIII

By George!- Mozart, Handel, and JC Bach
The British Royal family has a history with music, and some of the greatest composers. Handel for instance, composed for King George I. Mozart, age 8,  performed for King George III and Queen Charlotte in the newly constructed Buckingham Palace in 1764. Queen Charlotte's music-master Johann Christian Bach, JS Bach's son, gave Mozart the ultimate sight reading test of the most difficult works of JS Bach, Handel and Alder, which Mozart performed with ease, amazing his distinguished audience. Mozart also accompanied Queen Charlotte, who sang an aria. The Mozarts (Leopold and Wolfgang) later dedicated six sonatas, the Opus 3 Sonatas to Queen Charlotte.

 Some of the Kings and Queens were excellent musicians as well as composers. King Henry VIII - King and Composer Notable royal musician tudor King Henry VIII, who composed the song - "Pasttime with Good Company"

Song With Words, but not by Mendelssohn
Queen Victoria loved singing and played the piano as well, she commissioned in 1856, an Erard Piano, the same piano brand from France that Chopin played. She also had many Bechstein grand pianos, including a gilded one at Buckingham Palace. Her favourite composer was Felix Mendelssohn, and especially loved "his" songs.

Felix Mendelssohn first met Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1842.

Prince Albert and Queen Victoria meeting Mendelssohn
(srce: Mendelssohn Project)

Felix Mendelssohn Age 20, 1829

To honour Mendelssohn's visit,  Queen Victoria sang her favourite Mendelssohn song 'Italien' or 'Italy' but it turned out to be written, Felix admitted by his other talented sibling, Fanny Mendelssohn. In those days, women weren't allowed to pursue careers as composers, so Felix honoured her by publishing the composition under his name.


 Japanese duo Hiro and Akiko perform Fanny Hensel - Mendelssohn's Italien, a favourite of Queen Victoria



Felix Mendelssohn also performed his famous piano pieces "Songs Without Words" for the royal couple. Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband was a talented organist and was thrilled to hear Felix Mendelssohn play the organ at Buckingham Palace. Mendelssohn, later dedicated his Scottish Symphony to Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria said of Mendelssohn on news of his death, he regarded him "the greatest musical genius since Mozart."




Further Reading

• Victoria's piano strikes right note for palace exhibition (Guardian -UK, 31 July 2004)
• Mendelssohn & England (Dr Dick's Mendelssohn World Blog)
• Prince Albert's Compositions: Queen Victoria's Consort wrote sacred music
• The JC Bach - Mozart Connection (Bar Ilan University, Israel)
• Mozart charity shop find only 'one of 10 in the world' (BBC News, 8.06.11)

Amazing pianists - austistic blind savant Derek Paravicini - musical genius!

Source: wikipedia

Derek Paravicini is blind, has autism. He has the skills classified as a musical savant, which means he can play any piece back perfectly he has ever heard (as most savants can). This reminds me of Mozart's superb memory when he notated the Gregorio Allegri's Miserere from the Vatican's Sistine Chapel music after just one hearing. He exceeds the skills of most musical savants, because not only can he play back any piece, but he can also play the song in another particular style (reggae, jazz) or particular pianist (George Shearing, etc.) He played on the BBC radio show "In Tune" he performed Waterloo Sunset by the Kinks in the style of Tango.Watch the following videos to see Derek Paravicini's remarkable talent in action.

Derek was featured in the 2010 Stan Lee's Superhumans in a jazz challenge showdown, with 95% accuracy! And then performs "Yes we have no Bananas" in the style of Scott Joplin in the key of Bb on the fly! See the video and be amazed.



Here's a trailer of Derek Paravicini highlighting his previous performance for London's Southbank


Derek Paravicini on US documentary 60" Minutes. In this documentary he can change any tune into the style of jazz pianists Dave Brubeck and Oscar Peterson.


Excerpt from Nova - Musical Minds (Oliver Sach's documentary)


Excerpt from The Musical Genius - see what happens in Derek's mind when he listens to emotional content in music

Prince William and Prince Harry play the piano as toddlers!

The Daily Mail published an article showing video footage of Prince William and Harry playing the piano as children for a photoshoot. Here's the Youtube footage


It's great the young princes are exploring the sound world of the piano. No doubt, had they persisted in their interest, they would have had piano lessons.
Earlier in March 2011, before Prince William's Royal wedding, the piano spotlight was on Kate Middleton, who took piano lessons, reaching grade 3, when she was 8 years old in Bucklebury Berkshire, UK.

Kate Middleton's piano teacher David Nicholls composed a "A Song for Kate (and William)" in honour of their wedding. 

10 reasons to choose a Digital or Acoustic Piano - a guide to selecting

An acoustic piano is basically a traditional piano made out of wood, steel strings, with a wooden soundboard. It requires tuning of a minimum twice a year. Digital pianos as the name suggest are electronic pianos with touch response. A digital piano can be either a hybrid - combination of acoustic and digital, which are usually at the higher end range.

Roland Fp-7f Digital Piano, one of the state of the art digital pianos


Characteristics of Digital Pianos

1. Digital pianos don't require tuning - tuning in the UK (London) can cost up to £55 ($85 usd) a piano.
2. Depending on the model, can be very portable (especially the stage or performance models) and can be moved to different rooms, upstairs and downstairs of the house with ease. An acoustic piano would be very heavy indeed and would require a professional piano mover to do so to move up and down floors. 
3. Are regulated evenly - so the touch response is even throughout the entire piano guaranteeing a consistent even touch. You can even vary the touch responsiveness of the keys too.
4. The digital piano can be sampled on a more expensive and superior grand acoustic piano, so in effect you are gaining the recreated sound of a much more expensive piano at a cheaper price. 
5. Can be used with headphones, so perfect for flats or apartments with thin walls.
6. Additional sounds - you could have anything from a vibraphone, harpsichord or strings, and sound effects.
7. Recording ability - play back your playing with a recording feature (not available on all models) 
8. Midi - (not available on all models) capture your playing for computer studio recording and mixing 
9. Some models have built-in metronomes and rhythm drum accompaniments (which is great for jazz and pop playing)
10. Affordable with a range of prices to suit every budget.

Murray McLachlan, Chair of the European Piano Teachers Association, demonstrates the versatility the Yamaha Avant Grand N1 Digital Piano


Characteristics of Acoustic Pianos

1. Harmonics - basically the strings of a piano will vibrate sympathetically with each other, the whole piano through it's wood will resonate, which in turn with the proper technique can produce a Singing quality.
2. Double escapement - means you can play rapidly repeating notes, some digital pianos have started to introduce this, such as the Roland range.
3. More nuance - to test this, hold down a key very gently to produce a small sound, the mid range digital pianos will have this feature.
4. An acoustic piano is the minimum requirement to practice for serious concert performing, and a must if you are in the higher grades of piano 6-8 (ABRSM)
5. Most piano exams are held on acoustic pianos, therefore, you'd have a distinct advantage in controlling the dynamics.
6. They require tuning up to twice a year, which adds to the yearly cost.  Tuning in the UK (London) can cost up to £55 ($85 usd) a piano, so that's up to £110 ($160) a year in tuning possibly.
7. Are not so portable, due to the weight of the steel strings and metal frame, you'll need a specialist mover to move an upright piano up a flight of steps.
8. Performance of the piano is affected by  and can be damaged by atmospheric conditions - such as central heating (remember heat expands the components) or dampness (if stored in a garage - a no no - which can cause the soundboard to shrink)
9. If buying used and privately, you'll need a piano technician to inspect the piano to make sure you're not getting a  lemon!
10. Vary tremendously from one instrument to another in terms of the tone, touch (evenness) the pedaling (how far and how rigid you have to depress to get sustain)

How to Choose the Perfect (acoustic) Piano for you and your family (ABC 4 - Utah)



Acoustic Piano: The story of Estonia Pianos - hand crafted pianos from Estonia - virtuoso pianist Marc Andre Hamelin owns one!

Further Reading

• Best Digital Piano Reviews 2011 (Pianos Guide Website)
• Digital Pianos - Buyers Guide (MI Pro - Music Instrument Pro)
• Buyers Guide to Pianos (Acoustic Versus Digital) 
• Hybrid Pianos (Acoustic and Digital Piano Buyer)
• Acoustic or Digital - What's right for me? (Acoustic and Digital Piano Buyer)
• Compare Digital Piano Features side by side US Based
• AZ Piano News (Lots of up-to-date reviews on digital pianos) US Based

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