Lady Gaga playing John Lennon's Steinway Piano

John Lennon - Steinway & Sons White Grand Piano

Lady Gaga started on the piano when she was 4, MSNBC even says she started at age 2! a and wrote her first piano ballad at the age of 13. She's well known for her outrageous and  madonnaesque costumes.

Would you Lady Gaga into your home to play on your piano? Sean Lennon did, and took a picture of Gaga on his dad John Lennon's former piano in July 2010. But Beatles and Lennon fans were not impressed, and let rip their anger on twitter.

 Perhaps it was the way Lady Gaga was dressed? Sean responded:

'Pianos meant are to be played. Why is everyone so uptight? 'What should we do, lock it away in a dusty room? So judgemental...'

 Technically the white Steinway and Sons Grand Piano belongs to Yoko Ono, as it was a birthday present from John Lennnon in 1971.

The Steinway is the very same piano that Lennon wrote the classic song "Imagine".  In 2010, to commemorate John Lennon's would be 70th birthday, had he lived, Steinway and Sons pianos made a limited edition "Imagine Limited Edition Series" piano.


Here's Lady Gaga playing John Lennon's "Imagine" on another white Grand Piano, perhaps she learned her lesson from the angry twitter responses, and dressed more conservatively for the occasion!



So is there an appropriate or inappropriate way of dress when playing the piano, or is it merely the music that matters most? Your comments please.

Further reading

• Lady Gaga angers Beatles fans by playing John Lennon's piano 
• From early age, teachers were Gaga for singer (7.7.10, Today.Com)
• Battered old piano played by the Beatles expected to fetch £150,000 at auction

Sir Anthony Hopkins: Actor, Composer, and Pianist

Srce (Classic FM)

The first link I had of Sir Anthony Hopkins and piano music was when I was watching his character Hannibal Lechter in the film Silence of the Lambs listening to Bach's Goldberg Variations, whilst later performing a gruesome act of violence. Little did I know until recently that the actor himself, is an accomplished composer, and pianist enthusiast. In, fact his love of music came before he discovered acting, at the age of 6, when he started piano lessons in Margam, Wales. According to ClassicFM, his mother had high hopes that little Anthony would be a famous pianist.

To this day, in his spare time, Hopkins enjoys reading, painting and continues playing piano (every day, in fact, if at home). His piano of choice is his very own Viennese Bosdendorfer (brand owned by Yamaha) grand piano. And the repertoire of choice? Hopkins enjoys playing works by  Bach, Scriabin and Chopin, "... not to impress anyone but to keep the co-ordination of my hands and my brain as I get older,'' he told the New south Wales newspaper.

 Hopkins, wanted to be a musician but didn't have the qualifications so he became an actor, instead, according to his interview with the Independent newspaper. In January, 2013,  74 year old Sir Anthony releases his compositions of orchestral works through the UK's Classic FM (world's biggest classical radio station) record label. So it's time for you to listen to some of Sir Anthony Hopkin's compositions, recorded by the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, which include 2 of his Film compositions for the films August and Slipstream. His composition was featured on a Classical Brits Award winning album in 2012. Well done Sir Anthony!

Comment below and let us know what you think!



Further reading

• Hopkins swaps movies for music with piano tour [2007, Independent, UK]
• Anthony Hopkins - Hannibal hits the high notes with a classic performance (Independent, UK)
• Interview: Sir Anthony Hopkins, actor and musician (Scostman, UK) 
• Sir Anthony Hopkins 'Composer': Actor Debuts First Album - 5 Actors Who've Turned To Music [Huffington Post UK]
• Anthony Hopkins, Film Composer, IFC Fix 
• Anthony Hopkins interview on CBS Eye To Eye With Katie Couric; on composing for the film Slipstream

Happy 70th Birthday Maurizio Pollini, Chopin Pianist Extraordinaire

Last year the piano sage blog featured an article: Chopin Piano Competition Winners - Maurizio Pollini Interview. 2012 is the year two legendary pianists Barenboim and Pollini (born 5th January 1942) celebrate their 70th birthday.

Maurizio Pollini Cartoon [srce:toonpool]

In 1960, the Chair of the International Chopin Competition, legendary Artur Rubinstein said of Pollini,  "that boy plays better than any of us Jurors". Pollini was the youngest at the time, age 18 to win the competition.
It was no mean feat too, Pollini beat piano greats Vladimir Ashkenazy and Mituko Uchida to secondary prizes, which is why The Guardian UK newspaper stated 'Pollini has few pianistic peers in the world today.'  


Let's relive the competition by viewing some rare footage of  Pollini at the International Chopin Piano Competition Performing Chopin Prelude d minor op.28 no 24

What's Pollini achieved since winning the Chopin Piano Competition in 1960? Wikipedia highlights some of his accolades and triumphs since:

His first recordings for Deutsche Grammophon in 1971 included Stravinsky's Three Movements from Petrushka and Prokofiev's Seventh Sonata and is still considered a landmark of twentieth century piano discography. Since then he has been one of Deutsche Grammophon's leading pianists. His recording of Chopin's Etudes, Opp. 10 & 25, also under Deutsche Grammophon, won Pollini international acclaim. 

So it's great Pollini wasn't typecast into only performing works by Chopin, let's now hear
Pollini perform Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto (2nd Movement) with Conductor Abbado in Rome, 1967.
 

Pollini is also an exponent of modern composer Schönberg, especially his Opus 11 and Opus 19 works, in an interview with the Daily Telegraph he says:

 "they are among the works of genius composed in the first half of the 20th century. I like them enormously. I have always liked them. They have remained permanently in my repertoire, and I would like people to appreciate them." 

Pollini Performs Schönberg Op.19, 6 piano pieces

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)

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. 

Piano's Funniest Moments 5: Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie Piano Materclass

The British Fry and Laurie comedy doubleact were big int he 1980s and 1990s. Here their
sketch takes the form of a Piano masterclass with some interesting twists and innuendo!


A stage version - with Czech subtitles! PianoStreet cites the following performance from Hysteria! Hysteria! Hysteria!” AIDS benefit in 1988. The ending is different from the above!

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

Daniil Trifonov, winner of the Tchaikovsky and Artur Rubinstein International Piano Competitions

I was reading a news bulletin in the August-September edition of Pianist magazine that

Danill Trifonov won two major prestigious international piano competitions back to back within weeks of each other! So I was very curious to hear his playing and learn more about this Wunderkind.

Born in 1991 Russian Daniill Trifonov, has won prizes and competitions most of his performing life and studied at the Moscow Gnesin School of Music (school for gifted musicians - much like the UK's Yehudi Menuhin school). There he studied under top teachers, one Tatiana Zelikman, who herself studied under Theodore Gutman, student of Heinrich Neuhaus. Neuhaus was the author of 'the art of piano playing' and also taught Radu Lupu and Richter.

Tchaikovsky Competition Jurist Martha Argerich was impressed with Danill's pianism:

 “Last night I listened to him again on YouTube – he has everything and more. What he does with his hands is technically incredible. It’s also his touch – he has tenderness and also the demonic element. I never heard anything like that.”

-Martha Argerich;  Financial Times, July 8, 2011

 So what does the 2011 winner of the Artur Rubinstein Competition and the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition sound like? Let's first hear the demonic element!

Artur Rubinstein Competition 2011 Performance: Trifinov performs Liszt's Mephisto Waltz at the



2011 Tchaikovsky XIV competition Performance - Gala Prize winner's concert [excerpt]  Trifinov performing  One of the jury members this year was Vladimir Ashkenazy! (a previous winner himself)



Trifonov performed Liszt's La Campanella as an Encore at the Tchaikovsky Competition.  Here's a performance from 2008.
 

 Now for some tenderness, Danill performs Chopin's Piano Concerto #1 at the finals of the Artur Rubinstein Competition, Israel 2011
 

Piano comeback: more popular than ever, 40 million Chinese swear by it!

A country of pianists!
In a recent article popular Chinese pianist Lang Lang has been credited for inspiring 40 million Chinese to study the piano and in 2009 featured as one of Time Magazine's Top 100 influential people..
To put that number in context, the population of the UK is approximately 62 million, and Poland is just over 38 million. And with such a talent pool of pianists to choose from, it's no wonder the next issue of International Piano Magazine features "the Chinese are coming" profiling the superstar pianists of today Yundi Li, Yuja Wang.




Piano - the king of all instruments
Furthermore, among musical instruments,  the piano is the most popular instrument (Ex UK) according to
the ABRSM, (the Associated Board Royal Schools of Music, the international UK based exam body that sets the exam standards for Grades 1-8 in most musical instruments from the harp, violin, voice, and piano) In 2009, ABRSM received 150,268 entries for piano exams, 92,773 for music theory and this compares with the next popular instrument, the violin with 19,449 exam entries. Harpsichord was the least popular instrument with a mere 2 entries!

101 Pianists rehearsing  (source: langlang foundation)

Why is Piano the most popular? 
Pianos and their popular digital piano/keyboard counterparts can suit all budgets. It's probably chosen over the second most popular instrument - the violin because you can easily make a sound with the piano with the fingers from day 1. With the violin, the technique is immensely difficult in the initial year to produce a pleasant sound. Pianos can represent and simulate all orchestral sound ranges, textures, and effects: percussive timpanis to legato cellos, and violin pizzicato (through staccato). The repertoire is so wide ranging from jazz, blues, ragtime, pop, classical and  composers Michael Nyman, Gershwin, to Beethoven.

Start clocking  your 10,000 hours now
In Chinese communities, it is recognised that being good at the piano requires discipline, dedication, hard work and perseverance.  In other words, Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 rule applies - this theory says in order to be an expert and the top of the game in any discipline whether drama, golf, or piano you need to put in about 10,000 hours. This hard work and dedication, the parents believe will translate into other areas of their life, like their academic and later work life. Chinese culture believes this hard work leads to success in later life. In today's society, it's so easy for children to get into a couch potato routine watching TV,  playing computer games all day. And with every endeavor, it's not just quantity but quality of practice.

So if you really want to be the best at the piano or anything in life, start practicing now, make it a routine, make it your life!

Play it again, Mr President: The Statesmen Pianists

There's a great article Famous People who Played the Piano  from the playpiano.com website. The article mentions politicians, but also includes famous actors and scientists.

Two US Presidents played the piano to a high standard: Harry Truman

Harry Truman at the Whitehouse (playpiano.com)

 and Richard Nixon - here playing his own composition


Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice performs a piano Brahms quintet for the queen in 2008. Read the Daily Mail's article covering the performance. Her counterpart in the UK William Hague,  Foreign Secretary started playing the piano when he stepped down as leader of the conservative party according to this 2003 article in the Guardian: William Hague - the piano years. 

Ignace Paderewski, Polish Prime Minister in 1919, and a student of the great teacher Theodor Leschetizky (who also taught Schnabel) performs the Hungarian Rhapsody (clip originates from "The Art of the  Piano"). I'm quite familar with one of his legacies - the Paderewski editions of Chopin piano works.


Then there are the hobbyist statesmen - pianists. Here's Vladimir Putin singing and playing Blueberry Hill on the piano.


Perhaps a little more accomplished is Germany's oldest living Chancellor Helmut Schmidt who released a CD of Mozart and Bach Piano Concertos in 2008 coinciding with his 90th birthday.