Vasily Safonoff

I love researching piano music at London's British Library!
There is a really good atmosphere among the researchers of all ages, plus the cafe does the most enormous pear and chocolate muffins!
I was curious to learn more about the Russian pedagogue Safonoff - I remember one of my teachers Yonty Solomon mentioning him. Here's a helpful quote from a 1915 book of his.


 "A chord must never be be prepared in a stiff position, for then the sound becomes hard and wooden. The chord must, so to speak, be hidden in the closed hand, which opens, in falling from above for the necessary position, just at the moment of striking the keyboard. This means that the chord must be ready in the thought of the player before the hand opens. This was the secret of the incomparable beauty of sound in the chords of Anton Rubinstein whose playing the author of this book had the good fortune to watch closely for many years."






p 27 Vasily Safonoff
New Formula for the Piano Teacher and Piano Student
pub Chester , London 1915

Latest news August 2012

Recent news August 2012. I am glad to report that I have now passed my LGSMD diploma in piano performance, and so am now a Licentiate of Guildhall School of Music and Drama. I performed Bach Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, Ravel Sonatine, Debussy Prelude 'La Terrasse des Audiences au Clair de Lune', and Chopin 4th Ballade in F minor.

I am now preparing my next piano performance Diploma, FRSM  which I shall take in the winter of 2012, and I shall perform two late Beethoven Sonatas Op 109 and Op 110.

July 2012

Congratulations to Maya Garside for performing Liszt concert etude 'Un Sospiro' in Prague! Congratulations to Tanya Evans for gaining Grade 7 with Merit! Congratulations to Alla Garside for gaining Grade 6 Distinction! Congratulations to Louisa Van Aeken for gaining Grade 4 with Merit! Well done everybody, keep practising!

Recent pupil results

Congratulations to Maya Garside for performing Liszt concert etude 'Un Sospiro' in Prague! Congratulations to Tanya Evans for gaining Grade 7 with Merit! Congratulations to Alla Garside for gaining Grade 6 Distinction! Congratulations to Louisa Van Aeken for gaining Grade 4 with Merit! Well done everybody, keep practising!

wonderful performance

Have been a fan of Hungarian pianist Deszo Ranki for a long time. Just came across this supremely musical performance of Mozart with the ECO... enjoy!

Recent repertoire discoveries

One of the great things about playing and teaching piano is the enormous repertoire that is out there just waiting to be discovered. Several centuries of music, with every piece and every composer telling a story.

Take the Russian composer Alabiev, for example. Born into a wealthy family in Siberia in 1787, he fought as an officer in the Napoleonic wars.  Aged 38 he was arrested on the charge of murdering a man he had gambled with. Though the evidence was not conclusive he was imprisoned for 6 years, during which time he composed this song "Solovey' (Nightingale).

The song eventually became so famous that it entered mainstream Russian consciousness as a folk song. (somewhat the reverse of the Bartok effect where folk music entered the classical repertoire).

Here's a wonderful performance of Liszt's transcription of Alabiev's "The Nightingale" performed by Ignaz Friedman

And here's a Glinka variation on Alabiev's  Nightingale performed by a 12-year old wunderkind from Russia, Syuzanna Rudanovskaya who demonstrates for us how to play the piano.

Alabiev's  "Nightingale" makes a fabulous addition to the bird repertoire within piano music, along with Janacek: The Barn Owl has not Flown Away; Balakirev's The Lark; Schumann The Prophet Bird, etc etc.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Alla Garside for winning the 1st prize, Emily Crow Championship Cup at St Swithuns School, Winchester, in May 2012! Alla performed Kabalevsky (Cavalryman) and Bonsor (Dreamy) from her Grade 6 repertoire.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to my three pupils who took piano grade exams this term, Mike Huang (Grade 8 Distinction); Emmy Huang (Grade 6 Distinction), and Natalya Evans (Grade 4 Distinction).

I was very proud that each pupil received 22 marks out of possible 22 for at least one of their piano pieces! Mike and Emmy have both been invited to play at a High Achievers Recital.
Well done and take a huge pat on the back all of you!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to all my pupils who did very well at Southampton Music Festival, March 2012. In particular congratulations to Abhinav Tiwari for winning the Fairclough Challenge Cup (Grade 8 recital class); Mike Huang in the same class came in second place.  Emmy Huang won the Lady Cooper Challenge Cup (Grade 6-7 recital class); Tatiana Evans and Anton Taraban came second in their classes.
I myself won the Vivien Evans cup for adult open piano recital, performing Bach-Siloti Organ Prelude in G Minor, Bella's Lullaby which I composed in 2010, and Kapustin Concert Etude no. 1.

Queen of the tutu

Well I am surprised just how many tutus there are out there on the piano stage.

First up was Aimi Kobayashi, a wonderfully musical prodigy from Japan. Such a natural, heart-warming, sunny talent.

But now battle has been joined by Abigail Sin, who shows staggering concentration and supple virtuosity in Dutilleux's taxing Sonata. She definitely deserves more listeners.

The Jury is out on the battle for Queen of the Tutu: Miss Sin - more uploads please!

Nikolai Kapustin

I have been listening widely to this amazing Russian composer. Jazz influenced, he studied with Russian pedagogue Alexander Goldenweiser, and videos of Kapustin performing show that he amazing fluency and a biting rhythm. Over 100 opus numbers to his credit, hats off to him... Would love to know more about him, and how he survived all these years as a composer before being 'discovered' only recently.

His Concert Etude which I have been learning recently is tricky, but yields to practice.
There seems to be an inverse law, that pieces which sound difficult really do become easier the more you practice (Liszt, Kapustin), but pieces which sound easy (such as some Mozart and Bach) seem to become harder and harder!

Congratulations!

To my pupil Alla Garside, congratulations on winning a music scholarship at King Edward VI school! Keep up the good work!

Anton Rubinstein

A transcription of words by (possibly) the greatest pianist after Liszt:
"the purpose of art is to uplift and spiritualise, not necessarily to entertain... art is aristocratic, not democratic... music demands a consecration, a cultus in the temple to which only the initiated are admitted: she demands to be the chosen of the elect, to possess somewhat of the mysterious".
Rubinstein demanded that pupils learn to sing, for without an understanding of breathing and phrasing, piano playing degenerates into mere fingerwork.

acknowledgements to Larry Sitsky, "Anton Rubinstein" pp18-22