Posts: Technique | Chamber Musician Today

How to pass a music diploma

Despite the rather glib title, there is a serious intent behind this post. As someone who has taken two performance diplomas in fairly quick succession (less than 18 months apart), I want to offer some advice and support to those who are preparing for diplomas. First and foremost, don’t be under any illusions about these […]

By Fran Wilson | 20 May 2013 | Comments | 75 views

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London Piano Meetup Group launch party

The launch of the London Piano Meetup Group at Peregrine’s Pianos on Saturday 18th May was a very enjoyable and successful event, very well-attended, and friendly. Hosted by Lorraine Liyanage and myself, we had six performers playing repertoire by Gershwin, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Brahms and Rimsky-Korsakov, and all the playing was of a very high standard. […]

By Fran Wilson | 20 May 2013 | Comments | 76 views

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is orchestra fundraising in the stone age?

From Ron Spiegelman at Sticks and Drones: One of our catch cries is “ticket sales only account for a 33% of our income”, we use that day in day out but what I learned at the conference is almost everyone else in the fundraising world has to raise 100% of their income. They only wish [...]

By Charles Noble | 20 May 2013 | Comments | 69 views

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5 questions to Donnacha Dennehy (composer, artistic director of Crash Ensemble)

Until I heard Alarm Will Sound perform scenes from The Hunger, your work-in-progress about the Great Irish Famine of 1845-1852, my idea of traditional Irish music was the Clancy Brothers! The sean-nós (“old style”) recordings you incorporate are at once uplifting and haunting, but Rachel Calloway’s rendition of Annals of the Famine had me a [...]

By I Care if You Listen | 17 May 2013 | Comments | 5 views

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Corigliano Stimulates the Mind in Fulcrum Point’s “Altered States”

Movie composer John Williams turned 81 in February, and no orchestra stepped up to celebrate the passing of his perfect nine square birthday. Perhaps they were all exhausted by the Tanglewood celebration of his 80th last year. Williams may be America’s most successful movie composer; his music revels in the film’s narrative, loudly commenting on [...]

By I Care if You Listen | 17 May 2013 | Comments | 4 views

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Practice more efficiently and avoid pain

As a musician, you always try to improve your practice routines and become more efficient. In fact, we are actually lazy to a point that we constantly try to find ways to practice less and do more. When I was teaching I used to say to my students they have to picture pianists as the laziest people in the world: we try to spend as less time as possible practicing and one of our basic goal is to ...

By Pierre-Arnaud Dablemont | 16 May 2013 | Comments | 2 views

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Meet the Artist……Bruce Brubaker, pianist

Who or what inspired you to take up the piano and make it your career? My mother brought home from the public library a recording by Vladimir Horowitz. Already, I was studying music and learning to play the piano; but it was those sounds that ignited my musical interest. Who or what were the most […]

By Fran Wilson | 15 May 2013 | Comments | 3 views

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CD review: Schubertreise Volume 2

Schubert: Fantasy in C ‘Grazer’, D 605a Vriend: JOY (2011) Chopin: Sonata in g, opus 65, Nocturne, opus 62/1 Debussy: Estampes Lutoslawski: Grave Joy Lisney, violoncello / James Lisney, piano Catalogue No. WOODCD811 (1 CD) ‘Schubertreise’ is the fanciful name for a concert series presented by pianist James Lisney at London’s Southbank Centre (from 2001 [...]

By Fran Wilson | 06 May 2013 | Comments | 63 views

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Concentu Mirabili! Mahan Esfahani at Wigmore Hall

It would be foolish of me to attempt to review harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani’s magical Wigmore Hall recital in detail, as I have neither the knowledge of the mechanics of the instrument nor familiarity with the repertoire to do justice his performance. I “dabbled” with the harpsichord while at school, playing continuo in a Baroque group, [...]

By Fran Wilson | 05 May 2013 | Comments | 24 views

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CD Review- American Record Guide on Gal/Krasa Complete String Trios

From the November/December issue of American Record Guide Buy here from MDT UK Buy here from Arkiv USA Buy here from Amazon UK Buy here from Amazon USA “Ensemble Epomeo play with finesse and sensitivity, nicely capturing Krasa’s manic grotesqueries as … Continue reading →

By Kenneth Woods | 28 Apr 2013 | Comments | 76 views

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