See, t-p? I told you roslyn would be useful!  (Very good stuff, rm; but what on earth leads you to believe the last movement of the Blasted Duo is any better than the other two?! Had to play that monster myslef way back, and it stinks! Er, doesn't it?)

 
'I do wonder how you come to that particular conclusion. Sure, the last movement has its superficial difficulties. But these hardly compare to those found in contemporaneous works by the likes of, say, Humpmaier, Wristoff, Musselteit, Churney, Choldersieze et al, many of whom engage with far more virtuosic (problematic as I find that term) pianistic discourses. And Weber's adoption and foregrounding of certain Beethovenian pianistic tropes is really rather more interesting in the Duo than is usually perceived ...' (94)

(Ian,  )

I used to have a tape with Gieseking playing Debussy. He was not a small man, but he had so much delicacy in his fingers.
I am continuing to practice the Blasted Duo and Horovitz Sonata (a bag of tricks really). Next week we are going to play it for a friend on a grand piano.
My first teacher did not sweat over each of my fingers and how it stepped on each key. Her idea was to throw from your sleeve if you know what I mean. (Throw and run with your fingers without much thinking). She also liked position playing. She did not like to prepare any position by stiffing your hand into a specific position.
The other teacher was from Leningrad. She would lift my finger and plant it on the key with a tip. She was much more elaborate in this way.
Here most panists I heard are stamping if I can say that.
There are many ways to play. Some people think more, some are intuitive players. My frined here is a good pianist almost entirely self tought (through the ears). He is very relaxed, but can be hard on ocasion (if unsure in memory I suppose). I don't think he has a good cantabile (cantilena).


The teacher from Leningrad tought to overlap keys in Chopin (legatissimo).

Too much talk about technique can make one too self conscious and stiff I suppose.

Ian
 

As far as I am concerned the more people play the instrument the better it is. There was a backlash against the association of the instrument with domesticity and backlash against virtousos. Where are we now?
Are we for virtuosos or viruoso piano playing or are we on the board against them and viruoso playing as a whole?

Or we can embrace many different styles (as long as they are not with bad taste).

I am doing well with my wrist now. My students (most if not all are destined to domestic playing) also benefit from your instructions and no doubt are very greatful.
I have 65 years old man (just retired) playing hymns to me. He also is playing scales and promises to play pieces I want him to play after a while.
I have 42 years old in love with Chopin Db major Nocturne. He is playing it after one year. He is absolutely amazing and astonishing. His hands are so good, stretchy and fingers with nice big fleshy tips.

There are so many people that love classical music!!!! Their tastes are very different.


I have to teach one more student who is aspiring to take dimploma next year. She is so badly taught and so diffecult to teach. She comes from far and only once every two weeks. At least she is not a beginner. She is playing Beethoven Rondo and Chopin Valse. She wants to teach music and get music degree (she is considering it), so I better help her. Next year is her living certificate.


I will keep you posted with my domestically inclined students. I have a young man that can  demolish the piano on a spot. He is very tall. He loves contemporary music. I am always interested what he is going to bring next. He gets pieces himself. He is so badly tought, it is unbelievable he likes to play. He is taking degree in the University. He was in psychology and now in maths. I hope he appears again after exams.

There is this way to deal with a pino. The student ca do it with his bare hands. I always think the hammers will fall out of my piano.

Tony, what a wonderful image!

And how striking (ouch!) that this thread has turned to "how to destroy a valuable instrument" so quickly... surely emblematic of the love-hate relationship we have with "the beast in the corner"...

Wrecking pianos can be something of an art form...