Northwest Pianos, My recital clips

Here is a "reader's digest" version of my recital on 9-12-09. The recital was a part of the Northwest Pianos Sauter Concert Series.

Bach on a Clavichord

Here is the Toccata from Bach's 6th Partita in e minor played on a clavichord. The clavichord was a common instrument found in many homes from the 16th century to the 18th century in Germany. We often hear Bach's music played on a harpsichord, since much of his music was written for the instrument. However, hearing his music played on a clavichord is more rare. In contrast with the harpsichord, the player can control dynamics and even a type of vibrato making it capable of playing a more cantabile melody. This would probably lead one to wonder why the clavichord was used less as a performance instrument then and is used much less now. Its small size and soft volume made it a convenient home tool for composition and thus made it impractical for public performance. Above is a picture of a clavichord from Bach's birthplace home in Eisenach.

Chopin Etude Op. 10 No. 2

I really enjoyed this clip of the second etude. Being one of the most challenging of the 24 Etudes (I think I've said that before about other etudes as they are all quite demanding), this focusses on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th fingers of the right hand. The pianist is required to play the chromatic writing with these fingers due to the thumb and forefinger executing the accompanimental writing. This particular pianist demonstrates remarkable precision and flexibility. This is a fine example of the technique needed for this work.

Pogorelich owns two Chopin Etudes

I've posted a few examples of Chopin Etudes in the past, but I keep finding new clips of really great and unique performances of them. The first etude in the clip is one of my favorites, Op. 10 #8. This study was composed to develop fluidity in the right hand while passing the thumb under the 4th finger and vice versa in an arpeggio-like sequence. This all happens over a challenging but playful melody in the left hand. Lastly, he performs the etude in thirds; probably the most difficult of all his etudes. He makes it look quite effortless.

It may be just a rumor but I hear if you grow your hair out in a crazy plume it just might give you piano super powers.

My recital date is set for 9-12-09

I've scheduled my recital for September 12th, 2009 at Northwest Pianos in Bellevue. I'll be performing two Beethoven piano sonatas and pieces by Debussy and Gershwin. At least that's what I'm planning for...

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Isabella de Leon for winning the music division of a competition for Seattle's Filipino community.

Absolute Pitch and Genetic Research

After discovering a few of my young students have perfect pitch, or absolute pitch, I began looking for answers into the cause of this. The problem is that very little is known about the factors that affect these people with absolute pitch. A few important trends in these individuals, though not required, are: early musical training, speaking or understanding pitch-sensitive language such as Vietnamese or Chinese, and having the "musical gene". The latter of these has become the focus of Dr. Jane Gitschier at the University of California, San Francisco and Dr. Nelson Freimer at the University of California, Los Angeles. They are currently compiling research which they hope will lead them to the discovery of this gene. Below is a link to their page about the study at UCSF and a rather introductory video about the beginnings of their study.

UCSF absolute pitch webpage