A student of Rachmaninoff, Ruth Slenczynska: was practising one of Rachmaninov’s preludes when he asked her to join him at the window. It was springtime in Paris, and the avenues were lined with mimosa trees laden with fluffy, golden blossoms. “He said: ‘You see that? That’s what you want to bring to your sound – […]

There was soon to be no excuse for not practising in the chill of the winter. This excerpt is from The Musical Times, April 1869: WARMED PIANOS (G. Price’s Patent) – These Instruments invite playing in Winter, when the coldness of the keys of all others makes it unnecessarily uncomfortable, if not painful, to many, […]

“Now we know that you are gifted, very gifted, but you must work very hard, because someone who is gifted has to work harder than someone who is not, and you will see how boring it is to work hard at music.” Ravel to Manuel Rosenthal after a concert. Cited in: Nichols, Roger (1987) Ravel […]

In art there are tears that do often lie too deep for thoughts. – Louis Kronenberger L. Kronenberger, Company Manners: A Cultural Inquiry into American Life, Indianapolis, Bobbs-Merrill, 1954, p. 42.

I want to believe in piano rolls. The idea that we can insert an object into a present-day piano and hear long-dead pianists and composers perform again as if they were in the same room is a tantalisingly attractive prospect. It has a magical aura about it. But, I’m afraid, it’s a conjuring trick, or […]

Emma Ayres, a violist and former ABC Classic FM radio presenter, discusses her experience in teaching in Kabul at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music. CP: You teach viola, cello, and violin as well? EA: A little bit of violin and a little bit of double bass, although I’m not a very good double bass […]

Karl Georg Reutter II was appointed choirmaster at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna in 1738.  The following year he went on tour to recruit choristers.  In the town of Hainburg, Joseph Haydn (at stage seven years of age) auditioned.  The contemporary biography Guiseppe Carpani recalled: Reutter gave him a tune to sing at sight. The […]

“Research in Finland has uncovered the benefits of feeling a bond with your instrument. 51 per cent of musicians surveyed reported that they were united with my instrument/voice during performance that there is no difference between us. When this bond is complete, performers may enter in a state of intense concentration, causing them to lose […]

“Arensky is a man of remarkable gifts, but morbidly nervous and lacking in firmness—altogether a strange man.” Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, in a letter to N. F. von Meck, Frolovskoe, July 2nd (14th), 1890. Cited in Modest Tchiakovsky, The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, np., Outlook Verlag, 2018, p. 477.

Title: Abstraction XVIIIComposer: Greg SmithInstrumentation: PianoProduct medium: PDF scoreRelated products: – Abstraction XVIII (mp3 audio) Sample: