I studied with one of Rosina’s other noted protégé’s, Jeaneane Dowis. She wanted a flat palm with the thumb pulled back and no arching of the hand at all. Yes, a loose elbow and leaning in toward the piano as Mr. Browning suggests. But Jeaneane felt the arms should not be pulled inward. Rather, she said the player should give the arms space much like having a small balloon in the arm pits for relaxation. Also knees should be slightly apart, again the balloon image, and not cramped together. And, Jeaneane prescribed sitting high on the bench. All points are valid and effective. The idea of a flat finger to play on the cushion versus the tip is, in my view, all about how hard one comes down on a note. Also the quality of the piano plays a role. The suggestion of playing thirds and sixths to warm up is no doubt beneficial. But other exercises or just stretching with large chords can also work when warming up. These are all very personal preferences where one size does not fit all. What is good about this video and others like it, is that one takes elements of what is right for the individual pianist. John Browning’s presentation is fascinating as it takes us back to an important era in pianism and its wisdoms. Jeaneane Dowis died in 2013. I still go back to her notations in my music and recall her own wisdoms from her time with Rosina as well as her own fine performances. --Marjan Kiepura
During the 65 years I have been studying the piano, I have been to many master classes, I have been told at least a dozen different ways of how to use the hands and the fingers and the relationship between the body and piano - what the pretentious would call "methods"!. I have watched the hands of many celebreted pianists while they were practicing. In the end, I think each performer takes what feels right for them and then modifies or rejects the rest. Each hand is different. Each arm weight is different.........
This video reminds me of the time when I was 10 years old. I got a new piano teacher and she saw my hands playing the first time, she said after I finished that I play with straight fingers. I thought at that moment that I did something very bad, but after I was surprised by her response. She was polish. She stated to me that in Russia people people use to learn a technique which involves not curling the fingers. She explained to me both approaches and asked me: which technique I'd like her to train me to use. At the time - as I said I was 10 years old - I had no idea how much respect was her question involving. This video reminds me of her.
He uses the same left hand fingering as I do! I worked it out myself, just as I did many other technical problems. I do not like teachers saying, "You must do it like this! The hand should be this shape." I tend to think that every pianist has his own technique which works for him. Not that teachers are useless, but I have found that I leanrt lot also by personal experience and really being aware of my tone, tempo, etc. Everyone's hand is a different shape. Sometimes the fingers should be straight, sometimes curved, for various reasons. I am most in agreement on the relaxation part, but I find that I cannot play with my elbows down all the time, especially when playing very high or low. This is impossible. His piano has a very good treble! I heard John play Ravel once, live. It was excellent!
Sadly, not every student has this concentration and approach to the technical problems, most of the time, pupils don't have this awareness, so the result is a mediocre and ignorant musician that can't see further from their nose, awareness is what makes a musician a good musician. Without it, they all become a mediocre copy of what they see around, thus not developing a musical personality pf their own!
Browning's playing is so much better represented in this clip than in many of his commercial recordings, where the engineers managed to make his tone appear steely. I heard him live in recital and every single note was pure liquid beauty. No recording can really capture the art of a great pianist because a true master understands the acoustical properties of the performing space and plays the hall itself. Good luck reproducing that aural effect with a few microphones and a few loudspeakers.
I agree. He has an old-style charm (I have no other way of verbalizing it) in these clips. It reminds me of some recordings of artists from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s that have a kind of richness of sound that is rarely heard these days. However, many of his recordings sound strangely dry, such as his recording of the Chopin etudes.
Note that different fingerings of the major scale in sixths are given in the Plaidy exercise book. On page 61 of the Schirmer edition of the Plaidy exercises, two fingerings are given (the "preliminary exercises"), while on page 62 (the "major scales" proper) a third fingering is given that John Browning appears to be using in the video (which I have watched at slow motion - quarter speed!): Right hand: 1-4 (starting on E and C) 2-5 1-3 1-4 2-5 1-4 2-5 1-4 2-5 1-3 1-4 2-5 1-4 2-5 1-4 (E and C, the top of the scale), and then descending from there (2-5 on D and B, etc. all the way down to 1-4 again on E and C at the bottom of the scale). Left hand: 5-2 (starting on E and C) 4-1 3-1 5-2 4-1 5-2 4-1 5-2 4-1 3-1 5-2 4-1 5-2 4-1 5-2 (E and C, the top of the scale), and then descending from there (4-1 on D and B, etc. all the way down to 5-2 again on E and C at the bottom of the scale). That is for C major, and I assume the same fingering is to be used in the other keys.
Thank you, Pianopera! This was marvelous to see and hear. Mr. Browning was truly a master and was blessed to have studied and know Mme. Lhevinne. He left us - way to early..... Thanks, again.
I developed my technique, which was highly influenced by Igumnov-school, into using flat fingers more. The lessons of Peter Feuchtwanger were a extremely helpful in this process. So now I play a kind of mix of these schools and feel comfortable with it, since Peter Feuchtwanger had a big knowledge about relaxation, avoiding pain and practicing his special exercises for this purpose. And it's good to know different philosophies in order to achieve a universal point of view.
I’m curious, what do you consider characteristic of the Igumnov school? I suspect I am a product of that school since my teacher’s teacher’s teacher was Igumnov.
@@rowanbelt3612 Same with me, my teacher's teacher's teacher was Igumnov. 😉 Difficult to describe in english language (I am german) and since I moved forward with Feuchtwanger's influence I prefer to focus on the future. Actually my russian professor did not teach the use of flat fingers, although her teacher's teacher was Igumnov. In general my impression is, that most of the russian school lost this tradition, as it was done by old-school-pianists as Moisewitsch or Horowitz. Peter Feuchtwanger taught me using more flat fingers in his unique way, which doesn't mean to have flat fingers in general, because it's always a movement and not (only) a position. So there is no fixed position, no dogmatic thinking, fingers can be rather flat or scrolled. Always depends on the situation. Also Peter Feuchtwanger was a genius in teaching a good flow in the pianistic movements and enabling his students to play without pain. Even pianists, who consulted him because of strong pain, managed to overcome their problems with his help.
Some of this advice is very useful, but I’ve become skeptical about adopting one set of dogmas regarding piano technique. For example, Hamelin said in an interview that not too much time should be spent on scales, because they don’t develop the pianistic mind. He spent more time on Rudolph Ganz exercises in which the hands play contrary patterns, developing a greater flexibility and a capacity to read more complex scores at sight. The double sixths and thirds as well as legato octaves in both hands are wonderful for hand strength, yet many famous pianists hardly practice exercises at all - they use the repertoire to develop. Also, the Russian school is one way, but not the only way. I don’t see Rubinstein or Michelangeli or De Larrocha or Argerich playing with flat fingers. Also take into account that Horowitz’ Piano had an extremely lightened action, which allowed certain hand positions and a feather touch. No sets of hands work the same. Some like Pogorelich in his prime even played with an anti-arched hand (collapsed at the knuckle). Do what brings results, but don’t make a cult out of “methods”. The greatest pianists didn’t even like to talk about technique. That should tell you something.
That's spot-on about Vladi's piano. He had his beloved Steinway refitted with a Yamaha pedal mechanism, which is much more responsive. Steinway went *STRAIGHT DOWNHILL* after the family sold-out in 1974. (Personally, I much prefer Bechstein...)
Perfect comment. I have been very confused lately watching all kinds of "the correct way to play piano" that say different things . I started watching videos on how to play because I got an injury and just wanted to fix any fundmental gaps that I have. I think as long as you produce the right sound without getting injuries, you can do it however you want
Perhaps it's not "either/or" but "both/and" and a whole lot more. In any event, his artistry cannot be impugned. If he has something useful in there take advantage of it.
I think you make a lot of great points, especially that there isn't just one technique. Now I want to focus on the comment about great pianists not talking about technique. First a caveat- you may mean something different than what I read in to it, so not trying to put words in your mouth, just offering additional thoughts. It seems that for some players who are truly natural, it's hard for them to explain exactly what they're doing. For those who weren't totally natural initially, perhaps they reached a point after playing so long that they forgot what it was like before they had a good technique. It's probably almost impossible to know the difference between who is capable of explaining, but doesn't, and those who say they don't want to explain, but couldn't anyway (I mean this comment sportingly, though there's probably a kernel of truth there). About seven years ago, I got more serious about piano (after dabbling for around 30 years, and after an 8-year period of no playing due to work/travel commitments). Essentially, I've only REALLY been playing for seven years. I've worked really hard, and looking back, probably too hard. Five months ago I started trying to figure out how to hold my hand (finally). The good ole 4-octave C-major scale was my benchmark since it is quite tricky on the fingers...compared to B-major, which is quite easy (alluded to in the video here). I stumbled across Taubman eventually (ironically, those videos are staring at me again in my recommended as I type this). That approach, along with watching old videos of Rubinstein, completely changed my world. That said, I STILL would never recommend a dogmatic approach to Taubman (the rotation Edna Golandsky suggests can be quite dangerous without proper weight and timing). But bits of it, now in hindsight, just were common sense that never hit me... like the in-and-out motion as you traverse black/white keys. Mr. Browning's comment about weight from the shoulders is also so important, I just never realized it. After all that, my point is I'm glad someone like Dorothy Taubman took time to analyze great players and then explain these details for the sake of non-natural players like me. I'm not, and never will be, a great pianist, but it is so much more enjoyable now to play with real dynamic control and to make big leaps with ease.
who better than to make available these valuable "principles" handed down to him by the Master teacher Rosina Lhevinne....I've enjoyed Mr. Browning's beautiful playing for years.
My former professor was taught my the Lhevinnes. He sounded just like John Browning. he also said much of what he said about practicing. He was spot on!
Agreed. That same term, "economy of motion" was used by Glenn Gould's teacher as justification for teaching his "tapping" technique whereby the pianist would lay the fingers across the keys and tap them with the opposite hand to learn how little motion was required to press the key.
Hmm. Economy of motion sounds great-like spareness of line in architecture. But I wonder if it ignores what engineers know about Saarinen’s works, and string players know from vibrato-a lot more goes into that pie than apples!
Mental practice... That is something I've found to be incredibly helpful - both for playing the piece and during performance when, though you hope this never happens, you make a mistake and have to link around and through it. It's been so long since I've heard piano instruction. This is a very informative video, and thank you so much for uploading it!
I had the immense pleasure of meeting John Browning in person, sitting front row at his concert, then visiting with him after. What a wonderful man and awesome pianist he was.
This has been really helpful...there are things that that I have done, and not done, inconsistently and accidentally for years, but to hear the principles stated clearly suddenly I realise what I need to focus on. Thanks Erwin!
The "Cathedral" concept - a fantastic tip, however, it won't make much sense if you're unaware of arm weight, rotation, and maybe a couple other concepts. I finally "got it" watching it this time. It never "sunk in" after previous watchings of this video - a few times over the past couple years.
Wonderful video... thank you! I was fortunate to have seen Browning a number of times and to have met him at Ithaca College in the late 1970's. In a master class during that visit, I will never forget that he told a student who played a Brahms Intermezzo that the piece required a "post-coital mood". My own teacher, Ronald Regal, also came from Mrs Lhevinne's troop at Juilliard and all of what Browning demonstrates was also present in Regal's technique.
@@nunoareia27 Even though it was late 1970's, that kind of comment from a classical musician was still rather startling, however, the way he expressed that sentiment was just as refined and elegant as Browning himself. The other stunning thing about seeing him on stage was the way he always just suddenly popped out from behind the stage curtain gracefully bounding to the front of the piano. He was indeed elegance in every sense of the word.
Thank you so much for this upload! Not only precious teaching, but also I heard some of my favorite pieces, Mendelssohn's Sweet Remembrance and several of Chopin's nocturnes.
I've been working on such ideas for years but without guidance , so this clip is very useful to me in that it codifies it all! Thaks for enriching our lives with this knowledge.
i believe each person will allow their hands and wrists to flow over the keys in manner which is comfortable to them. I for one feel that guererro's method with gould feels most natural with the wrist much lower than traditional with the fingers having a feeling of being pulled into the keys versus high to low..
Excellent video. Obviously, nobody should base their entire technique around this. It's important to learn about positioning and technique from all over the world and gain as much information as possible. That's why I love this video; it's clear and detailed.
It is interesting to know the many technical approaches to the piano, and use the right one to some passage to get the right sound. Btw, the nocturne playing was stunning, nothing to envy to Rubinstein or Kissin. Priceless video.
As far as envisioning a memorized piece, a person told me the story of how they attended a driving school where Emerson Fittipaldi showed up and gave a "real time" verbal description of driving the course they were at. When he started, they started a stop watch. When he finished describing the lap they stopped the watch. His description took exactly as long as his lap time on that course. Of course Emerson took this to a higher level than merely reciting each curve's handling.
Browning was a truly great pianist. One only has to listen to his playing of the Barber Sonata or the Chopin Etudes to know this. Many years ago, I studied with Martin Canin, who was Mme. Lhevinne's assistant at Juilliard and a master teacher (and pianist, until a hand problem ended his playing career). I know that Martin would not mind my saying that he had and has enormous respect and affection for Browning. I first heard Browning in recital as a youngster because Martin told me that he was a pianist I needed to hear.
John Browning is one of the greatest pianists I ever heard. I first heard him as a teenager in the late 70s. His program included Ravel's Sonatine and Gaspard de la Nuit. I heard him again 20+ yrs later. His program that time included the Barber Sonata. (Horowitz premiered the Barber Sonata but Barber personally chose John Browning to premiere his Piano Concerto.)
It is true that, "If the passage work was even, then it sounded faster than it was." Bernstein told, In this case, the strings this same thing when we were playing the last movement of the Bartok, Concerto For Orchestra. He demanded that we play it slower, to win greater evenness and precision, to excite greater emotional export. He was of course correct, and it sounded not only faster at that slower speed, but more...savage too! I wonder then why it has come to pass that so many pianists play Chopin so quickly, simply because they can (fearing criticism for failing at metronomic speed, but without regard for musical effect or intent), reducing his music to that which Chopin reviled most: virtuosity for virtuosity's sake. The implication is that not only will the emotional affect be more effectively communicated at a slower tempo, but that the listeners ear would have greater opportunity to celebrate Chopin's largely unaccounted (by listeners) harmonic ingenuity and contrapuntal genius. These elements of Chopin's works go largely unaccounted by non-pianist whose association with a piece has not come of personally consuming, digesting and metabolizing its individual elements, note for note, before then excreting them in performance. The slower tempo would make space in the landscape or canopy of the performance to allow light of awareness to make and accounting of them. This is why Schumann said of Chopin, that his music is as "Cannons buried in flowers", meaning music of far greater import and consequence is hiding behind beautiful melodies. Those musical cannon's need to be more in evidence of performance, and that can only happen if the performer becomes less convicted to demonstrating 'mastery' of Chopin's music, when he is really securing its 'defeat'. As Liszt wittily observed, "Chopin cannot play so fast, he only seems to".
Really fascinating. Some of the Lhevinnes' ideas seem to fly in the face of what I have been taught and what I teach myself (I always preferred curved fingers, for example - my teachers having emphasised playing on the cushions of the fingers, supposedly producing the roundest, fullest singing tone) - but sometimes the best advertisement for a teacher's method is how his or her pupils play, and Mme. Lhevinne taught three of America's finest pianists - Van Cliburn, John Browning and Garrick Ohlsson. Browning's performance of the Nocturne is a real treat - I liked his relaxed tempo, allowing for some really exquisite nuances, and his pianissimos were simply breathtaking!
I believe that above all, hands & fingers should be well-developed and *flexible* -- so that one can play comfortably both with curved fingers or with flat fingers, depending on the musical style and the musical effect that is needed...
Absolutely! I think an elastic and flexible wrist is especially essential! How could anyone master Chopin's "Black Key" Etude with a tight wrist, for example? Sándor did not agree with some of the Lhevinnes' ideas - for example, he did not believe in warming up or doing a lot of drilling or repetitive exercises before practicing the repertoire. He would say that instead of warming up the pianist should learn to "line up the fingers with the corresponding muscles in the forearm". Maybe that was adequate for HIM, but with all my own hand problems - osteoarthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, two broken wrists, and hand surgery, I find I cannot get my fingers to play well - to achieve speed, agility and evenness - without drilling them first with Hanon, scales and a few Chopin Etudes. Rachmaninoff is supposed to have sworn by Hanon's "Virtuoso Pianist", and apparently never stopped practising it, especially in his later years when he suffered from arthritis. I think there are an infinite amount of variables when it comes to technique and every pianist must ultimately tailor his or her technique accordingly, while, as you say, bearing in mind the musical style and effect required.
yes i think too much emphasis is put on hand position so long as your hand doesn't go out of its natural shape too much and is mainly supple and relaxed, the hardest thing about playing is memory and brain synapses guiding the hand to the correct chords or passages instantaneously which one needs good keyboard spacial awareness
I wonder if the Lhevinne's had a relationship with Horowitz? He was famous for the 'flat fingers' technique they taught, but I believe he was also from Kiev.
I wish I could double like this. Thank you for posting these. 🙏🏻 The practice away from piano does seem almost impossible to me. I’ve never heard it explained as he did in this video. Much clearer now on that.
Lot of people can play the right notes but i think this tutorial helps to teach people to turn those notes into music especially the flat finger technique that Horowits used to get a beautiful singing tone
Interesting how you can get a rich tone playing with flat fingers. Met Suzuki piano teachers who would get their students to play close to the tip of the fingers by default and keep the hand arched up as much as possible.
His sound is wonderful - no surprise: Lhevinne's was incredible: listen to his astonishing recording of the Schulz-Evler blue danube transcription. Re flat fingers: if one's fingers are too thick to play in between the black notes it's very difficult to play this way, also, having long thumbs makes this far easier. If one reads Josef Hofmann's book on piano playing there is a photo showing the hand position favoured by Hofmann - and the fingers are anything but flat - and Hofmann was arguably one of the greatest technicians when he was at his peak.
Was Constance Keene of the same "old Russian" school of piano technique? Her recording of the Rachmaninoff preludes in the early 1960s is superb. She brings out such a fullness of tone to the music.
When I listen to her, for some reason it doesn't sound the same as these guys. I always felt the Russian school and its students like Joseph Rosina Daniel Pollak and Horowitz their tone sounded "choked" and covered. It's hard to explain. And when I hear people like Alexander Malofeev and Martha Argerich, they lift their arms and use the weight of the arm to creat sound rather than try to muscle it with fingers close to the keyboard.
I am sure your students appreciate your reverence for your former teacher and will also hold you in a place of honor. At 78 I still practice and yes, need to look at the music and visualize the eventual playing. Thanks and Bravo!
He was a marvellous pianist, no doubt. Technique is fascinating and controversial subject. I can't see how playing double sixths in all keys and stretching finger positions would help prevent tendonitis, quite the contrary I should think. Warming up is unnecessary unless you need go straight into a performance The way to avoid injury is to develop means of playing which minimises the use of the tendons, particularly the fourth and fifth fingers. The Taubman approach is interesting in this respect, although the main consideration is the use of hand and arm weight with hands as relaxed as possible, rather than strong finger strokes and tense knuckle joints. The less you move your fingers the better! Golden rule when practising is that as soon as your hand starts to feels tired , STOP playing for at least an hour. Another rule is not to practise the same thing for hours on end, as identical movements potentially cause R.S.I.
Yes, I've reached the same conclusion after struggling with RSI for years myself. I've finally found a technique that lets me play fast without getting strain. The problem is that many teachers want me to use more techniques, like really nasty feeling finger staccato, so I just avoid playing those kind of pieces HAHAH
I was interested to hear about the "dome" of the hand as being strong and almost unbreakable. I studied with Jules Gentil, who was the assistant to Alfred Cortot, and he always insisted that the bridge of the hand, or dome, be supple, never stiff. Another teacher of mine taught that the elbows should be held out, away from the body, even in octaves, whereas Josef Lhevinne, according to Browning, held his elbows in while playing octaves. I believe that Isabelle Vengerova insisted on curved fingers. Claudio Arrau could be often seen with his hand flat, with no hand arch at all, and I have seen the same sort of hand position used by Martha Argerich. It seems that all roads lead to Rome!
Indeed, well said! In the end it's all quite personal...(though there are of course certain basic principles that are good for everybody) I found it hard to believe that Josef Lhévinne supposedly practised his octaves with books under his arms -- but judging from his amazing recording of Chopin's Octave Etude it worked very well for him!
The books I think are just to make sure it is only the wrists which are involve (up and down) in the gesture and not the elbow and forearm (which would impede a fast rebound).
The ideas expressed here by John Browning remind me so much of my teacher, the late Richard Syracuse who was a student of Rosina Lhevinne in that class of Browning and Cliburn. And as I think back, his hands were formed in the way Browning demonstrates. Once, years ago, when I met John Browning at a piano masterclass in Fort Worth, Texas, I mentioned Syracuse and his face brightened up and sent warm regards. I took a video of him here ua-cam.com/video/vkdYgv1qsY4/v-deo.html
Remember guys. Everyone´s hands / body is different. So the right technique for you can change depending on factors such as the piece you are playing and even your age.... It´s always a good idea to warm up before playing to avoid injury
The sound is not the major problem, which is how to push (weight) the fingers on the keyboard in order, combined with articulation, to be able to play. This can be done through a horizontal move of the metacarp, the articulation where the fingers are plugged into the hand. It is for sure wrong is to consider that all moves should be intended to be vertical, to hit the keyboard in all possible manner from above. I think that there are some shuffle moves that are conveyed to the piano by this metacarp articulation, moving it in order to put fingers in a narrow position to their keys. Anyway this is the only thing i didn't tested, and i tested many thing. Don't think it's just sound and immersion in music.
Interesting; he was a friend of my piano teacher and I visited with him at a concert that was unfortunately at the same night as the moon landing. He was very unhappy he had a concert to play and could not watch (before VCR...)
Great video with concrete technique suggestions. M. Browning broke two fundamental rules so important to Chopin though: play only the notes and keep the tempo. Just teasing here: amazing Nocturne and great pianist :-)
Gesticulation ? Liszt didn´t have this problem. He was a master of gesticulation, movement, facial expressions, as described by his pupils and numerous biographies.. This is all relative !
Really fascinating - thanks so much for this Erwin. Although the tempo of the Chopin nocturne is a tad slow for my taste, the performance is nonetheless very beautiful showing a superb command of tonal colours.
If you really watch Horowitz closely you'll see that when he makes contact with the key his fingers are actually more curved than flat. Sometimes VERY curved.
Especially when he plays Mozart. He keeps his fifth finger of the right hand curved in very tightly toward the palm, then quickly releases it to play a note when it's needed. Very interesting to watch. He doesn't use this approach to the more exuberant pieces of Chopin.
Its quite sure that so many young players were/are trying to stretch their fingers like horowitz however almost none of them ever succeeded instead of destroying their hands.
I think if we studied the Russian school of piano technique and the Italian-Argentinian method of Vincenzo Saramuzza ( Martha Argherich teacher) we may have the best of the methods. And we have to hear some of the Bernstein lectures and some of the folk music of our respective countries.
I studied with one of Rosina’s other noted protégé’s, Jeaneane Dowis. She wanted a flat palm with the thumb pulled back and no arching of the hand at all. Yes, a loose elbow and leaning in toward the piano as Mr. Browning suggests. But Jeaneane felt the arms should not be pulled inward. Rather, she said the player should give the arms space much like having a small balloon in the arm pits for relaxation. Also knees should be slightly apart, again the balloon image, and not cramped together. And, Jeaneane prescribed sitting high on the bench. All points are valid and effective. The idea of a flat finger to play on the cushion versus the tip is, in my view, all about how hard one comes down on a note. Also the quality of the piano plays a role. The suggestion of playing thirds and sixths to warm up is no doubt beneficial. But other exercises or just stretching with large chords can also work when warming up. These are all very personal preferences where one size does not fit all. What is good about this video and others like it, is that one takes elements of what is right for the individual pianist. John Browning’s presentation is fascinating as it takes us back to an important era in pianism and its wisdoms. Jeaneane Dowis died in 2013. I still go back to her notations in my music and recall her own wisdoms from her time with Rosina as well as her own fine performances. --Marjan Kiepura
During the 65 years I have been studying the piano, I have been to many master classes, I have been told at least a dozen different ways of how to use the hands and the fingers and the relationship between the body and piano - what the pretentious would call "methods"!. I have watched the hands of many celebreted pianists while they were practicing. In the end, I think each performer takes what feels right for them and then modifies or rejects the rest. Each hand is different. Each arm weight is different.........
This video reminds me of the time when I was 10 years old. I got a new piano teacher and she saw my hands playing the first time, she said after I finished that I play with straight fingers. I thought at that moment that I did something very bad, but after I was surprised by her response. She was polish. She stated to me that in Russia people people use to learn a technique which involves not curling the fingers. She explained to me both approaches and asked me: which technique I'd like her to train me to use. At the time - as I said I was 10 years old - I had no idea how much respect was her question involving. This video reminds me of her.
I wish I had him as a teacher. Came to virtually the same technical and routine but it took me 50 years. Thank you
What a great musician. His Samuel Barber recording is sublime. I hadn't heard him play Chopin........absolutely magnificent.
John Browning's version of Chopin's Etudes are still the greatest I've ever heard. Incredible pianist.
A few of them not so much, he would be the first to admit it.. he truly is a great pianist one of the greatest
This video is really a piece of gold. Can't be grateful enough!
chokolattecoffee
He uses the same left hand fingering as I do! I worked it out myself, just as I did many other technical problems. I do not like teachers saying, "You must do it like this! The hand should be this shape." I tend to think that every pianist has his own technique which works for him. Not that teachers are useless, but I have found that I leanrt lot also by personal experience and really being aware of my tone, tempo, etc. Everyone's hand is a different shape. Sometimes the fingers should be straight, sometimes curved, for various reasons. I am most in agreement on the relaxation part, but I find that I cannot play with my elbows down all the time, especially when playing very high or low. This is impossible. His piano has a very good treble! I heard John play Ravel once, live. It was excellent!
Sadly, not every student has this concentration and approach to the technical problems, most of the time, pupils don't have this awareness, so the result is a mediocre and ignorant musician that can't see further from their nose, awareness is what makes a musician a good musician. Without it, they all become a mediocre copy of what they see around, thus not developing a musical personality pf their own!
The nocturne at the end was stunning
Impeccable. I usually don't stay till the end when someone I don't know plays a piece I know, but I couldn't stop listening this time.
Wow!
Absolutely!
Super
it's been my favorite nocturne for a while now
I love the video, Mr. Browning’s Chopin and all the intelligent comments. A youtube classic. A music lover’s dream.
Browning's playing is so much better represented in this clip than in many of his commercial recordings, where the engineers managed to make his tone appear steely. I heard him live in recital and every single note was pure liquid beauty. No recording can really capture the art of a great pianist because a true master understands the acoustical properties of the performing space and plays the hall itself. Good luck reproducing that aural effect with a few microphones and a few loudspeakers.
I agree. He has an old-style charm (I have no other way of verbalizing it) in these clips. It reminds me of some recordings of artists from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s that have a kind of richness of sound that is rarely heard these days. However, many of his recordings sound strangely dry, such as his recording of the Chopin etudes.
Note that different fingerings of the major scale in sixths are given in the Plaidy exercise book. On page 61 of the Schirmer edition of the Plaidy exercises, two fingerings are given (the "preliminary exercises"), while on page 62 (the "major scales" proper) a third fingering is given that John Browning appears to be using in the video (which I have watched at slow motion - quarter speed!):
Right hand: 1-4 (starting on E and C) 2-5 1-3 1-4 2-5 1-4 2-5 1-4 2-5 1-3 1-4 2-5 1-4 2-5 1-4 (E and C, the top of the scale), and then descending from there (2-5 on D and B, etc. all the way down to 1-4 again on E and C at the bottom of the scale).
Left hand: 5-2 (starting on E and C) 4-1 3-1 5-2 4-1 5-2 4-1 5-2 4-1 3-1 5-2 4-1 5-2 4-1 5-2 (E and C, the top of the scale), and then descending from there (4-1 on D and B, etc. all the way down to 5-2 again on E and C at the bottom of the scale).
That is for C major, and I assume the same fingering is to be used in the other keys.
I never realised how much my teacher took from Russian technique until I watched this video. Absolutely brilliant video.
Oh my god!! This performance of the Chopin is beyond wonderful. I don't know what else to say.
Thank you, Pianopera! This was marvelous to see and hear. Mr. Browning was truly a master and was blessed to have studied and know Mme. Lhevinne. He left us - way to early..... Thanks, again.
I developed my technique, which was highly influenced by Igumnov-school, into using flat fingers more. The lessons of Peter Feuchtwanger were a extremely helpful in this process. So now I play a kind of mix of these schools and feel comfortable with it, since Peter Feuchtwanger had a big knowledge about relaxation, avoiding pain and practicing his special exercises for this purpose. And it's good to know different philosophies in order to achieve a universal point of view.
I’m curious, what do you consider characteristic of the Igumnov school? I suspect I am a product of that school since my teacher’s teacher’s teacher was Igumnov.
@@rowanbelt3612 Same with me, my teacher's teacher's teacher was Igumnov. 😉
Difficult to describe in english language (I am german) and since I moved forward with Feuchtwanger's influence I prefer to focus on the future.
Actually my russian professor did not teach the use of flat fingers, although her teacher's teacher was Igumnov. In general my impression is, that most of the russian school lost this tradition, as it was done by old-school-pianists as Moisewitsch or Horowitz.
Peter Feuchtwanger taught me using more flat fingers in his unique way, which doesn't mean to have flat fingers in general, because it's always a movement and not (only) a position. So there is no fixed position, no dogmatic thinking, fingers can be rather flat or scrolled. Always depends on the situation. Also Peter Feuchtwanger was a genius in teaching a good flow in the pianistic movements and enabling his students to play without pain. Even pianists, who consulted him because of strong pain, managed to overcome their problems with his help.
Some of this advice is very useful, but I’ve become skeptical about adopting one set of dogmas regarding piano technique. For example, Hamelin said in an interview that not too much time should be spent on scales, because they don’t develop the pianistic mind. He spent more time on Rudolph Ganz exercises in which the hands play contrary patterns, developing a greater flexibility and a capacity to read more complex scores at sight. The double sixths and thirds as well as legato octaves in both hands are wonderful for hand strength, yet many famous pianists hardly practice exercises at all - they use the repertoire to develop.
Also, the Russian school is one way, but not the only way. I don’t see Rubinstein or Michelangeli or De Larrocha or Argerich playing with flat fingers. Also take into account that Horowitz’ Piano had an extremely lightened action, which allowed certain hand positions and a feather touch.
No sets of hands work the same. Some like Pogorelich in his prime even played with an anti-arched hand (collapsed at the knuckle). Do what brings results, but don’t make a cult out of “methods”. The greatest pianists didn’t even like to talk about technique. That should tell you something.
That's spot-on about Vladi's piano. He had his beloved Steinway refitted with a Yamaha pedal mechanism, which is much more responsive. Steinway went *STRAIGHT DOWNHILL* after the family sold-out in 1974. (Personally, I much prefer Bechstein...)
Perfect comment. I have been very confused lately watching all kinds of "the correct way to play piano" that say different things . I started watching videos on how to play because I got an injury and just wanted to fix any fundmental gaps that I have. I think as long as you produce the right sound without getting injuries, you can do it however you want
Yes
Perhaps it's not "either/or" but "both/and" and a whole lot more.
In any event, his artistry cannot be impugned. If he has something useful in there take advantage of it.
I think you make a lot of great points, especially that there isn't just one technique. Now I want to focus on the comment about great pianists not talking about technique. First a caveat- you may mean something different than what I read in to it, so not trying to put words in your mouth, just offering additional thoughts.
It seems that for some players who are truly natural, it's hard for them to explain exactly what they're doing. For those who weren't totally natural initially, perhaps they reached a point after playing so long that they forgot what it was like before they had a good technique. It's probably almost impossible to know the difference between who is capable of explaining, but doesn't, and those who say they don't want to explain, but couldn't anyway (I mean this comment sportingly, though there's probably a kernel of truth there).
About seven years ago, I got more serious about piano (after dabbling for around 30 years, and after an 8-year period of no playing due to work/travel commitments). Essentially, I've only REALLY been playing for seven years. I've worked really hard, and looking back, probably too hard. Five months ago I started trying to figure out how to hold my hand (finally). The good ole 4-octave C-major scale was my benchmark since it is quite tricky on the fingers...compared to B-major, which is quite easy (alluded to in the video here).
I stumbled across Taubman eventually (ironically, those videos are staring at me again in my recommended as I type this). That approach, along with watching old videos of Rubinstein, completely changed my world. That said, I STILL would never recommend a dogmatic approach to Taubman (the rotation Edna Golandsky suggests can be quite dangerous without proper weight and timing). But bits of it, now in hindsight, just were common sense that never hit me... like the in-and-out motion as you traverse black/white keys. Mr. Browning's comment about weight from the shoulders is also so important, I just never realized it.
After all that, my point is I'm glad someone like Dorothy Taubman took time to analyze great players and then explain these details for the sake of non-natural players like me. I'm not, and never will be, a great pianist, but it is so much more enjoyable now to play with real dynamic control and to make big leaps with ease.
who better than to make available these valuable "principles" handed down to him by the Master teacher Rosina Lhevinne....I've enjoyed Mr. Browning's beautiful playing for years.
Beautiful performance of the D flat nocturne by Mr Browning. A great loss that he is gone.
Very sad to hear as this was my first time watching this documentary. When did he pass away? I also loved his interpretations
I will try this technique, particularly the almost flat stroking of keys. Thank you for this lesson.
My former professor was taught my the Lhevinnes. He sounded just like John Browning. he also said much of what he said about practicing. He was spot on!
"economy of movement" That made me smile thinking about majority of pianists today :D
Agreed. That same term, "economy of motion" was used by Glenn Gould's teacher as justification for teaching his "tapping" technique whereby the pianist would lay the fingers across the keys and tap them with the opposite hand to learn how little motion was required to press the key.
Hmm. Economy of motion sounds great-like spareness of line in architecture. But I wonder if it ignores what engineers know about Saarinen’s works, and string players know from vibrato-a lot more goes into that pie than apples!
Economy of emotion ?
@@christopherczajasager9030 I That's the auto correct :D , it's been corrected.
Liszt didn´t have this problem. He was a master of gesticulation, movement, facial expressions, as described by his pupils and numerous biographies..
Marvelous! Thank you so much for posting this great artist sharing his unique experience.
Mental practice... That is something I've found to be incredibly helpful - both for playing the piece and during performance when, though you hope this never happens, you make a mistake and have to link around and through it.
It's been so long since I've heard piano instruction. This is a very informative video, and thank you so much for uploading it!
terracannon876
The pedaling technique is very helpful and useful. Thanks for sharing this great video.
Magnifique leçon de maître. Trésor.
I had the immense pleasure of meeting John Browning in person, sitting front row at his concert, then visiting with him after. What a wonderful man and awesome pianist he was.
This has been really helpful...there are things that that I have done, and not done, inconsistently and accidentally for years, but to hear the principles stated clearly suddenly I realise what I need to focus on. Thanks Erwin!
The "Cathedral" concept - a fantastic tip, however, it won't make much sense if you're unaware of arm weight, rotation, and maybe a couple other concepts. I finally "got it" watching it this time. It never "sunk in" after previous watchings of this video - a few times over the past couple years.
I've never seen video footage of John Browning... this is really phenomenal, thank so much for sharing. david
Wonderful video... thank you! I was fortunate to have seen Browning a number of times and to have met him at Ithaca College in the late 1970's. In a master class during that visit, I will never forget that he told a student who played a Brahms Intermezzo that the piece required a "post-coital mood". My own teacher, Ronald Regal, also came from Mrs Lhevinne's troop at Juilliard and all of what Browning demonstrates was also present in Regal's technique.
That "post-coital mood" comment is amazing :D
@@nunoareia27 Even though it was late 1970's, that kind of comment from a classical musician was still rather startling, however, the way he expressed that sentiment was just as refined and elegant as Browning himself. The other stunning thing about seeing him on stage was the way he always just suddenly popped out from behind the stage curtain gracefully bounding to the front of the piano. He was indeed elegance in every sense of the word.
Thank you so much for this upload! Not only precious teaching, but also I heard some of my favorite pieces, Mendelssohn's Sweet Remembrance and several of Chopin's nocturnes.
I've been working on such ideas for years but without guidance , so this clip is very useful to me in that it codifies it all! Thaks for enriching our lives with this knowledge.
Thank you very much for the video. I find it truly interesting.
i believe each person will allow their hands and wrists to flow over the keys in manner which is comfortable to them. I for one feel that guererro's method with gould feels most natural with the wrist much lower than traditional with the fingers having a feeling of being pulled into the keys versus high to low..
Absolutely fascinating. John Browning was a great pianist and of course Josef Lhevinne was one of the great masters. Thank you for posting
Excellent video. Obviously, nobody should base their entire technique around this. It's important to learn about positioning and technique from all over the world and gain as much information as possible. That's why I love this video; it's clear and detailed.
What a wonderful document!
This is extremely interesting! Thanks for posting it.
Man, this video is a goldmine! 🎹🎹😍😍😍
It is interesting to know the many technical approaches to the piano, and use the right one to some passage to get the right sound. Btw, the nocturne playing was stunning, nothing to envy to Rubinstein or Kissin. Priceless video.
That point about even passage work being even sounds faster is 100% true
As far as envisioning a memorized piece, a person told me the story of how they attended a driving school where Emerson Fittipaldi showed up and gave a "real time" verbal description of driving the course they were at. When he started, they started a stop watch. When he finished describing the lap they stopped the watch. His description took exactly as long as his lap time on that course. Of course Emerson took this to a higher level than merely reciting each curve's handling.
Incredible information given here.
I wish I could have heard it years ago.
Thank you.
Browning was a truly great pianist. One only has to listen to his playing of the Barber Sonata or the Chopin Etudes to know this.
Many years ago, I studied with Martin Canin, who was Mme. Lhevinne's assistant at Juilliard and a master teacher (and pianist, until a hand problem ended his playing career). I know that Martin would not mind my saying that he had and has enormous respect and affection for Browning. I first heard Browning in recital as a youngster because Martin told me that he was a pianist I needed to hear.
John Browning is one of the greatest pianists I ever heard. I first heard him as a teenager in the late 70s. His program included Ravel's Sonatine and Gaspard de la Nuit. I heard him again 20+ yrs later. His program that time included the Barber Sonata. (Horowitz premiered the Barber Sonata but Barber personally chose John Browning to premiere his Piano Concerto.)
Donald Allen His recording of the Chopin Etudes were my go-to for listening/learning for so many years.
Thank you! You always upload amazing videos. Your work is appreciated!
Great video and nocturne performance is amazing !
It is true that, "If the passage work was even, then it sounded faster than it was." Bernstein told, In this case, the strings this same thing when we were playing the last movement of the Bartok, Concerto For Orchestra. He demanded that we play it slower, to win greater evenness and precision, to excite greater emotional export. He was of course correct, and it sounded not only faster at that slower speed, but more...savage too!
I wonder then why it has come to pass that so many pianists play Chopin so quickly, simply because they can (fearing criticism for failing at metronomic speed, but without regard for musical effect or intent), reducing his music to that which Chopin reviled most: virtuosity for virtuosity's sake. The implication is that not only will the emotional affect be more effectively communicated at a slower tempo, but that the listeners ear would have greater opportunity to celebrate Chopin's largely unaccounted (by listeners) harmonic ingenuity and contrapuntal genius.
These elements of Chopin's works go largely unaccounted by non-pianist whose association with a piece has not come of personally consuming, digesting and metabolizing its individual elements, note for note, before then excreting them in performance. The slower tempo would make space in the landscape or canopy of the performance to allow light of awareness to make and accounting of them.
This is why Schumann said of Chopin, that his music is as "Cannons buried in flowers", meaning music of far greater import and consequence is hiding behind beautiful melodies. Those musical cannon's need to be more in evidence of performance, and that can only happen if the performer becomes less convicted to demonstrating 'mastery' of Chopin's music, when he is really securing its 'defeat'.
As Liszt wittily observed, "Chopin cannot play so fast, he only seems to".
I wish, John Browning were still here!
That was gorgeous plaring of the Chopin Nocturne. So beautiful.🥀
Really fascinating. Some of the Lhevinnes' ideas seem to fly in the face of what I have been taught and what I teach myself (I always preferred curved fingers, for example - my teachers having emphasised playing on the cushions of the fingers, supposedly producing the roundest, fullest singing tone) - but sometimes the best advertisement for a teacher's method is how his or her pupils play, and Mme. Lhevinne taught three of America's finest pianists - Van Cliburn, John Browning and Garrick Ohlsson. Browning's performance of the Nocturne is a real treat - I liked his relaxed tempo, allowing for some really exquisite nuances, and his pianissimos were simply breathtaking!
I believe that above all, hands & fingers should be well-developed and *flexible* -- so that one can play comfortably both with curved fingers or with flat fingers, depending on the musical style and the musical effect that is needed...
Absolutely! I think an elastic and flexible wrist is especially essential! How could anyone master Chopin's "Black Key" Etude with a tight wrist, for example? Sándor did not agree with some of the Lhevinnes' ideas - for example, he did not believe in warming up or doing a lot of drilling or repetitive exercises before practicing the repertoire. He would say that instead of warming up the pianist should learn to "line up the fingers with the corresponding muscles in the forearm". Maybe that was adequate for HIM, but with all my own hand problems - osteoarthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, two broken wrists, and hand surgery, I find I cannot get my fingers to play well - to achieve speed, agility and evenness - without drilling them first with Hanon, scales and a few Chopin Etudes. Rachmaninoff is supposed to have sworn by Hanon's "Virtuoso Pianist", and apparently never stopped practising it, especially in his later years when he suffered from arthritis. I think there are an infinite amount of variables when it comes to technique and every pianist must ultimately tailor his or her technique accordingly, while, as you say, bearing in mind the musical style and effect required.
Yes, fully agreed!
yes i think too much emphasis is put on hand position so long as your hand doesn't go out of its natural shape too much and is mainly supple and relaxed, the hardest thing about playing is memory and brain synapses guiding the hand to the correct chords or passages instantaneously which one needs good keyboard spacial awareness
I wonder if the Lhevinne's had a relationship with Horowitz? He was famous for the 'flat fingers' technique they taught, but I believe he was also from Kiev.
I wish I could double like this. Thank you for posting these. 🙏🏻 The practice away from piano does seem almost impossible to me. I’ve never heard it explained as he did in this video. Much clearer now on that.
Thank you very, very much! Such a valuable evidence... To read is one thing, to see it explained is another :)
Lot of people can play the right notes but i think this tutorial helps to teach people to turn those notes into music especially the flat finger technique that Horowits used to get a beautiful singing tone
Thank you for sharing this treasure!
Interesting how you can get a rich tone playing with flat fingers. Met Suzuki piano teachers who would get their students to play close to the tip of the fingers by default and keep the hand arched up as much as possible.
This is amazing! Going into my favorites now!
His sound is wonderful - no surprise: Lhevinne's was incredible: listen to his astonishing recording of the Schulz-Evler blue danube transcription. Re flat fingers: if one's fingers are too thick to play in between the black notes it's very difficult to play this way, also, having long thumbs makes this far easier. If one reads Josef Hofmann's book on piano playing there is a photo showing the hand position favoured by Hofmann - and the fingers are anything but flat - and Hofmann was arguably one of the greatest technicians when he was at his peak.
Beautiful playing.
Was Constance Keene of the same "old Russian" school of piano technique? Her recording of the Rachmaninoff preludes in the early 1960s is superb. She brings out such a fullness of tone to the music.
When I listen to her, for some reason it doesn't sound the same as these guys. I always felt the Russian school and its students like Joseph Rosina Daniel Pollak and Horowitz their tone sounded "choked" and covered. It's hard to explain. And when I hear people like Alexander Malofeev and Martha Argerich, they lift their arms and use the weight of the arm to creat sound rather than try to muscle it with fingers close to the keyboard.
some priceless insights by a keyboard giant.
So beautiful!
beautiful playing
Какое счастье, что мы можем слышать такую прекрасную игру.Игра дома на собственном инструменте это совершенно уникальное явление.
I just listened to this nocturne while admiring Chopin’s grave a few days ago. One of my favorite pieces. RIP Chopin.
TwelfthRoot2 where is chopin’s grave located?
Dominique Balabat Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris
Very interesting, thanks for uploading this Erwin.
Simply wonderful!
The nocturne makes you feel sleepy in a dream world...
dream world that's Chopin yep
I am sure your students appreciate your reverence for your former teacher and will also hold you in a place of honor. At 78 I still practice and yes, need to look at the music and visualize the eventual playing. Thanks and Bravo!
Very informative and interesting ,amazing explanation thanks 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you for this wonderful video!
He was a marvellous pianist, no doubt. Technique is fascinating and controversial subject. I can't see how playing double sixths in all keys and stretching finger positions would help prevent tendonitis, quite the contrary I should think. Warming up is unnecessary unless you need go straight into a performance The way to avoid injury is to develop means of playing which minimises the use of the tendons, particularly the fourth and fifth fingers. The Taubman approach is interesting in this respect, although the main consideration is the use of hand and arm weight with hands as relaxed as possible, rather than strong finger strokes and tense knuckle joints. The less you move your fingers the better! Golden rule when practising is that as soon as your hand starts to feels tired , STOP playing for at least an hour. Another rule is not to practise the same thing for hours on end, as identical movements potentially cause R.S.I.
p1anosteve Hi, what is R.S.I?
Repetitive Strain Injury.
Yes, I've reached the same conclusion after struggling with RSI for years myself. I've finally found a technique that lets me play fast without getting strain. The problem is that many teachers want me to use more techniques, like really nasty feeling finger staccato, so I just avoid playing those kind of pieces HAHAH
I was interested to hear about the "dome" of the hand as being strong and almost unbreakable. I studied with Jules Gentil, who was the assistant to Alfred Cortot, and he always insisted that the bridge of the hand, or dome, be supple, never stiff. Another teacher of mine taught that the elbows should be held out, away from the body, even in octaves, whereas Josef Lhevinne, according to Browning, held his elbows in while playing octaves. I believe that Isabelle Vengerova insisted on curved fingers. Claudio Arrau could be often seen with his hand flat, with no hand arch at all, and I have seen the same sort of hand position used by Martha Argerich. It seems that all roads lead to Rome!
Indeed, well said! In the end it's all quite personal...(though there are of course certain basic principles that are good for everybody)
I found it hard to believe that Josef Lhévinne supposedly practised his octaves with books under his arms -- but judging from his amazing recording of Chopin's Octave Etude it worked very well for him!
The books I think are just to make sure it is only the wrists which are involve (up and down) in the gesture and not the elbow and forearm (which would impede a fast rebound).
The flat fingers in Argerich are very seldom, the arch or dome being to high for that. Let's say they are not curve but not flat.
ThAnk you. Most valuable. Blessings
this is marvelous, thank you!
Dave Frank
The ideas expressed here by John Browning remind me so much of my teacher, the late Richard Syracuse who was a student of Rosina Lhevinne in that class of Browning and Cliburn. And as I think back, his hands were formed in the way Browning demonstrates. Once, years ago, when I met John Browning at a piano masterclass in Fort Worth, Texas, I mentioned Syracuse and his face brightened up and sent warm regards. I took a video of him here ua-cam.com/video/vkdYgv1qsY4/v-deo.html
Did you study with Syracuse at O.U. in Athens, OH? I live nearby and he was a beloved teacher and performer.
Remember guys. Everyone´s hands / body is different. So the right technique for you can change depending on factors such as the piece you are playing and even your age.... It´s always a good idea to warm up before playing to avoid injury
I agree on every point Browning makes in this video (with the exception of flat fingers).
Brilliant upload
Incredibly useful video!
Thank you for posting! 😌❤️👍
very nice chopin nocturne
I really need that warm up exercise sheet and the fingering number
The sound is not the major problem, which is how to push (weight) the fingers on the keyboard in order, combined with articulation, to be able to play. This can be done through a horizontal move of the metacarp, the articulation where the fingers are plugged into the hand. It is for sure wrong is to consider that all moves should be intended to be vertical, to hit the keyboard in all possible manner from above. I think that there are some shuffle moves that are conveyed to the piano by this metacarp articulation, moving it in order to put fingers in a narrow position to their keys. Anyway this is the only thing i didn't tested, and i tested many thing. Don't think it's just sound and immersion in music.
Thank you for explaining!
FWIW, Mr. Browning won two Grammy awards.
Interesting; he was a friend of my piano teacher and I visited with him at a concert that was unfortunately at the same night as the moon landing. He was very unhappy he had a concert to play and could not watch (before VCR...)
Exactly how I was thought and how I am teaching.
GOLD! Thank you :)
I just got better at piano the 20 minutes it took to watch this
5:15 sounds like the warm up that Mr. Rogers did on his show, leading into the theme song.
Omg his tone makes me cry ❤❤❤❤❤❤
Great video with concrete technique suggestions. M. Browning broke two fundamental rules so important to Chopin though: play only the notes and keep the tempo. Just teasing here: amazing Nocturne and great pianist :-)
Great video!
Gesticulation ? Liszt didn´t have this problem. He was a master of gesticulation, movement, facial expressions, as described by his pupils and numerous biographies.. This is all relative !
Soooo valuable.
Really fascinating - thanks so much for this Erwin. Although the tempo of the Chopin nocturne is a tad slow for my taste, the performance is nonetheless very beautiful showing a superb command of tonal colours.
Josef and Rosina Lhévinne (yes both of them) were my teacher’s teachers!
And yes I play like this lol
lol?
serious question, how do you play fast with stiff and straight fingers?
Lucky bastard hahaha
Great 👏🏻
If you really watch Horowitz closely you'll see that when he makes contact with the key his fingers are actually more curved than flat. Sometimes VERY curved.
I have seen that. Very good observation
Especially when he plays Mozart. He keeps his fifth finger of the right hand curved in very tightly toward the palm, then quickly releases it to play a note when it's needed. Very interesting to watch. He doesn't use this approach to the more exuberant pieces of Chopin.
Its quite sure that so many young players were/are trying to stretch their fingers like horowitz however almost none of them ever succeeded instead of destroying their hands.
I think if we studied the Russian school of piano technique and the Italian-Argentinian method of Vincenzo Saramuzza ( Martha Argherich teacher) we may have the best of the methods. And we have to hear some of the Bernstein lectures and some of the folk music of our respective countries.