International Piano

International Piano offers a rich mix of inspiration and guidance to pianists and piano fans around the world, from dedicated amateurs and students to professional pianists, teachers and aficionados. Celebrating the piano in all its forms, including the fortepiano and digital keyboards, each edition of our magazine is packed with interviews, features, news and reviews showcasing the top artists of today and yesteryear.

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International Piano

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LETTERS

Addressing male dominance • Following the Leeds International Piano Competition’s introduction of steps to remove unconscious bias from its selection process, Charlotte Gardner reflects on some of the issues

Discover more online at International-Piano.com • Visit our new website for more news, interviews, features and reviews

Championing a golden nut • Jed Distler is bowled over by the musical empathy and strong personality of Jan Čmejla, a young Czech pianist who is making waves on both sides of the Atlantic

Historical Perspectives • Mark Ainley introduces the historically invaluable legacy of Carl Friedberg, a pianist who studied with Clara Schumann, was coached by Brahms and taught for many years at Juilliard

Musings of a musician • In a new column for International Piano, the pianist, writer and musicologist Kenneth Hamilton reflects on a throwaway remark from a fellow pianist and writer, the late Charles Rosen, and asks: can we sometimes play ‘too well’?

The Ill-Tempered Clavier • Charivari laments the idea, seemingly prevalent among a plethora of online tutors touting for your business, that you can play the piano in just a few easy steps

Mad for Wagner • Having recorded an album of transcriptions from Wagner’s greatest operas, Nikolai Lugansky talks to Tim Parry about his relationship with music that gripped him as a teenager and won’t let go

Beyond the blitz • Bryce Morrison reassesses the legacy of Dame Myra Hess, renowned for her morale-boosting wartime concerts at the National Gallery in London, who struck some listeners more for her refinement than her temperament

Yamaha Music Europe Foundation (YMEF) — Supporting Talented Young Musicians

A life in the service of art • Continuing his series of articles on great 20th-century Russian pianists, Farhan Malik explores the life and distinctive pianism of Samuil Feinberg

Tracing a genre’s origins • Having recorded the complete nocturnes of John Field, Tyler Hay outlines what drew him to the composer and explains the lasting value of his underrated body of work

Schumann’s Faschingsschwank aus Wien • Charles Timbrell introduces a lesser-played masterpiece that was part of the miraculous outpouring of solo piano music Schumann composed in the years immediately before his marriage to Clara Wieck, and surveys its history on record

Celebrating the piano’s music and musicians

NUTS AND BOLTS • A manual breaking down aspects of piano technique with practical advice and step-by-step guidance for players of all standards, written for International Piano by Murray McLachlan

John Field, arr Ignaz Friedman Nocturne No 5

Connecting with Schumann • A live wire buzzing with excitement and ideas, Tiffany Poon talks to Jeremy Nicholas about identifying with the twin sides of Schumann’s personality, and empathising with a creative temperament that threaded two opposing alter egos through his music

Critics’ choice

Live Reviews

REVIEWS • SHEET MUSIC

NEXT ISSUE SUMMER 2024

Individual expression • Zlata Chochieva reflects on the importance of personality in making music speak, from...