Access to Great Pianists through the Web

Reprinted from Suzuki Piano Basics Newsletter March/April 2008
Now with active links


Imagine being able to watch, listen and learn about the very best pianists including those from the beginning of the 20th century to the current day, performing music by the greatest composers of all time.

It is now possible! Imagine how happy Dr. Suzuki would be to know that children can watch and listen to the best musicians with such relatively little effort! There is so much “out there” on the web it’s hard to know where to begin. Also, the technology and options are changing even as I write this. So, this article is about how to begin your research.

Dr. Kataoka always made it clear that there was a huge difference between the “good” pianist and the “best” pianists. After you listen and watch the best pianist it is much easier to tell when the quality is not as good. This is how we educate children to have high ability-with the very best as their model.

You can listen and watch many different pianists on the web, especially on Youtube! You can also find information about composers, artists, music history, etc. Next, you can research available recordings by listening for free, buying a new or used (collector items) CD, or downloading a MP4 file directly onto your iPod or computer. With this kind of access, all of us can contribute to the ongoing job of finding and providing the best resources and environment for the students.

Following is a list of reliable websites/access points for your research:
For Information:
www.google.com
You can search by the name of the pianist. A quick search of Martha Argerich for example brings up 448,000 entries which can be rather overwhelming. The good news is that often the first few links have lots of great information. On the Martha Argerich search Wikipedia comes up as the first link (it often does) which has a biography and links to other good sites. The next link was www.argerich.org which has a catalog of recordings, upcoming broadcast and concerts. There were also links to sites with interviews, articles, YouTube video links, and even an add for Martha Argerich ring tones (now we know what to get Karen Hagberg for Christmas)

You can also search by the name of the piece. A quick search for “Chopin Ballade” brought 80,700 links.The first links were for YouTube (to watch videos) including Horowitz and Zimmerman. Next, there were Amazon.com links to buy CD’s including recordings by Rubenstein. There were also sheet music sites.

For Online Videos
www.you-tube.com
There are more incredible videos by the day on this site. Search by pianists name, filter by the composer/piece. There will be a lot of videos that come up on your search. It takes time as there is no filter that really helps pull the best videos. Still, it is an adventure.

You can start your own page with favorites, playlists, and can subscribe to others peoples’ YouTube page. For example, I have been organizing my page to include playlists of various pianists as well as collecting student performances. You can search my name on Youtube and find my Youtube channel page!

You can listen to many different pianists on the web, especially on YouTube! Following is a list of five pianists considered by most to be in the “best” category that have videos posted on YouTube:

• Glen Gould - There are many videos on YouTube of his recording in the studio with the engineers. Very interesting, not necessarily appropriate for children
• Arthur Rubenstein - There are wonderful performances of various Chopin pieces. These videos are great for students as his posture is perfect!
• Alicia de Larrocha - There are videos of her performing Mozart as well as Spanish music including Emanuel De Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance.
• Martha Argerich- considered by many to be the greatest living pianist. There is a wonderful video of a Scarlatti Sonata recorded years ago as well as several others.
• Marc Andre Hamelin - His Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody #2 is incredible



For Cd’s
www.Amazon.com -classical music
This is an easy site to use the advanced search for classical music. You can search by pianist and then choose disc which have the composer you are looking for. You can also search by specific piece. You can buy MP4 (AAC) to download into your iTunes on some selections as well as ordering a CD.

Often recordings go on and off the market. Recording companies will repackage CD’s with recordings off several different CD’s put together with a new title. So, collectors (like me) might have to buy a whole new CD to get one new piece for example. As long as you are getting the pianist and the piece/composer you are looking for, the name of the CD doesn’t really matter. If you want only a single piece, try using iTunes and download directly to your computer/iPod.

Also in your search to buy disc/videos, some will be live performances of several composers and others will be a collection such as the Chopin Nocturnes. Sometimes a pianist will have several different recordings of a piece over a period of time which gets confusing. Anyway all kinds of listening experiences are useful. The live performances have great energy. The collections make it easier to understand a particular style or sound.


www.arkivmusic.com
This is a great site for hard to find discs and music lovers.
iTunes – you can buy single pieces or albums to download directly to your iPod/computer.

You can use iTunes as your music library/disc player. All of your discs can be downloaded into your computer and saved there. If students are listening on their computers, it is a good idea for them to get good speakers for the computer. You can keep your CD’s for backup and listening other places. They will be stored in the iTunes library. You then access the pieces by genre, artist, and album, When you upload a CD it will automatically enter these categories. You can change the information in these categories to suit your own filing system ( right click and “Get info”.)

Next, you can make playlist of specific pieces so that you can easily play just that playlist. There is a repeat button (bottom left corner of the iTunes screen) so that you can repeat a single piece or repeat a playlist. Next, you can burn Cd’s to use in other disc players in your house and car, and can share with students. Also, You can download the music onto your iPod or iPhone.

There will be new options in the near future that will enable access with even higher fidelity. So, I personally recommend to buy mostly CD’s and then load them onto your computer for iTunes access. Then you can use the CD in another location or keep it in storage as back-up.

In conclusion:
Go to any of the listed websites. Enter the pianist as the search. Check for the composers/compositions that they have recorded. Maybe look up information on the pianist and check their concert schedule or new release. Compare buying a MP4 version to used discs, to new discs, to different collections that may be on another site. Listen to a sample, watch videos, read, enjoy, learn, support, buy, and save your bookmarks/ favorites for the next time.

If you find a great video/disc, send me the link!