Last week my dh (dear hubby), after reading my complaints of not getting much "live music," took me out to a piano program at HU, where a grand piano as well as his ancestors, a clavichord, harpsichord and fortepiano, were displayed to view on stage. I even got to touch a clavichord! Not many of those around except in museums. I thought it was nice that the technician and the pianist, Dr. Anderson, invited all the audience to come and check these instruments and even play them some. Dr. Andrea Anderson not only spoke about the different pianos and how the instrument came about and evolved through time, but played each one by choosing composers that had writtend music specifically for that very type of instrument or during the time in which it was in use. Above is an example of a flemish harpsichord I found on the web.
From the program's notes I found this excerpt on Mozart very interesting (J-man is watching Baby Mozart right now. I hope he will learn to play and understand music as he grows!)
Mozart, according to his sister Nannarel, never practiced scales and technical
studies. She wrote: "From his childhood on he liked playing the best at night.
When he sat down to the Klavier at 9 in the evening, one could not take him away
before midnight, and even then only by force, or he would have improvised the
whole night...I have no knowledge of his practicing the Klavier after he was
seven years of age, for he always had to improvise, to play at sight, and to
play concerts in front of people, and that was his whole exercicium."
1 comment:
Ciao, bella!
This is quite interesting; with I could have been there.
Enjoying your blog...gotta go fix supper....I'll be in Searcy for Thanksgiving, but just for one day, so maybe I'll catch you next time.
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