In 1831, Johann Baptist Streicher (3 January 1796 in Vienna – 28 March 1871 in Vienna) – son of Nannette and Andreas Streicher, designed and patented a piano action that was neither „Viennese” nor „English”. The piano action shared features of both types. Thirty years later Streicher did experiments using latest advances coming from America. This resulted in the construction of an over-stung piano with a one-piece cast-iron frame modelled on a Steinway. The piano was exhibited in London in 1862 and won a gold medal at the Paris Exhibition in 1867.
We are often asked by students how long it takes to master a musical piece. There is of course no clear answer to this question. It is an individual matter, depending on the pianist's ability and level of difficulty of the piece. This issue is best illustrated by the anecdote of Egon Petri (1881 - 1962) - an outstanding German pianist and pedagogue of Dutch origin who for some time lived in Zakopane conducting master classes for pianists from around the world. Egon Petri himself is considered the greatest student of Ferruccio Busoni and the unsurpassed interpreter of his works. Speaking about the learning process of the piece, he cited the following anecdote (which we know from Robert Sheldon - a student of Egon Petri):
Constant improvement of the piano technique is one of the basic elements of piano education. We are often asked, especially by the youngest students, why they need to practice scales and arpeggios every day. It is worth quoting the words of one of the greatest pianists of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries - Sergey Rachmaninoff, who said that the mere ability to play several songs does not prejudge "musical proficiency".
When starting to work on a new piece, after a preliminary analysis (before the first reading), we should clearly define the goals and means - exercises that will help us achieve these goals. At the initial stage of work on the piece, of course, the most important goal is to master the musical text. There are many theories about the first stage of work on a piece. For obvious reasons, we are skipping the method of learning a piece without music score, which Couperin mentions in his book. It is particularly important at the initial stage of piano education, because it allows you to constantly control the proper functioning of the apparatus. Today, however, we want to present, in a very general way, how Franciszek Liszt worked on a piece.
Every pianist has his favorite piano brand. Ludwig van Beethoven especially valued pianos from Streicher's workshop, Fryderyk Chopin loved pianos by Camille Pleyel, Franz Liszt promoted Bösendorfer's instruments, and Claude Debussy said that "piano music should be written only for C. Bechstein".
We recently remembered the 55th anniversary of the memorable recital of Vladimir Horowitz at Carnegie Hall (May 9, 1965), with which the artist returned to the stage after 12 years of absence. What piano did he play then?
