Verbier Festival

The gears are turning for the launch of Verbier Festival and Academy on Friday (July 20 - August 5).

If you're not able to attend, you're still in luck. Internet users everywhere will be able to enjoy online (in hi-def audio/image) webcasts of concerts, rehearsals, and interviews. Among the artists slated for this year are Martha Agerich, Nelson Freire, Helene Gabriella montero, Sarah Chang, Renee Fleming Grimaud, Hillary Hahn, Mikhail Pletnev, Zubin Mehta and many more.

Broadcasts can found here

Body and Soul

a very interesting post by Teresa on her fine blog contemporá/âneas included this remarkable clip of the piece "optical identity". Check it out.

Steinway’s Double-Keyboard Piano

This really is a monster of sorts: a piano 164 keys and four pedals. And what's more it's the only one of its kind.

It does not add a new sonority. The double-keyboard piano sounds like a piano, but with fuller chords and denser harmonies. Unlike an organ with additional stops and pipes or a harpsichord with separate strings for the second manual, the double-keyboard piano still has only one set of hammers and strings.
Read more all about it here.

And a nice video clip let's you see it in action here. Pianist Christopher Taylor discusses the instrument and its possibilities.

William Kapell International Piano Competition

The Kapell competition is underway. The semi-finalists are:

Vadimas Chaimovicius (Lithuania)
Sara Daneshpour (USA)
Alexei Gulenco (Moldova)
Sofya Gulyak (Russia)
Grace Eun Hae Kim (Korea)
Kana Mimaki (Japan)
Spencer Myer (USA)
Aleyson Scopel (Brazil)
Ti Xin (China)

A last hurrah for Spencer? Must be pushing the upper-age limit for most competitions by now. Best of luck to him and all the others.

Details and more here

Free events to note. Pianoluscious links.

And while you're out and about on the net, why not visit the William Kapell webpage.

The Joy of Liberace

I want this!

Joy of Liberace, Retro Recipes from America's Kitschiest Kitchen is the first-ever officially sanctioned book by the Liberace Foundation; complete with many never-before-seen archival photographs and coupled with the brand new concept of Bling Cooking™.

Bling cooking? I want to know about bling piano playing. You can get your copy right here.

Piano Bar - Coming to a Computer Screen Near You

This has got to be popular in Washington DC. Seems that place is awash in piano bars.

What is it? "The Piano Bar Online". Check it out, here.

At home with Schnabel

A special treat. A teacher of my teacher. Does that date me?

Monkey's Uncle

I came across this interesting little website. It's a short quiz consisting of a series of paintings. Your job? Correctly identify which were painted by professional artists and which were done by an ape. Find it here.


And speaking of monkeys, I had no idea there was a contretemp about the possibility of indcuting the 60's band "The Monkees" into the rock and roll hall of fame. I say why not? After all if the "Banana Splits" can be in the Hall of Fame, why not the "Monkees"? Actually, the "Banana Splits" aren't, but it'd be kind of cool. No?

When Pianos Attack

Have you ever worried about your piano attacking you? I didn't think so. I hadn't either.

But I have given it a few thoughts after seeing this video clip.

Scariest. Piano. Ever.

all good things come to an end

And that includes my vacation. It was good, long, and full of mountains, fresh air, baseball, magnificent starlight, good books, family, and pretty much internet-free. And still it's good to be back.

Regular blogging to resume. Yay!