my piano teacher gave me great advice: practice with the mind first, then ever so slowly at the piano, get everything down correctly (notes, rhythm, dynamics), lastly you add tempo when all the tough stuff is mastered. memorization occurs throughout this process... the most impossibly difficult passages (for me!) were eventually doable (like Schumann's "Paganini" from Carnaval, the irregular cross rhythms in "Gaspard", Tatum's "Tea for Two"...)
I love the advice of "mind first". Cause many people do slow practice completely mindlessly, making it a pure waste of time. Instead it should be ever so focused... I believe that really knowing what you're doing during practice time allows you to "get lost in it" while you actually perform...
When I was 16, I invited a girl who played classical music to a piano concert. I bought the tickets assuming a "yes" got turned down so invited and took my Dad. It was Vladimir Horowitz, and the seats (released at last minute) were on the stage. He ended the concert (pre-encore) with the Mephisto Waltz. The very last "note" was him running all the keys from the middle in opposite directions and ending up almost looking crucified and brining up his head slightly before smiling. Everyone went nuts and were on their feet...except the lady next to me, who I had been making small talk with during the intermission. When I asked her why she didn't stand up, she said "he plays this much better at home." Wanda! Horowitz then went on to play like 7 encores. I loved the piano and classical music ever since. Giuseppe absolutely has the right role model for that piece!!! I should note, that he was not perfect, however. I saw him about 2 years later, and remember the second half he played many (maybe all) of the Chopin etudes. He had some really brilliant moments (like op.25 n.10 -- no one could throw octaves like that), but also a lot of clunkers...while he got a standing ovation, he did not come out for any encores after that. Just being in his presence was in itself electrifing and still a great performance. But no piano performance I have ever seen, and I have seen many (including every Cliburn), all the major stars, etc...and no performance ever equaled that Mephisto Waltz. His album/recording of it is not close to what he did live!
I’m so glad martial arts was mentioned- people think of pianists as people who live sedentary lives. Mentioning other ways of problem solving away from the piano is fascinating.
Ray Chen has the same advice as Zhang Lixin's...at any unexpected hour, even waking up in the middle of the night, play the challenging excerpts. That really prepares you better for the unexpected. Very generous of all the competitors to share their training strategies. Just goes to show they're more than talented musicians...which makes them great musicians.
When i lived in London there was a famous concert Pianist living on the road I lived on. There was also a member of the LSO who played the cello. The pianist said if you can't do it in 4, then you can't do it. When you're a working pianist you're dashing about all over the world and time for practise is limited. If you're prepping for a competition you can spend as much time practising as you like. When you start working, the world is a different place. It's train stations, poor pianos and under rehearsed orchestras. It's hotels and waiting about. It's avoiding jet lag and being quite lonely.
Going to rewatch. This expands music's reach from pop to top. Elevate us all and continue your ministry/vocation of showing the personas behind the personification of the composer's creation.
What an excellent video. The artists are refreshingly candid, the insight into their training and mindset is appreciated. I wish them all the best, and thank you-this is what the excellent corner of RU-vid looks like.
The hardest part for me always is how to memorize the music. I find it easier to memorize the fast parts in a piece, but I always have a hard time with the slower parts. I practice over and over, and they just don't stick into my head.
16:35 I would LOVE to see a video that reveals the different ways pianists deal with this passage from the Prokofiev Third, in detail. That would be very helpful, Ben.
That would be fun. Maybe good for a short. But also, I want to go back in time and interview Prokofiev and ask what on earth he was thinking when he wrote that bizarre figuration.
The trick I use is on the way up, play the first 3 sixteenth notes with the left hand, then play the next 6 using the right hand with the fingering 1-2-34-1-2-34, then play the top note with the left hand (and the same in reverse order on the way down).
For me the most absurd thing about these pianists is that they manage to practice all those hours without getting injured. in fact I believe that many pianists have, to varying degrees, some tendinitis problems or some contractures but somehow manage to live with them. it would be interesting if you made a video where we discuss more about the aspect of body economy and how great pianists manage to reduce risks to a minimum. (btw i really admire your works, your videos are always original, well structured and interesting)
Good technique should cover most of that. Also, although most people don't dare to say it, I doubt how many of these pianists are actually honest about the hours they practice effectively. There are limits to the human brain and body and a person shouldn't be able to do 5+ hours of effective work in a day, our brains simply can't handle that. I do believe that some of them may be exaggerating their hours or simply lie. The 4/5 hours should be enough for a day was the only fully believable one to me
@@milessteenvoorden2832 Brains can't but a lot of the practice is spent just moving the hands and getting the muscles used to that particular movement.
@@milessteenvoorden2832 It goes both ways, actually. You are absolutely correct - for the brain/body/hand's effective conscious connection - 5 hours a day is absolutely enough and sufficient. But... For some pianists (or violinists, flutists etc.) going through the movements themselves (so called "muscle memory" - although I argue that) is why they may extend practice time, but is that effective ? Some passages (Rachmaninov 3rd or Brahms D-Maj) require hours and hours of slow note-by-note practice if you wanna get it into your brain completely, (and also are Chopin's Op.10 2nd and double thirds from Op.25). But yeah - anything over 4-5- hours a day can be counterproductive, and with that I absolutely agree.
I can strongly recommend Gina Bachauer's recordings for anyone interested. Some of my favorites are her Beethoven 4th and Liszt HR 12. She plays with such class and has a really warm sound, yet not many people seem to know about her.
Thank you, Ben, for making such insightful and great quality videos like this one. This one has the additional layer of featuring so many familiar faces and it felt endearing to see them supported on your channel. Wishing them all great success regardless of the results!
Misha Galant! I remember following him in the SF Bay Area some time ago. He played a wonderful Beethoven 2nd back then and as a teenager performed Rach 3 (if I remember correctly) with one of the orchestras here when he was just 16. He's been quite impressive.
The Bachauer Competition lineup has been announced! Follow along here www.youtube.com/@@ginabachauerinternationalp7320 And, I've listed the quarterfinal times for each of the 11 participants seen in this video: QUARTERFINAL ROUND I (20-minute programs) Monday June 17 1:40 PM Angie Zhang 2:40 PM Lixin Zhang 4:30 PM Anfisa Bobylova 7:30 PM Giuseppe Guarrera 9:25 PM TianYi Li Tuesday June 18 1:00 PM Jonathan Mak 1:20 PM Misha Galant 2:20 PM Nicolas Giacomelli 2:40 PM Martin Jacobs 3:50 PM Rachel Breen 7:50 PM Carter Johnson QUARTERFINAL ROUND II (40-minute programs) Wednesday June 19 2:20 PM Angie Zhang 7:30 PM Lixin Zhang Thursday June 20 1:40 PM Anfisa Bobylova 2:20 PM Giuseppe Guarrera 9:00 PM TianYi Li Friday June 21 1:00 PM Jonathan Mak 1:40 PM Misha Galant 4:10 PM Nicolas Giacomelli 7:30 PM Martin Jacobs 9:00 PM Rachel Breen Saturday June 22 3:30 PM Carter Johnson
@@able763 I just listed the times for the pianists seen in this video! Check our bachauer.com for the schedule for all 32 competitors. It’s 16 pianists per day the first two days (Quarterfinals I), then 8 per day the following four days (Quarterfinals II).
Fascinating! Thank you for showing us the process behind the scenes! (Also, thank you to Tian Yi for not butchering Rachmaninov's name, like most anglophones😊There is no K in his last name the 'ch' is a transliteration for x (pronounced like H in words how or have) - it's RaHmaninov, not RaCKmaninov.)
I’m not sure why people always say that one can’t hide in classical repertoire but can in Russian romantic. If one listenes closely one can hear everything in every period I think
That's true - and the way TianYi Li performs/practices Rachmaninoff in this video is all about making the music transparent (and not "blurry") to listeners. But also there's something built in to Classical-era music in which its effectiveness as a piece of music depends on aspects of phrasing and clarity and balance where there's very little margin for error. It's more explicitly "rational" music, and there may only be a few valid "reasons" for a performance's success. Whereas sensuous/emotional aspect of Russian romantic music allows more room for differences of expression, timing, layering, balance, and yes clarity. It's not *essential* to the music's impact that you finish your phrases in just this or that way, or that absolutely every note is heard and registered in a given passage. For better or worse, there are notes that can be pedaled over in passagework that won't dramatically impact your listening experience, even as a perceptive listener. And that's just almost never true in Haydn/Mozart.
Because the classical repertoire is more revealing. You can play tons of wrong notes in Rach BUT if you do it with a lot of passion and love for the piece , the wrong notes don’t matter so much. It ‘s harder to say something with a few notes. It’s kind of more succinct.
RU-vid somehow figured out what's going on and put this one in my feed, just in time. My 10yo daughter is having her first flute competition in a month's time and I'm playing her accompaniment in public for the second time ever. Let's just say I really want my own part to be perfect and I am feeling the pressure too.
I like to call them tricks of the trade. Especially with so many people trying to learn the piano through apps or RU-vid with don't bother learning notes, learn these 3 chords. Taking lessons from Elite, Concert Pianists is that they have a lot of tricks up their sleeves. They will take you from scales to Bach in a year. Self taught is like DIY. Some people are better, but you will eventually end up having to hire someone.
What people call 'talent' is mostly just the ability to practice the same shit over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over without having a mental breakdown.
OMG - 8, 10, 12 hours!! So glad I’m an amateur hobbyist. I can’t help but feel it is not right to cram so much piano practice into a day. You need time away from piano to let the mind process what you’re learning, and the soul yearn to unite with the music. Just my thoughts….
Around the 16:08 mark, there's talk of the repertoire that the pianists in the final round can choose from, mentioning Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev. The statement is made that "These works are rife with pyrotechnics, including occasional passage work that has come to be regarded by even the world's greatest virtuosi as impossible if played exactly as written, " as we watch Yuja Wang playing a particularly difficult passage in Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto. That may be true in many instances, but I'd respectfully submit that Martha Argerich's 1977 performance of Prokofiev's Third, with Andre Previn conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, is pretty much perfect and played as written. In fact, she arguably plays it better than Prokofiev himself could've played it. If she "cheated" anywhere in that performance, I'd like to know where because I can't see/hear it. And before anyone asks, yes, it's here on RU-vid.
One of the great performances of anything, ever. She's still technically "cheating" though. It's not her... it's Prokofiev's bizarre notation. It's just not something any human hand could do precisely while preserving the power and whip-action you need there. Another comment thinks it might be a joke he's playing on us pianists... maybe that's true!
@@benlawdy Okay, I understand where you're coming from. And yeah -- maybe it was Prokofiev playing a joke. Those wacky Soviets! (Ha ha.) BTW, where in the piece is the specific notation you referred to? Could you reference the aforementioned Argerich performance and tell me where it occurs? You've made me curious.
@@Ken5244idk the time stamp, but there are some notes for the LH in the 3rd movement that she plays with the RH, in the upwards arpeggios near the end part.
Is Angie Zhang practicing on the Bösendorfer designed by Jürgen Felsenstein in the 1950s? That's the only piano that I know with that blue color and shape.
Yea I would be in the top 100 pianist if I actually had time to just practice. I used to practice like half the day sometimes all day until I became an adult 😆😂😆 then it changed more after having kids. But I still enjoy playing and watching others play.
What’s interesting is that the competitors don’t feel this way, and the work they’re putting into it (as seen in this video) is only incidentally related to the fact that they’re preparing for a competition.
Actually there are lots of people who practice practice practice and still don’t get concerts at Carnegie hall. You have to win international piano competitions to get opportunities like that and competitions isn’t for everyone irrespective of level.
Yes, if you want to go to the top, you need to work hard. Same goes for science. 16 h /day seven days a week in the organic chemistry lab for years with no guarantees. That's Ph.D Post Doc!
Almost all pianists are in pain and/or working through varying degrees of injury. It’s kind of a problem that nobody likes to talk about (that’s a whole other video). As for neighbors, you hope they’re nice (but also pianists often have an electric keyboard for after hours practice).
The people have spoken! It’s amazing to me how many top pianists deal with injury, but it remains a taboo subject. Pianists don’t want to show weakness, and they think it reflects poorly on their professionalism. So yeah, all the more reason to make a video about it!
She mentioned before I started recording that it was a special instrument made for the world’s fair (I’m not sure which world’s fair) and now resides in a home in Palm Springs. I’ll dig deeper and find out more.
This proves thatthe top level competitors use tablature to play every note, they simply call t "fingering". Tell an academically trained guitarist that you want them to play a composition using tablature and it will create an immature riot.
I mean… a normal office job is (officially) an 8 hr day of work in Canada and most ppl I know do upwards of 12 some days. So I don’t know why people find it so shocking that pianists practice 8-12 hrs. Tbh, time also flies when you’re practicing.
Yes, although if you’re an aspiring concert pianist that means you either also have to work to make a living and/or are in school. Several of the ones in this video teach students during the day and have other performances/gigs to prepare for. And even if practicing the piano was their whole day job, it’s an extremely taxing physical and mental activity - absolutely draining. No offense to office jobs (which I’ve worked too), but it does not compare!
@@benlawdy I second this. I am a musician and have also worked in a 9-5 office environment. 8 hours doing both there is no comparison in my experience. We musicians must NEVER go on autopilot during practice, we must be focused and fully conscious about every little thing we do, so we instil correct habits, movements, fingerings and don’t accidentally train ourselves to do the wrong thing. Plus we are learning complex new repertoire almost all the time. Most people in typical 9-5 jobs have periods of time throughout the day where they can go on autopilot to some degree, especially in office jobs with certain repetitive and habitual tasks and in stuff like business meetings where they have to turn up but only be fully present and participating in a small part. I remember many times where I was on shift scrolling on my phone for long periods of time because I literally had nothing else to do/couldn’t do anymore until someone else had done a certain task. Plus if they’re white collar jobs, they aren’t physically active or moving most of the time. We musicians are moving all the time, especially in virtuosic pieces that require a lot of stamina. Physically and mentally, I am WAYYY more drained having done just 4 hours of intense deliberate practice than I often am at the end of a regular 8 hour office shift. Of course, playing is a lot more rewarding than working in an office but it’s still very resource depleting.
I gave up a long time ago with piano. I reached a plateau in piano skills and could not do any better. Reading Song recognition was terrible and my hands were not fast enough to do any kind of runs. I did allot of practice but would always do similar mistakes and inconsistent playing. I feel we either have the talent, or we don't. I did not. So my upright piano is over in the corner collecting dust. I have more important things to do than sit at a piano, plus I would have to start all over again learning.
I suppose if these other things are more important, you're right. But it makes me sad to think that maybe there were ways of playing where fast runs weren't on the table and you could have built your musicality on simpler music while enjoying the feeling every minute. Of course if the goal was to be a performer, well, that's maybe why there are more important things now.😊
When are people going to realize that playing the repertoire is but a stepping stone to the real prize. Composition. All of these pianists are worthy of first prize in a competition, even on the most average performance. Kinda makes competition irrelevant. The most important parts of playing music has been left out. Improvisation... Finding your voice. Which is spontaneous composition. Music cannot move forward without new music. Why isn't this part of the performance pedagogy? What a shame. Bach could not have made a living without it.
People realize it, but musical institutions started specializing in the 19th century and it only intensified in the 20th. This required professional pianists to spend the majority of their time keeping up with the ever-expanding repertoire, orchestras/instrumentalists to play their part in a larger role full time, composers to write for these different instruments and ensembles full time, and so on. They all assumed different roles. Improvisation became a lost art to the classical world when there stopped being as many courtly and religious musicians (except organists, who remain good improvisers because it’s part of their occupational training). Improvising eventually became the domain of jazz musicians, and so on. There are musicians who are trying to resurrect historical improvisation and build curricula around it (Noam Sivan, John Mortensen, the partimento folks, and many others). but the reason it’s not part of mainstream conservatory training is partly because our teachers can’t do it so well either - they’re most qualified to teach the great repertoire. So it’s exciting to see that actually starting to change, and as it does - we’ll start seeing more competitions that can reasonably require more musicianship skills to be displayed than just delivering performances of old music. Having said that, I wouldn’t go as far as to say that improvisation is the only place to find your voice as a musician. It can be, but the flip side is: you can learn to improvise in a very derivative way - in fact you have to start with models, so ‘finding your voice’ requires a lot of practice and listening and so on. But it’s not a given for everyone who improvises. Meanwhile, great interpreters of composed music (which I regularly profile on this channel) prove that there’s plenty of room to find your voice in realizing old masterworks in performance. It’s subtle for sure, and less room for original/radical forms of creativity (unless you’re Glenn Gould, but that’s also another video). But if you fall in love with the music and learn to listen to the differences between different interpreters, you’d find it’s a great art unto itself. (I still would advocate for more composition and improvisation in music education, but there’s room for all of the above: how about more and better music education in general, in all its variety?)
@@benlawdy Well, I can't argue with anything you said. Your points about finding your voice are solid. Perhaps, it need not be quite so formal... Maybe an encouragement to keep a musical journal by teachers and institutions. Just a notebook with the grand staff and empty pages. And occasionally discuss the musical ideas you may have written. As far as Glenn Gould goes, I do like him. Ironically, I'm probably split 70/30 on his interpretations. But he does bring the philosophical component pretty forcefully. There are many stories of composers interpreting their own compositions in wildy different ways. How elastic is a great piece of music? And how did we actually arrive at the standard interpretations that are taught? There are no recordings of the great ones, only word of mouth and memories. Thanks for your time, love the channel.
Not every theatrical writer is an actor and not every great actor becomes greater if they write a theatrical piece. Two different, though related, kinds of art. I agree though that improvisation (even in different styles) should be part of a concert pianist's education... but there is already so much to learn and so many aspects to work on, every day... and such a vast repertoire!
My teacher is an improviser. Classically trained, he had to bust norms. But he did study composition as well as performance in college. I'm happy to be benefiting from his unusual journey.
Just imagine a poetry recital competition. All competitors are reciting almost the same famous poems. And the fastest will win in almost any case. Piano competitions are such a weird invention.
I’m honestly curious: is this really the gist of piano competitions? Like, is it that speed is prioritized? Or is it prioritized only after levels of artistry are assessed?
@@Elizabeth-tj8ex AFTER levels of artistry are assessed? How do you define "artistry"? In competitions Artistry=Virtuosity. That's what it is all about. That's why they are all playing so fast. It's the belief "If you can play fast - you can automatically play slow." That's the staircase joke of twoset violin. I wonder if they even realized it.
@@kpunkt.klaviermusikyes, there is definitely a lot of overlap between technical skill and artistry! But I’m not asking about all technical skills, such as touch and phrasing, etc.; I’m asking JUST about speed. You seemed to say it comes down to speed, right? So what I’m wondering is more like this: if you had, say, two pianists in a competition, one faster and one slower, but the slower one had a more coherent interpretation and better audience connection…wouldn’t the slower one win? Bc virtuosity isn’t just about pure speed, and technique must be used to communicate the artistry, not just show off speed or, perhaps, an impressively wide range of skills that, though impressive in isolation, may not all be appropriate in a given piece. I guess I’m just a bit incredulous that a bunch of pianists would show up for judges only to say “oh, she’s the fastes one, ok she wins.” But then I thought, “ok, maybe this guy’s just saying that the pianists are ALL great artists/communicators, so speed is the most differentiating factor.” Sorry, I seem to have worded my original question in a confusing way! But yeah, just asking about pure speed, not technique as it includes other skills.
@@Elizabeth-tj8ex "if you had, say, two pianists in a competition, one faster and one slower, but the slower one had a more coherent interpretation and better audience connection…wouldn’t the slower one win?" I guess the faster will win in most cases. In the case both are playing equally musical I have no problem when the faster wins. But for my taste many compettitors play too fast AT THE EXPENSE OF MUSICALITY - and they still win. Extreme tempi are a direct consequence of the competition approach. There is no other justification for it.
Hey Ben, just wanna tell you that I am in SLC right now and just finished my volunteer shift today as an escort for the competitors. I’m so lucky to watch Carter Johnson playing. He’s amazing!
I’d really love to see one of them, (maybe a finalist if possible) go in depth about their entire process for preparing for one of these, like when they decide repertoire, when they start practicing, if they take a break from the piece during this preparation, how they balance practicing all this repertoire and keeping it up at such a high level as the competition approaches, etc. It would be so helpful for those who want to do something like this in the future. Love the video! Thanks!
