I am delighted to inaugurate this regular column. As both a musician and a psychologist/psychoanalyst, I have dealt with many varied and complex issues that music performers and teachers of all ages struggle with. This obviously includes stage fright, but it encompasses so much more. I am sure that all of you have known students like Robin, wh...

What did winning the Van Cliburn competition mean to you?  I'd like to experience it a second time. There's such enormous pressure on all of the competitors. Before the final announcement of the winners, we were so exhausted that everyone was just happy it was finished. When they called my name, at first I did not feel anything. Maybe som...

What's next for our profession? Clavier Companion asked twelve pedagogues from around the country to contribute their thoughts on the future of piano teaching. In the following article, each author provides a short musing on this broad question. This series will continue in future issues, where longer articles by the same authors will provide an in...

Hélène Grimaud, long recognized for her compelling musical personality, is a multi-dimensional artist who brings a strong sense of individuality and innovation to her performances. Grimaud's rise to fame began at an early age in studies with Pierre Barbizet in Marseilles, training at the Paris Conservatory, and her successful debuts at age eighteen...

Mixed signals. We live in a time of unprecedented change. This thought is one that is expressed frequently these days—you may even find it to be clichéd. We hear it so often that we may not stop to consider what it really means, or if it is even as true as we might believe it to be. In this issue, Clavier Companion begins a series of articles that ...

The intoxicating South American rhythms of Kevin Olson's alluring solo, Tango Argentino (FJH), transport the listener to sunny climes. This piece is loaded with technical variety and sophisticated harmonies, but is without any overwhelming complexity for the performer; it should easily perk up those sluggish students. However, I find Tango ideal fo...

Gustav Mahler used to shock his audiences by leaping high into the air while conducting his orchestra, and pianist Vladimir DePachmann would interrupt a recital with derogatory remarks about famous pianists in attendance. These behaviors by musicians are only two examples from a long list of "no-no's." Pianists have their own set of distractive the...

It wasn't so long ago that many musicians feared the piano was losing its way in serious music. The repertoire had not grown significantly in the 1950s and 1960s, and technology was increasingly favored by composers on the cutting edge.  But commissions for new works arrived in force prior to the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976, and major piano piec...

I am excited to be bringing you the first in a series of columns devoted to the business of piano teaching! Whether you are new to teaching or have been teaching for fifty years, I hope these columns will bring a fresh perspective on how to help your business run more efficiently, make a consistent income, be less stressed about business matters, i...

Accompanying students is an enjoyable way to transfer musicality from veteran to rookie efficiently without so much "teacher talk."  For students, it  • tightens up their sense of time;  • helps them listen while playing;  • enables them to feel more like "real musicians";  • prepares them to play in ensembles;  • and ...

In the Spring of 2014, Clavier Companion sponsored its seventh annual Collegiate Writing Contest, inviting college students from around the world to submit 1,500 word essays on a pedagogical topic of their choice. The esteemed panel of judges was comprised of Linda Christensen, Andrea McAlister, and Lesley Sisterhen McAllister. We extend our congra...

In the world of classical music, proficient sight-reading is an absolute, non-negotiable necessity, and any musician who exhibits reading deficiencies is considered damaged goods. As a person with dyslexia, I have come to realize that it is invisible and has no physical, emotional, or developmental symptoms. There is no direct diagnosis, and the me...