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“Keyboard Teaches Hand” spoke of physical tension and relaxation. Now I want to point out something about two kinds of tension: physical and emotional. They’re separate, but it’s all too easy to confuse them. This tires us, and robs us of technique. When a piece is ebullient, triumphant, tragic, dramatic, joyous—or intense with any emotion—our […]

Not long ago, I had occasion to make

If you have trouble playing one-hand

We used to go early when George Lucktenberg was playing harpsichord. The playing was delightful; we went early to hear the tuning. Pianos should be tuned as close to concert time as possible; but harpsichords must be tuned just before the performance. It was the way Lucktenberg tuned that gave us the giggles.

I was bored listening to talks at the Las Vegas

At 16, I played the last two movements

Seymour Benzer was a great scientist, “whose biography,” said a colleague, “Caltech shines up

At age 8: In my teacher’s studio were grainy, gray-ish busts of composers, all with the same

Whether in studio or concert-hall, recording involves an engineer and audio equipment; and it’s reassuring to know that we needn’t be intimidated by them, for as musicians we already

The Performance Loop Some of my best friends make superb recordings in the studio. My hat’s off to them! In a way, I’m lucky to be unable