Thank you very much!

Whenever one dares to say that Horowitz wasn’t perfect, there is an army of offended fans attacking, pointing on his videos where he plays half of the notes but claiming that nobody ever did better🤣 Apparently, Horowitz was a great artist, but even a better hypnotizer.

@@DenZhdanovPianist The combination of his shrewd mind and the naive "hype culture" in the US worked well for him. Rubinstein didn't need all of these tricks and histrionics. He was simply a great Master and an Aristocrat.

Thanks!

I didn’t say that either.

@@DenZhdanovPianist You said that others think that. Not trying to argue. I love your videos but I disagree with that. Which is ok.

Sure, people with smaller hands have to adjust and are more prone to tension issues.

Sure, all good approaches have something in common despite all the differences

One thing I learned from my bitter awkward social experience - never assume what other musicians would like or hate!😉

There are tons of fantastic players around, but we overlook them falling into idealization of the mysteriousness of the famous musicians, thus assuming that there is no one to match Rubinstein or Horowitz or else. One of the most sobering and painful stages of development is understanding how difficult it is to avoid the bias of big and small names. In reality, there are hundreds of pianists who are as good or better in both technical and interpretational aspects. Following this trend, this particular format works so much better, because when I say how to play, so few people actually watch it, since I am (frankly speaking) nobody. But when I say the same damn thing “look, this is what Rubinstein or Argerich is doing” - all of a sudden I get 10 times more views and everyone’s excitement.

​@@DenZhdanovPianist I think if you post more of your own playing, people will see how you implement your technique into the making of music. People want to know what Martha Argerich is doing technically because we admire her playing. If we get to see more of your interpretations, then more will know what a great musician you are and will want to learn from you.

@@DenZhdanovPianist Now that I think about it, maybe the pianos are also at fault, nowadays they seem to have less of a singing tone, especially compared to old European makes. Interesting perspective, could you point me to a performance of someone relatively unknown who is pretty much as good as say Argerich? I've tried to test this by finding recordings of random pianists, but they are usually quite a bit worse. But that might be biasing my perception. And I totally feel you on getting views on KZfaq. Another possible reason may be because people use those search terms, "Martha Argerich", etc. and your video might pop up if they are already following you. I have watched most of your technique videos, but I can see why they would only attract a niche audience.

Thank you kindly!

It isn’t. Everyone learns at their own path, and many aspects of piano playing are not as intuitive as they may seem if you were lucky to have a great first music teacher.

@DenZhdanovPianist is there a such thing as a wrong note? And with a little practice and confidence you can make it work.

I am not fully convinced by your argument. It’s not about copying technique; it’s about universal physiological aspects and a careful adjustment to the needs of a particular student. Using an analogy, imagine there is an XXL-size suit that you can put on nearly every man, and then you carefully tailor it to their size. But every teacher can teach only what they know, and this is why you have students who play with flat fingers, students who play with curled fingers, a few students who play without technical issues, and many who play poorly. The real problem is not that teachers teach technique their own way; it’s that 95% don’t know how to teach it at all. In a special music school specializing in preparing prodigies, like the one I was trained in, you would typically have one-two teachers who prepares dozens of students with a very good, sustainable technique, because they know a whole bunch about efficiency playing principles. About five teachers in the same department are sometimes lucky to get natural talents who play the piano more or less naturally and without issues, while the rest of the class is unable to overcome their inefficiency. Additionally, there are usually a couple of teachers who have a very poor and dangerous misunderstanding of piano technique, and even gifted students under their instruction often end up with focal dystonia, among other issues. If a teacher avoids sharing their personal perspective on a piece, the education will be very formal and superficial. True art is passed from a master to an apprentice by demonstration and imitation at first, until a student matures enough to naturally feel they want to do it differently from their teacher. Imitation is as necessary a phase as maturing and separating. Only a small number of students will reach this stage and become independent, brilliant musicians who can be as good as or better than their teacher while doing things their own way. If I will have 3-5 students within my life span, who will become as good or hopefully better than me, I would be already quite happy. People get criticized for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes male competition participants are criticized for not wearing a blazer, and this can be a reason not to advance to the next round.

Yes, with some experience in piano efficiency your mirrored neurons allow you to almost physically feel sensations in somebody’s arm while watching it. Therefore, I live in a constant pain specializing on students wishing to overcome their technical limitations ouch😅😭