This has been last week's read, and what a good one it was! Not only is it informative and inspiring, it is written with a nice lively pace and humorous tone so rare in this specialized genre.

In case the photo is not good enough: Notes from the Pianist's Bench from Boris Berman. 

It distils passion and love for music and piano in every single page, talking from his perspective as a performer and as a teacher. Whilst he goes "technical" at times, it is easy to follow, and I would recommend it even to younger students. I definitely wish I had read this ten years ago. :) (As we always do, wishing things were done by yesterday!) 

Little blog post: check, diary update: check. Saturday piano practice.. here we go! 

Hope you all have a nice weekend, 
Maite

Yes indeed! You'll have more awareness, you'll be calmer, will breath better and with the music, and you'll play freer than you ever did before. You will sound better. 

I didn't approach yoga as early as I should have and until very recently any sort of advice I received along those lines was more or less quickly rejected with the usual "I have no time for that", or "I rather practice [piano] more". I was sceptic, didn't believe it could affect my playing and didn't have time to waste. 

It is another silly excuse, but probably the fact that such a recommendation would't come directly from a musician didn't help! Alas, we can be so blind sometimes...

Yoga has a profound effect both in your body and mind, and consequently it will show in the way you play. Yoga brings together mind and body in one, and is precisely that unity, that coherence in oneself that we need to have in order to truly let the music flow from us, and through us. 

I could go on and on , but I want to keep it really brief and hopefully effective, the main message being, TRY IT! Moreover, you don't need to spend a fortune committing months in a studio or gym if you are not ready for it; there are plenty of fantastic tutorials online to awaken your curiosity and help doing the first and most important steps!

This is my little contribution. I have to thank my piano teacher Laura Roberts for having shown it to me. 

I'll finish with some links: this is the Yoga Journal with plenty of info and here goes a Sun Salutation with Esther Ekhart. It can take as little as 10 minutes a day, but it will make such a difference! You can take my word for it! 

As I said earlier.. Try it!

M.

Ps. I have no shares with either the Yoga Journal or Esther! They are two online resources that I like :)

After about 6 months of neglect, I'm back into the blogging mode, at least I will try my best. There are always many topics to be discussed, musical and non musical alike. Specially now that the situation in my home country is getting so desperate and crying out loud through the internet seems to be the only thing one can do from the distance. At least to redeem a bit of guilt. 

However, after such a long time without writing a single line, I need a bit of time to get back to it con tutta forza and since I have thoroughly enjoyed this week's reading, I'm going to focus on that. 

I got out of the Royal Academy library  Harmony in Context A new approach to understanding harmony without conventional exercises, by Paul Steinitz and Stella Sterman. I have to say that it did not disappoint. The book is written in a concise but friendly manner, and it precisely does what it promises, contextualizing the use of the different harmonic devises through the scope of musical history. I found specially uplifting to see that it doesn't focus in mere nomenclature of chords, but in the functionality of harmony, revising it's real usage by the composers. The book inspires curiosity for harmonic syntax, rather than being an aseptic chord (-progression) list.

Apart from the examples provided in the book, there is a separate workbook with a set of very interesting exercises, based mostly on musical excerpts, that I think make of this method quite a hands on one. I fully recommend. 

M. 

The beautiful St Peter’s Church in Eaton Square proved a perfect setting for the Society’s annual classical concert on April 12th, reports La Revista’s correspondent.

Spanish and English students from leading musical academies in London performed a wonderful variety of works by eminent Spanish composers like Granados, Falla, and Torroba, along with Debussy (a great influence on Spanish composers), and the Argentine Piazzola, whose trail-blazing new tangos emerged from a cross-current of influences on both sides of the Atlantic.

Music ranged from traditional folk song and classical guitar to an eclectic composition performed by a string trio. The players were introduced by the charming and hugely talented Maite Aguirre who brought the evening to a rousing climax, conducting a moving arrangement for sextet of the Danza Ritual del Fuego composed by Falla.

The brillant players and singers were Marta Lopez Fernandes (piano); Laura Ruhi (soprano); Angel Garcia Lopez (viola); Gunel Mirzayeva (piano); Cristina Ocaña Rosado (vioiin); Damian Rubido Gonzalez (double Bass); Maria Camahort (guitar); Guy Button (vilin); Alfonso Noriega (viola); Sophie Rivlin (violencello).
In his welcome, vice-chairman Jimmy Burns paid tribute to the concert , describing it as emblemic of the Anglo-Spanish Society’s declared aim to promote a better understanding and sharing of British and Spanish culture. “This evening provides an excellent opportunity to highlight the excellence of talented young Spanish musicians in the heart of London-a true showcase,” he said.


The evening also provided an opportunity to thank the outgoing Ambassador of Spain, Carles Casajuana I Pallet for his constant support for the Society during him time in London.

Many thanks to Jose Ramon Rodino, Beatriz Gago, and Maite Aguirre for organizing the event , to Fidel Lopez Alvarez , Minister for Cultural and Scientific Affairs at the Embassy of Spain for support and promotion ,and for Javier Fernandez Hidalgo for providing tapas and wine.