BBC Radio 3's Piano A to Z
Latest episodes
-
7 min ↗
Z for Zany
The alphabetical exploration of the piano concludes with Z for Zany, an affectionate look at the role of the piano in comedy. Told at the keyboard by pianist and singer Joe Stilgoe…
-
9 min ↗
Y for Yellow River
In 1969 at the height of the Chinese Cultural Revolution the Yellow River Piano Concerto, commissioned by Madame Mao, received its highly politicised premiere. Despite being banned…
-
7 min ↗
X for X-treme
Although every instrument has a history of extreme techniques, the piano seems to have attracted more than its fair share of people wanting to see how far it, and they, could go. F…
-
8 min ↗
W for Workshops
What goes into the making of a piano? How do the pianos of today differ from those which Liszt or Debussy might have played? In the central London workshop of Steinway's, there are…
-
7 min ↗
V for Virtuoso
Virtuoso is a term applied to many of the world's top pianists of today. With its roots in the Italian usage of the 16th and 17th centuries, a virtuoso is an individual who possess…
-
8 min ↗
U for Upright
‘A sort of musical fungus attached to the walls of semi-detached houses in the provinces’ is how celebrated conductor and fount of bons mots Sir Thomas Beecham once described the u…
-
9 min ↗
T for Tuning
The issue of tuning has been a live one ever since Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras was pinching strings and scratching his head over harmonic discrepancies 2,500 yea…
-
9 min ↗
S for Sustain
The sustain pedal, usually the one on the right, is the most commonly used pedal in a modern piano. When pressed it sustains all the damped strings on the piano by moving the dampe…
-
8 min ↗
R for Repetiteur
Répétiteurs are so much more than just pianists. Sure, they have to be able to get around the keyboard. But they also have to be able to read the multiple lines of a full score, co…
-
9 min ↗
Q for Queues
Which great pianists would be worth queuing for? Piano fans queued around the block in 1965, to see the return of Vladimir Horowitz, one of the century's most celebrated pianists,…
-
8 min ↗
P for Page Turner
It should be simple. All you have to do is turn a page of a score while the pianist’s hands are otherwise engaged. But page turning is fraught with difficulties, for both pianist a…
-
7 min ↗
O for Orchestra
How do you practice a concerto without an orchestra? Who controls a concerto - conductor or soloist? Are there any similarities between taking the role of soloist and sitting at th…
-
9 min ↗
N for Novels
The piano has played a starring role in some the nation's best loved novels, acting as a signifier of everything from social class to seduction. Professor John Mullan guides listen…
-
7 min ↗
M for Movies
Piano improviser extraordinaire, Harry the Piano, silent film accompaniment specialist Neil Brand and writer and broadcaster Matthew Sweet – all experts in the field of film music…
-
8 min ↗
L for Left Hand
The right hand may be the belle of the ball but the left hand is no dowdy Cinderella. The left hand is a fundamental part of piano music - literally, the fundamental is the root pa…
-
8 min ↗
K for Keys
There are sad keys and glad keys, so they say; F sharp minor is turbulent and C major is sunny. Every pianist knows how a key feels under their fingers, as every key has its own co…
-
10 min ↗
J for Jazz
Ever since the early ragtime of Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Morton the piano has been a key instrument in the development of Jazz. Associated with the smoky bar-room, the instrumen…
-
7 min ↗
I for Improvisation
Some people can do it and some can't – sit down at the keyboard and simply make music up on the spur of the moment. The piano can be the perfect instrument for jazz improvising, ca…
-
8 min ↗
H for Hiring
Often when a concert pianist steps onto the stage to perform, they have to play a piano that has been hired. Surprisingly, while many are in great shape, sometimes they aren't. Som…
-
9 min ↗
G for Glenn Gould
Glenn Gould was a Canadian pianist who became one of the best-known and most celebrated classical pianists of the 20th century. He was particularly renowned as an interpreter of th…