Category Archives: Top pages

Do marches really have to have dotted rhythms?

Posted on December 11, 2018 3:48 pm by Jonathan Still
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Nice to see an article about marching music, one of the weird, esoteric topics  that perplex ballet pianists like me: a 2018 conference paper byNiels Hansen, Nicholas Shea & David Huron called Do Dotted Rhythms Increase Performance Precision: Why Marches … Continue reading →

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“They would have…” — Coppélia, Scotch snaps and class (the social kind)

Posted on August 17, 2018 11:34 am by Jonathan Still
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The Scotch Snap goes to Poland My recent discovery that one of the interpolations in Coppélia for Franz’s variation is from a “Scottish” ballet (Gretna Green, by Guiraud) encouraged me to re-watch Philip Tagg’s wonderful hour-and-a-quarter long documentary on the so-called Scotch snap. … Continue reading →

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Franz’s solo in Coppélia: yet another interpolation (Bol’shoi version)

Posted on August 4, 2018 8:40 am by Jonathan Still
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Who knows what this is? Answers below! Click here to download Franz’s interpolated solo from Coppélia for piano (free pdf) After I’d finished that last post on teachers and their summer school rep, I wondered whether I’d gone a bit … Continue reading →

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Diamond fairy variation: new piano arrangement

Posted on March 27, 2017 11:59 am by Jonathan Still
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I had to play this yesterday at a competition, and surprisingly, it’s the first time I’ve had to do it in public. It’s vile to play. Nowadays, if I’m faced with something like this, I go back to the orchestral score … Continue reading →

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Roast Chicken, Shostakovich, and Gogol Bordello

Posted on May 28, 2016 10:59 pm by Jonathan Still
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Both Shostakovich and Gogol Bordello have used a Russian song from the “Red Terror” period (1918-1921) in their respective works, “Moskva CheremushkI” and “Start Wearing Purple”. The song is called “Roast Chicken” (Цыплёнок жареный), and is still sung by children today. Continue reading →

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Confessions of an anxious pianist #26: Same or different music on the other side?

Posted on May 14, 2016 4:21 pm by Jonathan Still
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Although the “anxious ballet pianist” series is officially over, I’m adding one more post now, because I realised today that after thirty years of playing for class, I still often ask myself the same question: shall I play the same or different … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, Music, Playing for ballet class, Top pages | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments