Throughout the interview it became more apparent just how serious Alex took the piano and music as a whole. So the question of if he had ever competed formulated in my head. When I asked he responded with “I’ve competed quite a bit in different things. I competed as accompanist to make it to all-state level in high school which was very competitive. I also competed at the Chautauqua piano festival and actually made it to the semi-finals one year which was very exciting.” Then he said something that made me truly respect him as a musician. He added “even though competing was an exciting experience, it does not motivate me as a musician. I’ve done well in competitions but it is not satisfying to me at all. I find that people who judge playing excerpts of pieces tend to focus on shallow aspects of listening at times.” Learning that Alex was not driven by some crazed competitive nature and was only fueled by his love of playing the piano for pure enjoyment was very admirable and inspirational. It is refreshing to find that there are still people out there who don’t play for money, or for the gain of illustrious titles, but simply for the pure ecstasy the person feels every time he or she picks up, or sits down to the instrument they share a very special bond with.
So how much did Alex have to practice to get as good as he did to be able to enter competitions and be in the position he is at today? As a student I was dying to know. He told me “I practice anywhere from 3-5 hours a day but in my first several years at Eastman I did 5-6 hours a day, but what I learned after a while is that what really matters is the quality of practicing and not how long you do it for.” He also added that his piano teacher told him “any more than 8-12 hou...
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...; I can’t even imagine getting the same satisfaction out of other activities. It may bring me stress at times but it’s all a part of the many things that makes it fun. I don’t think there is anything in the world quite like music and there would be a huge empty space in my heart without it.” He is definitely a man living his dream; a dream that a lot of us take a lifetime to achieve and there are some who sadly never do. Alex has mastered his full potential and then some. He is a true inspiration to me and other musicians around him. I hope that Alex continues to play for many years to come and continues to do what brings him happiness.
Work Cited:
1. K, Alex. Interview by Victoria L. B. The Man with The Gifted Hands. Victoria L. Bell, 16 Apr 2014.
2. "QuoteGarden." unknown. 1998. http://www.quotegarden.com/site-info.html (accessed Apr 18, 2014).
I think positive about this artist because he is one of those artists that actually and emotionally, is never far away from his home.
In Sherwood Anderson's "Hands", the protagonist, Wing Biddlebaum is portrayed as the towns' mystery who lives alone in a small house, and although he has been living in Winesburg Ohio for twenty years Wing "did not think of himself as in any way part of the life of the town" (213). Wing cannot express himself entirely. The reason for this is his hands. He is afraid of them and tries to keep them hidden from society and from himself. In this touching story the unjust allegations of a small community have stripped Wing Biddlebaum of his identity and have forced him to become a prisoner unto himself.
He used the simplest and most realistic example of how it sounds when a child plays piano at the age of seven and then how the impulses reduced and he started playing better each year with continuous practice and then how
Dmitri Shostakovich, born on September 25, 1905, started taking piano lessons from his mother at the age of nine after he showed interest in a string quartet that practiced next door. He entered the Petrograd (formerly St. Petersburg, later Leningrad) Conservatory in 1919, where he studied the piano with Leonid Nikolayev until 1923 and composition until 1925 with Aleksandr Glazunov and Maksimilian Steinberg. He participated in the Chopin International Competition for Pianists in Warsaw in 1927 and received an honorable mention, after which he decided to limit his public performances to his own works to separate himself from the virtuoso pianists.
... man who at an early age was taught to be competitive and keep a positive attitude no matter the situation. The definition of a great musician is one who leaves a mark on not only the industry but in history itself. He is the start of new era of music; an era dominated by individuals not industry. In today’s society, he will be sure to leave his mark with his crazy styles and resolve not to be on the scale but to be an eleven.
Franz began to compose at the age of eight. When only nine he made his first public appearance as a concert pianist. His playing so impressed the local Hungarian magnates that they put up the money to pay for his musical education for the next six years. Liszt’s father obtained leave of absence from his post and took Franz to Vienna. He gave several concerts in Vienna, with great success.
...he essence of a grief-stricken generation, exhibited an unyielding emphasis on the importance of piercing passion over musical intricacy, and introduced the world to a vast array of gifted musicians who did not deem music as a tool to achieve recognition or financial stability. In turn, the decades that followed the rise of alternative rock have been inundated with so-called musicians whose main goal has been to get their faces plastered on magazine covers and achieve maximum public exposure, rather than devoting themselves to their craft. Consequently, the world has been left with nothing but an endless parade of shocking behavior, skimpy outfits, and mediocre music. Unfortunately, if the current state of affairs is any hint of what the future holds for music audiences, the magic generated by the nineties alternative rock will not be matched in years to come.
Some people are born to become legends, Bruce Springsteen is one of them. From the second he was born and through his younger years everyone knew he was destined for something bigger than a regular nine to five life, they just didn’t realize the magnitude of what was to come. Born into a all around food middle-class family, no on in that house hold even Bruce, didn’t realize that within fifty years he would reach living legend status. Also have a title of one of the best musicians to every live. After working hard at what he loves, Bruce has become known as a musical hero and inspiration to his fans and fellow musicians. With his deep lyrics, amazing stage presence, incredible guitar skills, and his passion, he is an untouchable force in the music industry. Using his lyrics to vent his emotions and past, but to also add awareness to social issues around the world. Bruce and his love for music affected him his whole life, and has shaped into what he is today. His music now affects the world. His music has truly changed the world (musically and socially) forever.
To understand a musician’s work, one might need to understand their personal journey. While delving into the effects of musical therapy, I had a chance to interview Matt Jennings a songwriter/musician who plays piano in a worship band at Bear Creek Community Church in Merced, California. On Saturday, February 19, I sat down with Matt ...
So hard to follow yet so good to live by, those words also describe the course of the musician's
Jerry Garcia’s life was filled with wonderful things, many of which he never expected in the first place. After an almost fatal heroin overdose in 1986, “ Garcia philosophically stated, ‘ I’m 45 years old, I’m ready for anything, I didn’t even plan on living this long so all this shit is just add-on stuff.’ ” (“Garcia”) This attitude shows why Garcia did all of the things he did and even how some of them came about. Garcia, who “functioned as the preeminent pied piper of the rock era,” led a life of great artistic ability which he used in many ways(“Grateful Dead_ Rockhall”).
As a child, Beethoven never was too interested in music even though he had the talents. Both his father and grandfather were experienced musicians and wanted him to be one also. At the age of four, Beethoven’s father began to teach him the violin and piano, but wasn’t successful in doing so because of his addiction to alcohol. His training was soon taken
Music has absolutely been an enormous part of my life and who I am. However,
The music industry has taken a wrong turn, and it affects our new generation; music videos becoming more like pornographic trailers causing men and women to objectify each other as a sex object. According to Camille Paglia (lecturer, educator, and feminist) in “Lady Gaga and The Death of Sex,” “Hollywood discovered that sex was great box office” (2). Because sex sells, it is a market technique used by record companies to sell more record. So does sex usage really empower women? In Paglia’s article, “Madonna I: Animality and Artifice,” she claims that dominatrix (used by Madonna) empowers women, and it should be praised by all female musicians (89). I agree to Paglia’s claim that sexuality sometimes empower rather than exploit women to act sluttish; however, in music, I believe the line between a woman using sexuality and promoting herself as an object is unnoticed because it changes depend on who dominate. When male musicians dominate a certain type of genre (hip-hop), many new musicians (women included) degrade women to jumpstart their career because sex sell.
...ing that included a vast array of famous musicians, such as the likes of Von Bulow, William Mason, Carl Tausig, Rafael Joseffy, and, later, Arthur Friedheim, Alexander Siloti, Eugene d'Albert, and Moritz Rosenthal. He not only was a great piano player but a superb teacher as well. Many people do not have the patience, nor ability to become a teacher. Not many are able to, but the select few are very under-valued, and should be given more of the respect that they deserve.