Juilliard alum, pianist, and founder of the Piano Ninja Tricksters Club, helping serious adult musicians develop intelligent practice strategies and perform with confidence under pressure.
🎹 The night Chopin chose me
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It’s 1972, and I’m walking into Hogwarts. Okay, not Hogwarts exactly. But something like it... Crouse College, a building that belongs in another century. I’m 10 and enchanted by the bell tower ringing throughout the Syracuse University campus. It’s my first real concert. I’m here to see David Mulfinger perform all 24 Chopin Études. From the very first C Major bass octave of Op. 10 No. 1, I was mesmerized. While my hands could barely reach an octave, I knew in every ounce of my body that I would play this music one day. I could hardly wait to begin. That spring, I performed the Aeolian Harp Étude at my teacher’s annual recital. Four years later, I performed five of the Études in my sold-out debut recital for 452 concert attendees. That was the beginning of a romance that’s lasted more than 50 years. And just last week, while recording the Polonaise-Fantasie, I realized that I understand Chopin now in a way I simply couldn’t when I was younger. The more space I give his music, the more it reveals. Really doing justice to Chopin isn’t about nailing the virtuoso passages. It’s about adding the breath and timing that supports his musical line. Tomorrow, in celebration of Chopin’s birthday week, I’ll open something for pianists who feel that same pull. More tomorrow... ​ |
Lisa Spector, Piano Ninja
Juilliard alum, pianist, and founder of the Piano Ninja Tricksters Club, helping serious adult musicians develop intelligent practice strategies and perform with confidence under pressure.
When I was 10, I was learning the Haydn D Major Concerto. I was already taking my piano lessons very seriously. They were the highlight of my week. During one lesson with Mrs. Moore, we worked on nothing but pedaling in the Haydn. That was it. When my mom picked me up and asked "how was your lesson?" I answered with a smile and a sense of pride: “Great. The only thing we worked on was pedal.” At the time, I thought that meant I was ahead. That my playing was so solid that we could focus on...
Anytime you have to "unlearn" an unknown practice habit, it slows down your progress faster than taking a wrong turn and not realizing it for miles. Jay is a founding member of the Piano Ninja Tricksters Club, so he knows all the tricks. They even helped him perform his first public piano recital in 30 years, playing Beethoven's Waldstein, Chopin's 4th Scherzo, 2 Bach Preludes & Fugues and Brahms op 76 Fantasies. Now he's learning the Chopin 3rd Sonata and is taking his comittment to smart...
30 years ago I was in Paris on vacation. It was fabulous, but as soon as I came back I was performing Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with orchestra, for the first time! My pianist friend Scott had a piano I could use, but he was busy teaching and only had one hour free on Tuesday. I said "great, I’ll take it." When I was finished practicing he said... "wow, you sure got a lot done in that hour." It wasn’t the hour. It was the focus. I went straight to what mattered. This Saturday, I’m bringing...