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 ke...
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Radio 3's Piano A to Z
BBC Radio 3's Piano A to Z
Episodes
20 of 26 episodesY 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 po...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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 he...
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...
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 rea...
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...
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 fraug...
O for Orchestra
How do you practice a concerto without an orchestra? Who controls a concerto - conductor or soloist? Are there any similarities between taki...
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 seduct...
M for Movies
Piano improviser extraordinaire, Harry the Piano, silent film accompaniment specialist Neil Brand and writer and broadcaster Matthew Sweet –...
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 - l...
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 th...
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. Associate...
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 per...
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...
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 parti...