Novato Piano School

Happy Piano Day!! (88th day of the year.) 🎹🎉😀

My favorite!! 😍

🎉 Today we celebrate the 340th anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach’s birth!

Born on 21 [Julian calendar]/31 [Gregorian calendar] March 1685 in Eisenach, he was a German composer and organist, whose oeuvre includes more than 1,000 works. He went down in history as one of the most outstanding composers. He reached out to almost all musical genres of his time. He is regarded as one of the greatest masters of the art of counterpoint, which is evident in the intricate polyphonic structure of his compositions.

Fryderyk Chopin’s adoration for Johann Sebastian Bach is well documented. The Leipzig master’s work was an important point of reference for the Polish composer, both in his own work and in mastering his piano playing skills. The score of ‘Das Wohltemperierte Klavier’ was the only one Chopin took on his trip to Majorca: ‘it is good for everything’, he said to his pupil Friederike Müller. ‘You will see a thousand times the things Bach taught you: the good combination of notes, the right phrasing, the good playing of altered notes and entries. You will master all this by practising it, and because you like Bach, it will go very well. I will play you some fugues’ (quoted by U. Goebl-Streicher in ‘Friederike Müller: letters from Paris 1839–1845’).
Chopin was thoroughly familiar with the preludes and fugues from ‘Das Wohltemperierte Klavier’, and played many of them from memory, emphasising that ‘one never forgets it’. ‘He played the F major Prelude, then the G minor with Fugue, then E flat major, D major, and finally the B flat major Prelude’. ... Bach in heaven must be celebrating when he hears this, for nothing more beautiful can be imagined’, noted Friederike Müller in her memories of lessons with the composer.

🎶 We invite you to celebrate Bach's birthday with his music, recommending in particular Ewa Pobłocka’s CDs released by The Institute:
‘Das Wohltemperierte Klavier’ (I & II) and the album ’Chopin. Bach’ – with the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D minor and Johann Sebastian Bach’s Partita VI in E minor and Chopin’s Piano Concerto in E minor, Op. 11 – performed with Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra under Kazimierz Kord during a concert in 1984.
💿 A collection of Bach recordings available to listen online can be found at:
https://sklep.nifc.pl/en/osoba/827-johann-sebastian-bach
🖼️: Portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach, oil on canvas, Elias Gottlob Haussmann, 1746.

Spring has sprung! Time for fresh blooms, new beginnings, and longer days filled with music! 🌸🐝

Very interesting....

Has the piano always been popular?

The pianoforte was born in the 1690s.

Bartolomeo Cristofori built it in Italy, probably thinking:

“This is it. This will change music forever”.

It didn’t.

Harpsichords still ruled: loud, bright, and fashionable.
Clavichords had their place too: quiet, expressive but a bit fragile.

And the pianoforte?

It was complicated, expensive and not quite strong enough yet.

The sound was interesting: soft when you wanted, loud when needed.
But it lacked the power to impress a big audience.

So, for a while, it just… existed.
A good idea waiting for its moment.

Then composers got curious.
First a handful: Scarlatti, Clementi.

But then came Mozart.

He saw the potential. Started writing for it. Playing it.
His music still had that harpsichord feel, but the piano was getting noticed.

Haydn joined in.

And then Beethoven arrived.

He didn’t just play the piano.. he attacked it. Pushed it harder than anyone before.
Too hard, actually.

Early pianos weren’t built for that level of intensity. He kept breaking them.

Piano makers had to step up: stronger frames, better strings, more keys, more sound.

By the early 1800s, the pianoforte had fully evolved. Bigger, bolder, more powerful.

And suddenly, it was everywhere.
The instrument of the century. No more background music. This was serious.

Chopin emphasised its subtleties. Liszt pushed its technical boundaries. Schumann explored its emotional depth.

Every middleclass family wanted one in their home.
If you were an upperclass young woman, you HAD to learn it. Not for fun, but to prove you were "accomplished."

The harpsichord? It went from essential to antique in a matter of decades.

Then the world changed and the piano changed with it. Ragtime. Jazz. Blues. Swing. It adapted to everything.

Classical composers still loved it: Debussy, Rachmaninov, Gershwin..
but now there were also bar pianists, jazz legends, and rock ‘n’ roll rebels playing it.

It became electric. It became digital. Synthesisers were invented but the piano stayed the piano.
Concert halls, jazz clubs, pop studios, people’s living rooms.. it never left.

Not bad for an invention that spent its first few decades getting ignored.

What about Bach?

Ah, Bach. The man was NOT a piano enthusiast.

By the time Cristofori invented the pianoforte, Bach was already a big deal.

He wrote for the harpsichord, the clavichord, and the organ.. basically anything with keys except the pianoforte.

Why?

Early pianos weren’t up to his standards.

He tried one around 1730, a German made version by Gottfried Silbermann.
He wasn’t impressed.
Thought the high notes were weak, the action too heavy.
In short: “Not for me, thanks”.

Silbermann, probably frustrated, went back to work. Years later, he improved the design.

Bach gave it another chance. This time, he approved. He even helped promote it.

But did he write specifically for the piano?
Not really.

His keyboard music was mostly for harpsichord and clavichord, though people today play it on the piano all the time.

So, while Bach technically lived during the piano’s early years, he wasn’t part of its rise to fame.

That was left to Mozart, Beethoven, and the composers who followed.

Still, if you play “The Well-Tempered Clavier”, you can’t help but wonder..
maybe, just maybe, Bach would have loved the modern instrument.



📸Yamaha from Markson Pianos

20 things to say to your child

Babies, toddlers & preschoolers: come make music! Enrollment now OPEN for spring Music Circle in Novato. Classes start Thurs 3/6. Details and online registration at www.novatopianoschool.com Melissa 😀

New Boom Card (digital flashcards & games) freebies for all music students at https://www.novatopianoschool.com/boomcards

New small group classes for homeschoolers age 6, 7 & 8 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays begin early October. See link in comments for more details.

It's time to register for Fall session outdoor baby toddler class in Novato! Classes start Thursday September 5th. Details at www.novatopianoschool.com

Musikgarten outdoor summer session now enrolling in Novato! Join in the musical fun this Summer with your baby, toddler or preschooler. 3 week "Mini Session" starts July 18th. Details online at www.novatopianoschool.com