To inspire your child to play piano, you should let them hear the great pianists. (We also now have a Great Pianist Video section.)
Thanks to Amazon.com, you can hear many of the great pianists in small excerpts. You will have to hear them at your computer, perhaps through a small speaker, but that is inspiring nonetheless.
The process is this: we have given you links to pages at Amazon that have audio samples of CDs they have for sale. All you have to do is click the link on each page, which says LISTEN TO SAMPLES. It is on the left side of the page, below the picture of the CD cover.
A new page will open and the list of excerpts will start to automatically play. You probably will have to download a bit of software that will allow you to hear these, but this takes only a minute or so.
Happy listening! These are the greatest masters of this, the greatest of musical instruments.
VLADIMIR HOROWITZ In our humble opinion, the greatest pianist of all time (1903-1990) You will never hear a pianist with more mesmerizing power and with such a range of tone. You can simply search Amazon using the term HOROWITZ to hear many, many samples of this towering genius playing.
ARTHUR RUBINSTEIN One of the very greatest pianists of modern times, he was known as the "aristocrat" of the piano. This link allows you to hear his beautiful Chopin Nocturne collection.
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF Not only a great pianist, but one of the great composers of the 20th century. A friend of many famous composers of the past, he is a link to the golden age of pianists.
JOSEF HOFMANN A wonderful pianist from the early 20th century, his hands were so small that he had a special piano built by Steinway on which the keys had been imperceptibly narrowed to fit his small hands. Not everyone who plays has to have huge hands! These are very poor recordings, many sounding as if they were illegally recorded from the audience, but his playing is well worth hearing, and we are thankful it has been preserved.
IGNACY JAN PADEREWSKI These are scratchy old recordings, in fact, some of the earliest recordings ever made, but well worth hearing. Interesting if only from a historical point of view. (The first electronic recordings were made in 1904.)
VLADIMIR DE PACHMANN A colorful figure from the early days, born in the time of the great Franz Liszt, his playing is nonetheless well worth hearing even just from an historical viewpoint. He sometimes had his wife accompany him on the tambourine, and was known to stop in the middle of a recital to ask the audience how he was doing! Very scratchy!
EDWIN FISCHER This man specialized in Beethoven and classical composers, and was a magnificent pianist who left a rich recorded legacy.
Our apologies to the dozens of pianists we have not added yet, such as RICHTER, GODOWSKY and GABRILOWITSCH. We will soon add them to this list, or you can search them on Amazon. All pianists mentioned here have playable samples.
Everything you and your child need to start having fun at the piano:
PIANO IS EASY BOOK PACKAGE
INCLUDES:
PIANO IS EASY (ISBN # 0-9718936-1-6) Sturdily bound, durable, colorful 107 page illustrated song book with 44 songs such as Jingle Bells and London Bridge, Play Along Audio CD and removable numbered stickers.
PLUS
Every book package order of PIANO IS EASY includes a copy of I CAN READ MUSIC. This fun, easy-to-understand music activity book is the best way to start children reading music. Click here for sample pages.
PLUS
Every book package order of PIANO IS EASY includes a FREE copy of the 56 minute DVD video from TEACH YOURSELF PIANO. This video will have you playing chords (three piano keys played with the left hand) and fun, familiar songs with both hands right away. That's a $16.95 value free! Click here for DVD samples.
Our Play Along Audio CDs are an important element in making the piano fun for kids, and are produced by Grammy Award winner (Sesame Street) Joe Castellon.
Our colorful books and videos have been created by Emmy Award winning composer and piano teacher John Aschenbrenner and are guaranteed to get your child happily started at the piano.
Inspire your children to play piano! Here's Vladimir Horowitz playing the delightful, bubbly finale to the Mozart Concerto #23. Watch as he playfully waves his arms in encouragement to the orchestra.
Adjust volume by using the slider to the left of the MENU button.
Inspire your children to play piano: visit the GREAT PIANIST VIDEO MUSEUM and watch all the videos! We have classical, jazz and comical film routines such as the great Chico Marx and many more!
Bookmark this site for future reference: Tell a friend!
PIANO
IS EASY$39.95
Book Package. Includes 107 page illustrated book with 44
songs, I CAN READ MUSIC BOOK, Play Along Audio CD, DVD and
removable stickers. Read more
THE
COMPLETE PACKAGE: $89.95 Includes all 6 basic books.
PIANO IS EASY, I CAN READ MUSIC, BIG BOOK OF SONGS, CHRISTMAS
CAROL KIT, TEACH YOURSELF PIANO, EASY CLASSICAL. 6 books,
3 Play Along Audio CDs, DVD and removable stickers.
PIANO
IS EASY$39.95
Book Package. Includes 107 page illustrated book with 44
songs, I CAN READ MUSIC BOOK, Play Along Audio CD, DVD and
removable stickers. Read more
