HOW TO PLAY THE PIANO.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 1970, 17 June 1880, Page 4

HOW TO PLAY THE PIANO.

In the columns of the " Girl's Own Paper" (says''Figaro "), Madame Arabella Goddard affords a great many valuable hints to girls —yea, and to grown men—of " How to Flay the Piano." Summarising Madame Goddard's remarks, she states, although the earlier a pianist begins to study the better, older music lovers should not be debarred from the study of the instrument, and on this head Madame Goddard cites the case of Schumann, who did not begin to study till he was eighteen. Her old master, Kalkbrenner, Madame Goddard believes to be the best study, and the pianist must " play from the wrists," all the fingers must become equally itrong (if possible, please, Madame Goddard), icales cannot be played too often, they must lot be played mechanically, and when the bain becomes fatigued it is better to leave of practice. The course Madame Arabella Goddard recommends is, soales and fivefi.ger exsreiaes first, then Ozerny's, Kalkbrennr's,andGramer's studies; then Mendelsohn's " longs without words," Schumann's "Album for Youth" Mozart's sonatas, followed by the studies 0 f Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Mosch4es, Bubinstein, Liszt, and Bach. Professors of Vusic will, I fear, hardly agree with the orders w hj ca Madame Goddard hasi phced these studies, and many will be inclined to fancy fc-t Baoh should come at any rate before Bub nßte i n an a Li ßZfc) BOm e of whose so-called stu\fe s »» WO uid, I fear, tax the powers of even e. Der ienced pianists, to say nothing of the pianoforte student. Madame Goddard recom, endß tho u to "learni thorn all by heart;_ must, I fear, be accepted n. a comparative sense—and she adds, " When MU aro thuß to a certain extent prepared, you , an t ry yollr hand at the works of the grea masters." Who Madame Goddard intends to . e f er to by the term " great masters," I cannet y . but as she has already enumerated all tu, great pianoforte masters save Beethoven, I pr^ ume she very properly considers that musical g an t in the light of many joined in one. Madame Goddard's recommendations of the operate fantasiaßof Thalberg,Liszt, Herz, &o.,as fingei exercioes_ must, I fear, be accepted purely from the publisher's point of view, though her admonitions to read at sight, to practice concerted music, and to avoid conceit and the abuse of the pedals, are quite within the mark. Advice to girls on the study of pianoforte playing comes with every degree of propriety from Madame Arabella Goddard. But if she intends that advice to be useful, she would do well to revise her article, to eliminate from it opinions which, probably through faulty expression, she appears to havo expressed, and especially to amplify it and to go more thoroughly into detail. If Madame Arabella Goddard thoroughly and sufficiently explained herself, I am sure her advice to young pianists would be very valuable. In the article to which I havo alluded, Madame Arabella Goddard gives two distinct and very telling thrusts at those who, with equal ungallantry and unfairness, criticieo those whom they are pleased to cell "petticoat pianists." First, Madame Goddard advieos the girls to avoid falling "into tempo rubato mannerisms," to "subdue a too exuberant tone," and to "break from many little peculiarities." And, secondly, Madame Goddard very significantly says, " Don't pretend and don't exaggerate. Very common tricks are to roll the person about, sway the head in all sorts of ways, turn tho eyes up to tho coiling, lay the nose near the keyboard, making sentimental or passionate acrobatic gymnastics with the hands; and last, but not least, to put the loud pedal down on every conceivable opportunity." What says my excellent friend Dr. von Bulow ?