Als het op pianistische expressie aankomt, lijkt er voor sommige interpreten en pedagogen geen grotere zonde te bestaan dan de ongelijke aanslag; het expressiemiddel dat met name werd gebezigd (…)

Sjaak DoumaJune 24, 2026Comment

Playing Love: a musal encounter in Tornatore’s The Legend of 1900

The camera slowly tilts from the audio engineer counting off the recording, to an overhead shot of 1900’s hands on the piano, running up and down the keys in a blazing improvised cadenza. (…)

Sjaak DoumaNovember 5, 2025 Comment

Explorations in Ternary Form: a conversation with Pietro Beltrani

In 2022, Pietro released Textures, an album containing 4 original preludes that he wrote between 2016 and 2021. These miniatures exhibit a fascinating breadth of musical influence, craftily curating (…)

Sjaak DoumaMarch 13, 2023Comment

A Flourish of Sound: Esbjörn Svensson's Alternating Pedal Points

A piano teacher of mine once theorized that sound waves produced by Chopin in the 19th century must still be traveling somewhere through space. (…)

Sjaak DoumaJanuary 23, 2023Comment

The Descending 7-6: Deciphering Loney Dear’s Love for a Baroque Sequence

Emil’s face playfully lights up after being challenged to play the first Goldberg Variation a half step lower than its original key, prompting a choppy but impressive rendition in Gb (…)

Sjaak DoumaSeptember 10, 2022 Comment

André Previn's Tonal Excursions

In its musical approach, André Previn’s 1967 solo piano record All Alone bears comparison to Keith Jarrett’s The Melody at Night, with You in more ways than one. (…)

Sjaak DoumaJuly 26, 2022 Comments