The piano is an unusual musical instrument in that all ten digits of the performer can be used to sound different notes simultaneously. Fingers need practice, and practice makes perfect.  Working hard to build strength and dexterity is part and parcel of every pianist's story, and just as in sport, exercises are a necessary evil.  But what can start out as a chore when young can eventually become a pleasure when technique is more advanced and exercises turn into Chopin or Moskowski Etudes – written and designed for developing technique but also being very beautiful music. Featuring Lucy Parham, Gwilym Simcock, Richard Sisson and David Owen Norris Published on September 24, 2012.

Piano AtoZ: F for Fingers

The piano is rare in that it's an instrument that can be played by two people at the same time. The intimacy of sharing a stool and playing shoulder to shoulder can make for a very pleasant experience. And there are many great pieces of music composed for piano duet. Views from the stage and from the rehearsal room come from David Owen Norris, Pascal and Ami Roge and the Labeque sisters. Published on September 20, 2012.

Piano AtoZ: D for Duets

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 perfect instrument for jazz improvising, capable of a vast range of sounds from the percussive to the lyrical. But there are many ways to improvise – classically trained players may choose to follow clear structures in improvising, for instance in the cadenza of a concerto; and jazz musicians will often have at least a fixed chord sequence from which to elaborate; whereas a silent film accompanist often improvises spontaneously to a film which may last for an hour or more, having never seen it before sitting down to perform to an audience of cinema-goers. And in the genre known as Free Improvisation, the pianist tries to avoid all pre-thought or pre-arranged structures, and be completely open to the ideas of the moment when hammer strikes string. Featuring Gwilym Simcock, Stephen Horne, Harry the Piano and Ivan Ilic. Published on September 27, 2012.

Piano AtoZ: I for Improvisation

Ever since the early ragtime of Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Morton the piano has been a key instrument in the development of Jazz. Associated with the smoky bar-room, the instrument allows the jazz pianist to play all the elements of the band - stretching the harmony, roll a great rhythmic bottom-end, and improvise singing, soaring melodies. Art Tatum, Duke Ellington, Bill Evans, Thelonius Monk, Herbie Hancock, among others, all stretched what the Jazz piano could do. Featuring Julian Joseph and Gwilym Simcock. Published on October 1, 2012.

PianoAtoZ: J for Jazz

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 their fingers, as every key has its own combination of black and white on the keyboard.  Before the Baroque period, keyboards had to be re-tuned to play in each different key.  But with the development of the modern piano, so-called “equal temperament” evened out the differences between the keys. One great masterpiece represents this development – JS Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier, which expresses his faith in the new tuning system by having pieces in all the 24 different major and minor keys. But another curious factor of keys still remains a problem – the fact that different countries tune their pianos to different pitches. So middle C is, for instance, a bit higher in Germany than in the UK. Featuring Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Iain Burnside and David Owen Norris. Published on October 2, 2012.

Piano AtoZ: K for Keys

Piano improviser extraordinaire, Harry the Piano, silent film accompaniment specialist Neil Brand and writer and broadcaster Matthew Sweet – all experts in the field of film music – explore the role of the piano in movies, from the very first days of silent cinema, through Brief Encounter's immortalisation of Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto, to modern classics such as Michael Nyman's haunting music for The Piano. Published on October 4, 2012.

Piano AtoZ: M for Movies

Competitions are a vital part of many classical pianists' careers. They are a testing ground, and a way to get noticed in a crowded field. But are they an exciting way to make a name as a young musician, a necessary evil, or are they in fact not necessary at all?

Featuring Stephen Hough, Lucy Parham, Angela Hewitt and Pierre Laurent Aimard. Published on September 19, 2012.

Piano AtoZ: C for Competitions

There's an art to choosing and performing an encore, even for the world's top pianists. Being invited to return to the stage calls for a choice that complements but doesn't upstage the programme the audience have just heard. And it mustn't keep the orchestra sitting too long with nothing to do. It must be prepared and yet feel like a spontaneous treat. Above all, it's a pleasure. Featuring Lucy Parham, Stephen Hough, Lang Lang and Angela Hewitt. Published on September 21, 2012.

Piano AtoZ: E for Encores

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 - literally, the fundamental is the root part of every note on the piano.
A strong left hand is crucial to successfully playing Bach, but what motivates a pianist to tackle the fiendish work of Godowsky who transcribed the already difficult Chopin preludes for the left hand alone? For some, such as Nicholas McCarthy who was born without his right hand, left-handed repertoire is the only option. Published on October 3, 2012.

Piano AtoZ: L for Left Hand

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 seduction. Professor John Mullan guides listeners through some of the most memorable novelistic piano moments, starting with Jane Austen's Persuasion - where the piano finds itself at the centre of a plot typically fraught with issues of class and gender, then on to Emily Bronte's Jane Eyre, where Blanche Ingram puts the piano to use as a 19th century flirtation technique in her quest to impress the brooding Mr Rochester. In EM Forster's A Room with a View and Alan Hollinghurst's The Line of Beauty, it's the experience of listening to the piano - or not listening to it - that enables the novelists to shine a revealing light on their characters. Featuring Juliet Stevenson. Published on October 8, 2012.

Piano AtoZ: N for Novels

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 keyboard by pianist and singer Joe Stilgoe. Published on October 29, 2012.

Piano AtoZ: Z for Zany

Radio 3's Piano A to Z

The story of the piano told in 26 short parts.

Radio 3's Piano A to Z

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