WEBVTT 00:00:00.010 --> 00:00:02.730 I'm Erica Worth and welcome to this festive edition 00:00:02.730 --> 00:00:05.690 of the Pianist Podcast. We've been taking a look 00:00:05.690 --> 00:00:09.250 back at our podcasts to date, that's 22 inspiring 00:00:09.250 --> 00:00:12.250 episodes, and we have decided to re -release 00:00:12.250 --> 00:00:14.669 the episode with someone who is much admired 00:00:14.669 --> 00:00:18.570 by pianist readers. That's our very own Graham 00:00:18.570 --> 00:00:21.949 Fitch. If you missed his conversation with me 00:00:21.949 --> 00:00:24.929 some months back, here it is again, and it's 00:00:24.929 --> 00:00:27.949 full of priceless advice for aspiring players. 00:00:45.510 --> 00:00:48.729 That was an excerpt from Czerny's Variations 00:00:48.729 --> 00:00:51.850 on a Theme by Rode and it was played by Graham 00:00:51.850 --> 00:00:55.200 Fitch. I'm Erica Worth and welcome to this Pianist 00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:58.320 Podcast. Today I am catching up with a highly 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:01.600 respected pianist and teacher, Graham Fitch. 00:01:02.840 --> 00:01:05.420 Graham, it's great to have you on this podcast 00:01:05.420 --> 00:01:08.859 today. Lovely to see you, Erica, and to be here 00:01:08.859 --> 00:01:11.980 with you. You're very welcome. Many listeners, 00:01:12.019 --> 00:01:15.379 of course, will know you for your amazing masterclasses 00:01:15.379 --> 00:01:18.219 in Pianist Magazine and your amazing video lessons 00:01:18.219 --> 00:01:21.450 from Steinway Hall in London. But I'm sure they'd 00:01:21.450 --> 00:01:24.409 like to hear about your background as a pianist. 00:01:24.849 --> 00:01:27.409 Ah, my background as a pianist. Yes, well, I 00:01:27.409 --> 00:01:31.489 started quite late by most standards in my early 00:01:31.489 --> 00:01:35.290 teens. We didn't have a piano at home, but I 00:01:35.290 --> 00:01:38.250 was desperate to play. So from the very early 00:01:38.250 --> 00:01:41.109 years, I can remember going up to neighbours' 00:01:41.329 --> 00:01:44.489 homes who had pianos and my grandfather had a 00:01:44.489 --> 00:01:46.900 piano. And I'd sit there, instead of playing 00:01:46.900 --> 00:01:49.319 out in the street like most kids, I would just 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:53.260 sit there for ages and experiment on the pianos. 00:01:53.260 --> 00:01:56.579 And I realized that all of music could come out 00:01:56.579 --> 00:01:59.920 of those 88 notes. But I just didn't know how 00:01:59.920 --> 00:02:03.019 to find the music. And then it took a while for 00:02:03.019 --> 00:02:05.719 me to get lessons. And as soon as I started lessons, 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:08.560 I was completely single -minded and ended up, 00:02:08.560 --> 00:02:10.780 you know, going to the Royal College of Music 00:02:10.780 --> 00:02:15.930 in the late 70s. You know, ended up winning the, 00:02:16.030 --> 00:02:20.050 well, a very nice piano competition at the Royal 00:02:20.050 --> 00:02:22.330 College of Music, the second prize in the Chapel 00:02:22.330 --> 00:02:25.969 Gold Medal. And then I ended up on a Fulbright 00:02:25.969 --> 00:02:31.090 scholarship to America. And I had a year at Peabody 00:02:31.090 --> 00:02:35.409 studying with Anne Shine, the most wonderful 00:02:35.409 --> 00:02:39.590 pianist. And then I ended up weekly in Leon Fleischer's. 00:02:40.060 --> 00:02:42.560 which was one of the highlights of my musical 00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:47.740 education. As you know, I went from Baltimore 00:02:47.740 --> 00:02:51.300 to New York to do a master's degree, which is 00:02:51.300 --> 00:02:54.759 where we met. That's right. Isn't that amazing? 00:02:55.060 --> 00:02:58.939 All those years ago, we met in the lobby of Manhattan 00:02:58.939 --> 00:03:01.740 School of Music, where we were both studying. 00:03:02.300 --> 00:03:05.099 Yes, happy days. I was only there for a year. 00:03:05.219 --> 00:03:09.219 I think you'd just come over from London, hadn't 00:03:09.219 --> 00:03:14.409 you? um yes and we we had very many happy happy 00:03:14.409 --> 00:03:18.430 memories of of chatting and you know them connecting 00:03:18.430 --> 00:03:21.509 at the manhattan school of music that's right 00:03:21.509 --> 00:03:23.250 and i think at some point we both had the same 00:03:23.250 --> 00:03:27.349 teacher yes i mean i i studied there with nina 00:03:27.349 --> 00:03:32.270 svetlanova for um a number of years yes when 00:03:32.270 --> 00:03:35.370 i looked back i ended up as one of her teaching 00:03:35.370 --> 00:03:39.039 assistants at manis college of music But Nina 00:03:39.039 --> 00:03:42.199 was quite an influence on me. Yeah, absolutely. 00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:45.039 And her influence, you know, she passed away, 00:03:45.060 --> 00:03:47.539 as you know, a couple of years ago. But her legacy 00:03:47.539 --> 00:03:52.039 lives on in her students and which is a wonderful 00:03:52.039 --> 00:03:54.860 thing. Absolutely. Many have gone on to do great 00:03:54.860 --> 00:03:57.159 things. It's wonderful. I mean, your teachers, 00:03:57.319 --> 00:04:00.680 you've had some amazing, amazing, amazing teachers. 00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:05.979 And now you yourself. are a teacher and you teach 00:04:05.979 --> 00:04:08.800 all different types of pianists tell us tell 00:04:08.800 --> 00:04:12.639 us how you became a teacher yourself and how 00:04:12.639 --> 00:04:15.620 much you love it obviously yeah you know it is 00:04:15.620 --> 00:04:19.600 my vocation to to to be a um a teacher it always 00:04:19.600 --> 00:04:22.480 was i can remember being interviewed for the 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:26.540 peabody uh conservatory magazine i think it was 00:04:26.540 --> 00:04:29.879 or newsletter i'd won a competition there and 00:04:29.879 --> 00:04:32.300 they asked me you know what what my ambitions 00:04:32.300 --> 00:04:35.550 were and i always wanted to be a teacher i thought 00:04:35.550 --> 00:04:38.470 it was one of the most fantastic things to be 00:04:38.470 --> 00:04:41.629 a piano teacher so it's in my blood to do that 00:04:41.629 --> 00:04:46.660 um And yes, so that was, I started, I think, 00:04:46.680 --> 00:04:50.459 when I was in my late teens teaching in the neighborhood, 00:04:50.680 --> 00:04:54.720 I suppose, and then started to get a reputation 00:04:54.720 --> 00:04:57.300 as a teacher and ended up teaching specialist 00:04:57.300 --> 00:05:00.060 pianists at the Purcell School. This was when 00:05:00.060 --> 00:05:03.339 I got back from America, got back from New York. 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:06.319 So I was teaching specialists at the Purcell 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:10.899 School. And nowadays I'm working not only with 00:05:11.569 --> 00:05:15.069 I work with a lot of piano teachers who want 00:05:15.069 --> 00:05:18.250 to up their game. And I also love to work with 00:05:18.250 --> 00:05:23.089 adult amateurs. Yeah, I mean, that's such a broad 00:05:23.089 --> 00:05:26.329 spectrum there of the types of pianists that 00:05:26.329 --> 00:05:29.470 you teach. Tell us about your involvement then 00:05:29.470 --> 00:05:32.910 in dealing with teachers, teaching teachers. 00:05:33.110 --> 00:05:35.990 Is that the Piano Teachers Course? Well, that's 00:05:35.990 --> 00:05:37.970 part of it, yes. So the Piano Teachers Course 00:05:37.970 --> 00:05:41.649 UK is... i can't praise it enough if there are 00:05:41.649 --> 00:05:44.069 any piano teachers out there who want a little 00:05:44.069 --> 00:05:47.149 bit of a refresher or if there are any people 00:05:47.149 --> 00:05:50.410 who want to learn teaching skills then the piano 00:05:50.410 --> 00:05:53.709 teachers course uk is the place to go it's a 00:05:53.709 --> 00:05:58.209 um how do i describe part -time course that has 00:05:58.209 --> 00:06:00.649 a couple of maybe two or three now, residential 00:06:00.649 --> 00:06:03.790 weekends. It happens to take place at the Purcell 00:06:03.790 --> 00:06:07.389 School. But there are also online components. 00:06:08.970 --> 00:06:12.129 And it's a rigorous course, but there's a lot 00:06:12.129 --> 00:06:14.949 of attention given to each. We don't call them 00:06:14.949 --> 00:06:18.430 students. We call them tutees. So I did that 00:06:18.430 --> 00:06:21.819 for a number of years. back down a little bit 00:06:21.819 --> 00:06:26.800 and i'm now a a guest tutor so i go in a couple 00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:30.680 of times a year and talk about my special subjects 00:06:30.680 --> 00:06:34.759 which are practicing um memorization what else 00:06:34.759 --> 00:06:38.180 do i do there baroque period we have a harpsichord 00:06:38.180 --> 00:06:41.139 there and we explore a little bit i also tutor 00:06:41.139 --> 00:06:44.509 the romantic period pedaling so there's a lot 00:06:44.509 --> 00:06:47.629 of input into the piano teachers course but it's 00:06:47.629 --> 00:06:50.790 also piano teachers who know me will come for 00:06:50.790 --> 00:06:56.629 lessons with me um and discuss teaching as well 00:06:56.629 --> 00:06:59.529 as their own playing they they pick my brains 00:06:59.529 --> 00:07:01.850 about you know how to teach this particular thing 00:07:01.850 --> 00:07:04.850 or how to how to teach pedaling so it comes up 00:07:04.850 --> 00:07:07.790 um in not only on the piano teachers course but 00:07:07.790 --> 00:07:10.899 also in my private lessons That's amazing. I 00:07:10.899 --> 00:07:12.620 mean, you're obviously so dedicated to being 00:07:12.620 --> 00:07:16.579 a teacher. Why didn't you go on the path of the 00:07:16.579 --> 00:07:19.660 performer? You know, it's a very good question. 00:07:19.740 --> 00:07:22.540 I have done enough performing in my life, high 00:07:22.540 --> 00:07:27.100 profile performance in various, you know, on 00:07:27.100 --> 00:07:30.399 various continents. And I think a lot of it has 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:34.959 to do with having the stomach for it, the temperament. 00:07:35.550 --> 00:07:39.189 for for that and i've as i've got older i realized 00:07:39.189 --> 00:07:42.829 i have less and less uh interest in putting myself 00:07:42.829 --> 00:07:47.889 you know out on a concert stage too often i mean 00:07:47.889 --> 00:07:50.709 i do play and i you know every year we'll do 00:07:50.709 --> 00:07:53.589 do something it's just that when you're teaching 00:07:53.589 --> 00:07:57.329 at a high level and you don't really have as 00:07:57.329 --> 00:08:00.850 much time to practice as you would wish a little 00:08:00.850 --> 00:08:06.410 foolhardy to then you know present yourself with 00:08:06.410 --> 00:08:10.350 big solo programs. I have done this in the past 00:08:10.350 --> 00:08:13.350 and I feel like I can now do a little bit of 00:08:13.350 --> 00:08:16.689 playing, but I dedicate myself now to my teaching, 00:08:16.889 --> 00:08:20.110 my writing, various other things, other projects 00:08:20.110 --> 00:08:23.290 that are piano related. I mean, when you see, 00:08:23.410 --> 00:08:25.790 absolutely, you've got to be so dedicated as 00:08:25.790 --> 00:08:27.750 a performer. You and I, before we got on air, 00:08:27.810 --> 00:08:30.170 we're talking about... piano competitions like 00:08:30.170 --> 00:08:32.830 at the moment the Clyburn is going on and the 00:08:32.830 --> 00:08:35.549 Queen Elizabeth I mean these students how do 00:08:35.549 --> 00:08:38.769 they do it I mean you need that phenomenal all 00:08:38.769 --> 00:08:43.230 -round mindset as well I mean it's yes you know 00:08:43.230 --> 00:08:46.389 I think what it is Erica it's a combination of 00:08:46.389 --> 00:08:50.750 neurology you know the words what people would 00:08:50.750 --> 00:08:53.149 call technique but it's it's more the absorption 00:08:53.149 --> 00:08:56.679 of music because you'd have to learn a huge amount 00:08:56.679 --> 00:08:58.379 of repertoire and you have to learn it quickly 00:08:58.379 --> 00:09:01.340 most of the time and you have to learn it thoroughly 00:09:01.340 --> 00:09:05.399 that's one thing having the confidence to produce 00:09:05.399 --> 00:09:09.759 that and you know on a regular basis under pressure 00:09:09.759 --> 00:09:13.320 that's another thing and having the passion to 00:09:13.320 --> 00:09:18.940 actually sit at the instrument for hours a day 00:09:18.940 --> 00:09:22.279 and sacrifice other things so i i don't think 00:09:22.279 --> 00:09:25.259 people choose to be concert pianists i think 00:09:25.259 --> 00:09:30.299 it chooses you i totally agree you have to want 00:09:30.299 --> 00:09:32.659 and you have to want to do it more than anything 00:09:32.659 --> 00:09:36.580 i mean the dedication um but anyway going on 00:09:36.580 --> 00:09:39.019 to you and your teaching you have of course your 00:09:39.019 --> 00:09:42.759 own online academy uh yeah tell us a bit about 00:09:42.759 --> 00:09:45.669 that Right. Well, many years back, I decided 00:09:45.669 --> 00:09:47.889 I wanted to write a blog because I thought there's 00:09:47.889 --> 00:09:51.230 a lot being talked about, about mechanics of 00:09:51.230 --> 00:09:54.269 piano playing, you know, what people call technique. 00:09:54.370 --> 00:09:57.450 But for me, technique is a much bigger area. 00:09:57.629 --> 00:10:01.370 Technique embraces practice know -how, practice 00:10:01.370 --> 00:10:05.870 method. So I wrote a blog called Practicing the 00:10:05.870 --> 00:10:08.870 Piano and published, started to publish that. 00:10:08.990 --> 00:10:11.649 And it got quite a lot of attention fairly early 00:10:11.649 --> 00:10:15.909 on. And then I teamed up with a former student 00:10:15.909 --> 00:10:20.669 and we set up the online academy, which aimed 00:10:20.669 --> 00:10:25.090 and still aims to be the ultimate resource for 00:10:25.090 --> 00:10:28.429 pianists, piano teachers. And we've now got a 00:10:28.429 --> 00:10:33.110 team of experts who we work with. So the online 00:10:33.110 --> 00:10:36.669 academy is jam packed with video walkthroughs 00:10:36.669 --> 00:10:41.129 of repertoire. with articles, with workshops 00:10:41.129 --> 00:10:45.049 and classes, and it's really got very big. So 00:10:45.049 --> 00:10:48.049 we have quite a lot of subscribers who are very 00:10:48.049 --> 00:10:50.289 dedicated to what we're doing and join in on 00:10:50.289 --> 00:10:54.549 our online workshops and events, have access 00:10:54.549 --> 00:10:58.649 to a huge library of resources. We've built up 00:10:58.649 --> 00:11:02.450 gradually over the last, I've forgotten exactly 00:11:02.450 --> 00:11:07.250 how long, but it's about a decade. Obviously, 00:11:07.330 --> 00:11:09.330 it's very trustworthy because, I mean, a lot 00:11:09.330 --> 00:11:12.090 of online lessons, you're not quite sure. But, 00:11:12.129 --> 00:11:17.590 you know, with you at the helm, Graham Fitch, 00:11:17.669 --> 00:11:20.730 the famous at the helm, one does seem to trust, 00:11:20.830 --> 00:11:24.289 one should trust this. Oh, well, we've got people 00:11:24.289 --> 00:11:27.409 like Fred Karpoff and William Westney and Lucinda 00:11:27.409 --> 00:11:29.629 McWeth -Young. We've got lots of people who have 00:11:29.629 --> 00:11:34.600 put their, entrusted us with their work. effectively 00:11:34.600 --> 00:11:37.059 and we've now got this it's it's an online platform 00:11:37.059 --> 00:11:40.259 it's a digital platform and it's very in -depth 00:11:40.259 --> 00:11:42.159 you know if you want to discover for example 00:11:42.159 --> 00:11:46.080 how to cover jumps at the keyboard this is just 00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:49.200 one example that comes to me there's a huge amount 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:53.379 of information on there that is clearly described 00:11:53.379 --> 00:11:56.080 in video form so you don't have to wade through 00:11:56.080 --> 00:12:01.320 great text a lot of it is video based um so which 00:12:01.320 --> 00:12:03.139 is then you can watch it over and over again 00:12:03.139 --> 00:12:06.600 and it's some of them are fairly long the videos 00:12:06.600 --> 00:12:09.399 but usually carved up into you know chunks that 00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:12.460 are easily digestible that's good because i mean 00:12:12.460 --> 00:12:15.240 learning the piano you really do need that visual 00:12:15.240 --> 00:12:18.840 thing you know you have to see yes and we don't 00:12:18.840 --> 00:12:21.899 aim i should say this we don't aim to be a substitute 00:12:21.899 --> 00:12:25.779 for a teacher um so i would stress that there's 00:12:25.779 --> 00:12:29.000 no substitute for a one -on -one teacher. But 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:31.840 we're in the 21st century, you know, digital 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:35.840 resources are all over the place. And so we do 00:12:35.840 --> 00:12:40.340 contribute to that area. And I think what we 00:12:40.340 --> 00:12:46.080 offer is a supplement to a teacher. I totally 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:48.019 understand. I mean, let's talk about your... 00:12:48.399 --> 00:12:51.940 videos and articles for Pianist Magazine. I mean, 00:12:51.960 --> 00:12:53.500 you've done so many, I don't know how many years 00:12:53.500 --> 00:12:56.200 you've been doing those, but the viewings of, 00:12:56.259 --> 00:12:59.379 it's years and years and years, but the viewings 00:12:59.379 --> 00:13:02.679 of your videos on the Pianist Magazine YouTube 00:13:02.679 --> 00:13:07.000 channel and YouTube in general, hundreds of thousands, 00:13:07.139 --> 00:13:10.080 well, thousands, over 100 ,000 on some of them. 00:13:10.240 --> 00:13:13.850 Why do you think they're so popular? Goodness. 00:13:13.990 --> 00:13:16.669 Well, I'm glad that they are popular. I often 00:13:16.669 --> 00:13:19.350 do get emails from people saying how much it's 00:13:19.350 --> 00:13:22.250 helped them watching a particular video. I think 00:13:22.250 --> 00:13:25.169 maybe people find that what I'm saying is clearly 00:13:25.169 --> 00:13:29.149 presented. um so there's a certain clarity that 00:13:29.149 --> 00:13:32.750 i that i think comes across there and and i sometimes 00:13:32.750 --> 00:13:34.970 look at the comp well i very often look at the 00:13:34.970 --> 00:13:37.690 comments and and people say that i i demonstrate 00:13:37.690 --> 00:13:41.289 a lot so i'm not just talking and and i'm demonstrating 00:13:41.289 --> 00:13:44.570 and i like to think that i'm presenting the information 00:13:44.570 --> 00:13:50.570 um that will actually help people to solve problems 00:13:50.570 --> 00:13:54.470 or to to gain access to a little bit more depth 00:13:54.470 --> 00:13:58.269 in their practice because practice is so so often 00:13:58.269 --> 00:14:01.730 neglected in piano lessons teachers don't tell 00:14:01.730 --> 00:14:04.470 students how to practice you know absolutely 00:14:04.470 --> 00:14:07.669 and i can tell i sit there and i watch you in 00:14:07.669 --> 00:14:10.590 in live in person and i can tell you've really 00:14:10.590 --> 00:14:13.070 prepared for them and and some of those demonstrations 00:14:13.070 --> 00:14:18.429 that you do are pretty hard i mean you know you've 00:14:18.429 --> 00:14:20.450 obviously really taken a lot of thought into 00:14:20.450 --> 00:14:23.330 it and prepared well you know what's the most 00:14:23.330 --> 00:14:26.169 challenging about that it's having to talk and 00:14:26.169 --> 00:14:29.429 then play and then often one thing kind of overlaps 00:14:29.429 --> 00:14:32.889 so i'll be playing and talking so you know my 00:14:32.889 --> 00:14:35.990 full concentration really ought to be on the 00:14:35.990 --> 00:14:38.990 playing when i'm playing but it's often not it's 00:14:38.990 --> 00:14:42.129 often on what what it is that i'm wanting to 00:14:42.129 --> 00:14:44.490 illustrate so that that would be the challenge 00:14:44.490 --> 00:14:49.350 for me very interesting yes You're right. They're 00:14:49.350 --> 00:14:53.230 really fantastic. And I urge listeners to delve 00:14:53.230 --> 00:14:59.070 in and watch them all the way back. But again, 00:14:59.230 --> 00:15:01.789 another thing that you do is you're a tutor at 00:15:01.789 --> 00:15:04.830 some of the big piano courses in the UK, abroad. 00:15:05.889 --> 00:15:08.269 Obviously very important to you as well. If you 00:15:08.269 --> 00:15:11.690 could tell us a bit about those. yes well so 00:15:11.690 --> 00:15:15.389 the ones that i do on a regular basis finchcox 00:15:15.389 --> 00:15:18.509 which is the most amazing place a 300 or 300 00:15:18.509 --> 00:15:23.110 year old stately home in kent um with the most 00:15:23.110 --> 00:15:27.190 quirky rooms but luxury it's a real luxurious 00:15:27.190 --> 00:15:31.830 piano course and it's you know lots of different 00:15:31.830 --> 00:15:34.690 pianos but everybody has their own grand piano 00:15:34.690 --> 00:15:37.940 to practice on for the um for the weekend or 00:15:37.940 --> 00:15:39.899 for the week we do long courses there as well 00:15:39.899 --> 00:15:43.240 and that that course attracts as as do the others 00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:45.419 the one at stowe this is the summer school for 00:15:45.419 --> 00:15:49.360 pianists and now the the newest one which is 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:51.799 not now that new we've been running for four 00:15:51.799 --> 00:15:56.240 years in blownay in switzerland um most beautiful 00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:59.379 place is switzerland most generous hospitality 00:15:59.379 --> 00:16:04.090 and gorgeous surroundings That's my point. Yeah, 00:16:04.169 --> 00:16:05.629 you've just come back from there, haven't you? 00:16:05.850 --> 00:16:07.590 We've just done one and that attracts people 00:16:07.590 --> 00:16:10.570 from all over Europe. The course happens, it 00:16:10.570 --> 00:16:13.610 takes place in English. I mean, we speak English, 00:16:13.690 --> 00:16:16.250 but there's a lot of French speakers and German 00:16:16.250 --> 00:16:21.070 speakers there. And pianists from, amateur pianists 00:16:21.070 --> 00:16:23.730 who are incredibly serious about what they're 00:16:23.730 --> 00:16:27.110 doing. They may be a lot of medical people we 00:16:27.110 --> 00:16:32.350 find on piano courses. and and they just dedicated 00:16:32.350 --> 00:16:34.789 really dedicated to their piano playing and they 00:16:34.789 --> 00:16:37.830 come together to share that and also to to work 00:16:37.830 --> 00:16:40.389 with me in class formats i don't like the word 00:16:40.389 --> 00:16:43.750 master class but performance workshops you know 00:16:43.750 --> 00:16:45.889 where we where we discuss the music we discuss 00:16:45.889 --> 00:16:49.549 um practice method we discuss how how to improve 00:16:49.549 --> 00:16:52.990 the playing of a particular piece and we're all 00:16:52.990 --> 00:16:54.909 sitting around in a group these are all relatively 00:16:54.909 --> 00:16:59.289 small um you know setups we don't want to we 00:16:59.289 --> 00:17:02.110 can't have too many people on on it's about maximum 00:17:02.110 --> 00:17:06.230 12. sounds fantastic how how often is blown a 00:17:06.230 --> 00:17:08.930 then the switzerland course so yes blown a is 00:17:08.930 --> 00:17:11.529 twice a year we do one in the spring and one 00:17:11.529 --> 00:17:14.170 in the autumn and they get booked up really quite 00:17:14.170 --> 00:17:18.009 far in advance um and you know you can read about 00:17:18.009 --> 00:17:21.529 all of these on my website uh grahamfitch .com 00:17:21.529 --> 00:17:25.740 brilliant and with these people Do you liaise 00:17:25.740 --> 00:17:27.680 with them afterwards? Do they drop you an email 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:30.039 saying, I'm having a problem with this? Do you 00:17:30.039 --> 00:17:35.799 stay in touch with your students? Yes, well, 00:17:35.880 --> 00:17:38.940 we usually have the same group come back. They 00:17:38.940 --> 00:17:42.980 come back each year. But we do have a WhatsApp 00:17:42.980 --> 00:17:46.759 group. I've got many of them now from various 00:17:46.759 --> 00:17:51.420 piano courses, WhatsApp groups. Lots of sharing 00:17:51.420 --> 00:17:55.500 of photos and memories and discussions. And yes, 00:17:55.619 --> 00:17:57.440 and then if there's something I have mentioned 00:17:57.440 --> 00:18:01.500 on a course, they will WhatsApp me and say, oh, 00:18:01.539 --> 00:18:04.779 you mentioned such and such. Can you share a 00:18:04.779 --> 00:18:07.380 link? And so I will then share a link. It could 00:18:07.380 --> 00:18:10.819 just be, you know, a publication or an idea. 00:18:11.380 --> 00:18:15.359 So there's a community. from the well the the 00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:18.119 the i'm sorry the summer school for pianists 00:18:18.119 --> 00:18:22.819 at stowe yes running for 40 years so it feels 00:18:22.819 --> 00:18:25.119 like a family there's one particular lady that's 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:28.339 i think been coming every single year for 40 00:18:28.339 --> 00:18:33.750 years who still comes oh my goodness Yes. And 00:18:33.750 --> 00:18:36.730 so you meet up with people that you see each 00:18:36.730 --> 00:18:39.069 summer, the same people come back and we get 00:18:39.069 --> 00:18:42.329 new people as well. And it's the most wonderful 00:18:42.329 --> 00:18:45.049 feeling of, you know, like a piano family. That's 00:18:45.049 --> 00:18:48.309 how I would describe it. Absolutely wonderful. 00:18:48.609 --> 00:18:51.970 What a wonderful way to spend a holiday or spare 00:18:51.970 --> 00:18:55.690 time. I mean, what a great hobby for these people. 00:18:56.359 --> 00:18:58.579 Yes, and I would say that it's more than a hobby. 00:18:58.779 --> 00:19:02.400 It's a passion that is just as important to them 00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:06.420 as breathing air. Music, as we both know, we 00:19:06.420 --> 00:19:09.460 couldn't live without music, could we? It's part 00:19:09.460 --> 00:19:12.599 of our nourishment. And so people who do this 00:19:12.599 --> 00:19:16.259 on an amateur basis often have more passion for 00:19:16.259 --> 00:19:18.920 their playing than professionals. There's more 00:19:18.920 --> 00:19:20.759 at stake if you're a professional and you tend 00:19:20.759 --> 00:19:23.579 to get a bit more jaded, I think. But if you're 00:19:23.579 --> 00:19:26.400 an amateur, that passion stays alive and the 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:30.140 love for music and the commitment to practicing 00:19:30.140 --> 00:19:35.539 very much. Do you find that there are people 00:19:35.539 --> 00:19:39.579 there that have been very highly trained in music 00:19:39.579 --> 00:19:42.380 school? Could be somebody like myself who now 00:19:42.380 --> 00:19:46.220 doesn't take it as seriously, dropped, spent 00:19:46.220 --> 00:19:48.160 some years away from the keyboard, but they were 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:50.859 so well trained. Do you find when they come back? 00:19:51.529 --> 00:19:53.750 and they study with you that they find it frustrating 00:19:53.750 --> 00:19:56.069 that they weren't as good as they used to be 00:19:56.069 --> 00:19:59.069 ah now that's a really good question we do get 00:19:59.069 --> 00:20:01.750 one thing i would say is that we get a real mixture 00:20:01.750 --> 00:20:06.230 of ages and levels at the piano courses and it's 00:20:06.230 --> 00:20:09.230 absolutely fine if if somebody doesn't feel that 00:20:09.230 --> 00:20:13.119 they're super confident to you know play late 00:20:13.119 --> 00:20:15.180 Beethoven sonatas they don't have to they can 00:20:15.180 --> 00:20:18.160 bring shorter pieces but to get back to your 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:21.259 question we we often do get people on the courses 00:20:21.259 --> 00:20:24.920 who clearly at the age of 18 when they had to 00:20:24.920 --> 00:20:28.779 make a decision whether to do music or or something 00:20:28.779 --> 00:20:32.039 else made what i would call a more sensible decision 00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:35.599 you know not not to devote them their career 00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:39.119 to being a pianist but could have could have 00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:42.099 done they had very good training and and some 00:20:42.099 --> 00:20:46.759 of them are superb yes absolutely but i don't 00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:50.059 know that they would be frustrated so much because 00:20:50.059 --> 00:20:54.829 they've kept their playing going years you know 00:20:54.829 --> 00:20:57.490 there may be high -flying medical people surgeons 00:20:57.490 --> 00:21:03.369 doctors psychiatrists um lawyers but who still 00:21:03.369 --> 00:21:06.890 managed to find time to devote to their piano 00:21:06.890 --> 00:21:09.650 and piano playing and always have done that is 00:21:09.650 --> 00:21:13.049 amazing good on them i mean wow but you also 00:21:13.049 --> 00:21:17.190 adjudicate at festivals yes this is one of the 00:21:17.190 --> 00:21:21.359 happiest memories of my early days as a piano 00:21:21.359 --> 00:21:24.900 student as a teenager, the British and International 00:21:24.900 --> 00:21:29.920 Federation of Festivals run festivals throughout 00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:33.160 the country where you get to perform on a nice 00:21:33.160 --> 00:21:36.079 grand piano in front of a professional adjudicator 00:21:36.079 --> 00:21:39.960 with a built in audience, not just for kids. 00:21:40.019 --> 00:21:43.400 Also, adults can do this. And I had some of my 00:21:43.400 --> 00:21:48.319 most positive memories from being a participant. 00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:52.890 So when it came time for me to you know the shoe 00:21:52.890 --> 00:21:54.950 was on the other foot i really wanted to be able 00:21:54.950 --> 00:21:57.450 to give back a little bit and so i do usually 00:21:57.450 --> 00:22:02.549 one festival a year adjudication and most recently 00:22:02.549 --> 00:22:06.309 i did the oxford festival most beautifully run 00:22:06.309 --> 00:22:10.069 festival dedicated teachers put their pupils 00:22:10.069 --> 00:22:13.930 in and i heard some fantastic piano playing and 00:22:13.930 --> 00:22:17.789 it was just a total joy to to be doing this so 00:22:17.789 --> 00:22:21.619 yes i love doing my adjudication i think actually 00:22:21.619 --> 00:22:24.259 that's most probably how i got into loving the 00:22:24.259 --> 00:22:26.599 piano so much because i used to do the nottingham 00:22:26.599 --> 00:22:30.039 fest the nottingham music and drama festival 00:22:30.039 --> 00:22:32.259 which i don't think is anymore actually but but 00:22:32.259 --> 00:22:34.779 i think it's so good for people to do it because 00:22:34.779 --> 00:22:38.019 if they win they feel fantastic it's something 00:22:38.019 --> 00:22:41.140 to work towards isn't it when you're starting 00:22:41.140 --> 00:22:44.240 the piano absolutely and it's if you think about 00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:46.680 the alternatives the alternatives are examinations 00:22:46.680 --> 00:22:51.509 uh which have associations of you know, being 00:22:51.509 --> 00:22:55.769 a bit scary, but a festival is a performance. 00:22:55.829 --> 00:22:58.569 So you're actually performing to a room full 00:22:58.569 --> 00:23:01.990 of people and you get wonderful feedback from 00:23:01.990 --> 00:23:04.009 the adjudicator. It's a very positive experience 00:23:04.009 --> 00:23:09.089 for everybody. Yes, I think we both seem to have 00:23:09.089 --> 00:23:13.869 happy memories of our festivals. It's very supportive, 00:23:14.170 --> 00:23:18.769 absolutely supportive environment. But you're 00:23:18.769 --> 00:23:21.190 such a busy person doing all of this. Do you 00:23:21.190 --> 00:23:24.210 find the time to practice and perform yourself? 00:23:24.369 --> 00:23:26.910 I mean, obviously, no, you've decided to, you 00:23:26.910 --> 00:23:29.630 know, you really want to spend most of your time 00:23:29.630 --> 00:23:33.109 teaching. obviously you need to practice still 00:23:33.109 --> 00:23:35.789 don't you oh yes yes yes well for for example 00:23:35.789 --> 00:23:38.450 i'm i'm performing schubert's winterizer this 00:23:38.450 --> 00:23:41.809 summer um so i'm busy working on that with with 00:23:41.809 --> 00:23:45.210 the with the singer um i until fairly recently 00:23:45.210 --> 00:23:48.289 did a chunky recital every year you know a full 00:23:48.289 --> 00:23:51.750 solo recital and um you know i've been known 00:23:51.750 --> 00:23:53.869 to get how many performances of the goldberg 00:23:53.869 --> 00:23:56.890 variations given over the years i've i've lost 00:23:56.890 --> 00:24:00.029 count but it must be about 20 30 maybe even more 00:24:00.029 --> 00:24:04.930 um and so you know i i have done all of this 00:24:04.930 --> 00:24:08.269 uh concerto playing chamber music and i still 00:24:08.269 --> 00:24:11.490 do quite a lot of practice because you know i'm 00:24:12.259 --> 00:24:15.920 recording videos that require me to do walkthroughs 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:18.839 of pieces. So I have to know these pieces. And 00:24:18.839 --> 00:24:21.980 of course, I'd love to get to the piano and play 00:24:21.980 --> 00:24:25.819 and do a bit of practice as often as I can. It's 00:24:25.819 --> 00:24:28.240 just that I haven't got hours a day to be doing 00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:32.339 that. So, yeah. Do you ever think, oh God, this 00:24:32.339 --> 00:24:34.680 piece, I just have to learn it. Why haven't I 00:24:34.680 --> 00:24:39.190 learned it yet? oh there's so much you know if 00:24:39.190 --> 00:24:42.289 i had a let's say i had a sabbatical year which 00:24:42.289 --> 00:24:45.190 which won't happen but if i did then there's 00:24:45.190 --> 00:24:48.549 repertoire that i would just love to come on 00:24:48.549 --> 00:24:50.990 tell me about oh goodness well i always wanted 00:24:50.990 --> 00:24:53.470 to learn the hammer club here never never got 00:24:53.470 --> 00:24:55.529 it i've taught it a couple of times i never learned 00:24:55.529 --> 00:24:58.730 it and that would be a massive kind of you know 00:24:58.730 --> 00:25:02.819 immersion project and maybe one of the books 00:25:02.819 --> 00:25:05.359 of the well -tempered Clavier, just to immerse 00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:08.220 myself in that for a while. But the amount of 00:25:08.220 --> 00:25:11.480 time that would take, I wouldn't be able to do 00:25:11.480 --> 00:25:14.420 my other work. No, you're absolutely right. A 00:25:14.420 --> 00:25:17.920 sabbatical sounds wonderful. But what I'm going 00:25:17.920 --> 00:25:20.480 to do is ask you now, and I think I have the 00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:22.980 answer to one of them. I think I know your answer. 00:25:23.259 --> 00:25:25.299 I'm going to ask you a couple of little lighthearted 00:25:25.299 --> 00:25:28.880 questions. Okay. Off the cuff. I'd like to know 00:25:28.880 --> 00:25:32.140 what your answers will be. So the first one is, 00:25:32.339 --> 00:25:35.819 if you could play only one composer from now 00:25:35.819 --> 00:25:39.940 on, who would it be? Right. I mean, my first 00:25:39.940 --> 00:25:42.660 response would be Bach, because I don't think 00:25:42.660 --> 00:25:46.440 you'd ever get bored or, you know, there's so 00:25:46.440 --> 00:25:48.720 much room for creativity and the music itself 00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:54.099 is jaw -dropping genius in terms of its construction. 00:25:56.480 --> 00:25:59.440 often just amazed when i look at a score about 00:25:59.440 --> 00:26:02.160 how did he do it and how did he do everything 00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:05.039 that he did but it would be very difficult not 00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:07.319 to add chopin to that list as well and i'm i 00:26:07.319 --> 00:26:10.059 love schumann's music i mean i'm so passionate 00:26:10.059 --> 00:26:12.779 about schumann but if i had to have one it would 00:26:12.779 --> 00:26:15.559 probably be bach i know it's a silly question 00:26:15.559 --> 00:26:20.920 really isn't it Yeah. And because every day we 00:26:20.920 --> 00:26:22.519 have different tastes, don't we? It's just like 00:26:22.519 --> 00:26:25.819 food. One day it's Chopin, the next it's Schumann, 00:26:25.819 --> 00:26:31.180 you know. Exactly. Yeah. So, OK, then. One pianist, 00:26:31.180 --> 00:26:33.920 dead or alive, you travel long and far to hear. 00:26:34.180 --> 00:26:39.299 Well, of course, Sokolov is unbelievable. Of 00:26:39.299 --> 00:26:45.960 the past, Ignaz Friedman. I think is some of 00:26:45.960 --> 00:26:49.859 the most incredible piano playing. You know, 00:26:49.900 --> 00:26:54.579 the late E -flat Chopin Nocturne. I'm talking 00:26:54.579 --> 00:26:56.519 to your listeners now. If you haven't heard that 00:26:56.519 --> 00:27:00.440 recording of the E -flat Nocturne, you can find 00:27:00.440 --> 00:27:03.579 it on YouTube. It's absolutely breathtaking piano 00:27:03.579 --> 00:27:06.980 playing and amazing piano playing too. What's 00:27:06.980 --> 00:27:11.519 special about it? Oh. it's magical what he does 00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:15.019 is it's full of magical moments that actually 00:27:15.019 --> 00:27:18.619 make you gasp because they're so beautiful what 00:27:18.619 --> 00:27:21.019 he does is so beautiful he makes it sound like 00:27:21.019 --> 00:27:25.640 he's got more than two hands and he just does 00:27:25.640 --> 00:27:29.339 things that are so personal and incredible control 00:27:29.339 --> 00:27:34.240 of sound an incredible imagination and yeah just 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:35.980 rush off and listen to it if you haven't heard 00:27:35.980 --> 00:27:40.630 it okay Absolutely good advice. You yourself, 00:27:40.710 --> 00:27:44.329 do you have any technical struggles at the piano? 00:27:44.809 --> 00:27:48.470 Oh, I think nobody finds playing the piano that 00:27:48.470 --> 00:27:50.930 easy, do they? I'm trying to think, you know, 00:27:51.009 --> 00:27:53.170 it's tempting to say, oh, no, there's nothing 00:27:53.170 --> 00:27:56.670 that I struggle with. I suppose if I had to narrow 00:27:56.670 --> 00:28:01.509 it down, octaves are somehow uncomfortable in 00:28:01.509 --> 00:28:04.079 my hand because my hand is... on the large side 00:28:04.079 --> 00:28:07.259 and if you've got let's say you want to be have 00:28:07.259 --> 00:28:10.220 really good octaves it's quite helpful if the 00:28:10.220 --> 00:28:14.099 hand is at its full stretch so for me an octave 00:28:14.099 --> 00:28:17.019 is is not my full stretch and so to keep the 00:28:17.019 --> 00:28:20.920 hand in that position and do you know big forearm 00:28:20.920 --> 00:28:24.380 octaves is has always been a challenge for me 00:28:24.759 --> 00:28:27.240 That is remarkable because a lot of people I'm 00:28:27.240 --> 00:28:29.599 sure listening most probably jealous of you for 00:28:29.599 --> 00:28:32.660 saying that it's so easy for you to overreach 00:28:32.660 --> 00:28:35.480 an octave because a lot of pianists have got 00:28:35.480 --> 00:28:37.339 small hands and they find it very difficult to 00:28:37.339 --> 00:28:39.319 reach an octave so you know that stretch can 00:28:39.319 --> 00:28:43.059 cause stress on the hand. Yes yes well there's 00:28:43.059 --> 00:28:46.240 problems on both sides if your hand is too big 00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:49.400 you can get stuck in between the black keys or 00:28:49.400 --> 00:28:51.119 you can just generally find that your fingers 00:28:51.119 --> 00:28:56.319 are a bit too long or or sausage -like to nicely 00:28:56.319 --> 00:28:58.980 on the keyboard and similarly if you've got a 00:28:58.980 --> 00:29:01.980 smaller hand but some of the the great pianists 00:29:01.980 --> 00:29:04.500 alicia de la rocha apparently had a very small 00:29:04.500 --> 00:29:07.279 hand and you'd never know that from listening 00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:10.440 to the most phenomenal pianist you're absolutely 00:29:10.440 --> 00:29:14.019 right can you with an octave do a one one three 00:29:14.019 --> 00:29:18.400 uh i wouldn't advise i i wouldn't advise i don't 00:29:18.400 --> 00:29:19.839 know we probably don't have time to talk about 00:29:19.839 --> 00:29:22.769 this but what we want to avoid is is twisting 00:29:22.769 --> 00:29:25.769 at the wrist um one three is likely to twist 00:29:25.769 --> 00:29:28.730 at the wrist so that's the the number one thing 00:29:28.730 --> 00:29:32.609 to avoid otherwise we get injured fine fine uh 00:29:32.609 --> 00:29:35.369 and last question here what would be your advice 00:29:35.369 --> 00:29:38.869 to an amateur pianist about how to improve oh 00:29:38.869 --> 00:29:41.470 the first thing is to understand to appreciate 00:29:41.470 --> 00:29:43.730 the difference between playing something through 00:29:43.730 --> 00:29:47.339 an actual practice um because a lot of people 00:29:47.339 --> 00:29:50.599 as i say don't know how to practice uh have lessons 00:29:50.599 --> 00:29:54.039 take lessons find a teacher who in your area 00:29:54.039 --> 00:29:56.319 who's successful you can do online lessons i 00:29:56.319 --> 00:29:59.440 mean i teach a lot of online lessons um you don't 00:29:59.440 --> 00:30:02.819 need special equipment go on piano courses um 00:30:02.819 --> 00:30:07.960 research you know go on pianist magazines youtube 00:30:07.960 --> 00:30:11.500 channel and there's tons of wonderful stuff on 00:30:11.500 --> 00:30:15.420 there so you know yeah Yeah, that would be my 00:30:15.420 --> 00:30:18.519 recommendation. Learn how to practice. Very good. 00:30:18.640 --> 00:30:20.420 Very good. Well, I think we've almost come to 00:30:20.420 --> 00:30:23.380 the end. Yeah, I know. That was a quick half 00:30:23.380 --> 00:30:26.539 an hour. Yeah. Tell us what you're up to. Obviously, 00:30:26.640 --> 00:30:28.740 when this comes out, I reckon we're talking summer 00:30:28.740 --> 00:30:32.579 2025. You will be doing a lot of your courses. 00:30:33.140 --> 00:30:37.059 Yes. Well, I will be doing the Stowe course at 00:30:37.059 --> 00:30:39.460 the Summer School for Pianists, at which I shall 00:30:39.460 --> 00:30:43.299 be performing Winterreise by Schubert. and tutoring 00:30:43.299 --> 00:30:46.880 my my wonderful group of people and just being 00:30:46.880 --> 00:30:50.930 involved in the stowe piano family um i'm also 00:30:50.930 --> 00:30:54.509 wrapping up writing a book for oup oxford university 00:30:54.509 --> 00:30:58.089 press on practicing on practice method with a 00:30:58.089 --> 00:31:02.390 co -author professor adina mornell um we're collaborating 00:31:02.390 --> 00:31:06.190 together on that um what else i'm planning to 00:31:06.190 --> 00:31:09.869 take a little holiday at some point and um but 00:31:09.869 --> 00:31:12.470 i do love my work and each week is slightly different 00:31:12.470 --> 00:31:16.769 from from the next and and so you know i i keep 00:31:16.769 --> 00:31:19.660 busy Yeah, well, you seem like a very happy, 00:31:19.700 --> 00:31:24.700 positive person every time I see you or speak 00:31:24.700 --> 00:31:27.759 to you. So it obviously your life is doing well 00:31:27.759 --> 00:31:30.000 with what you're what you've chosen to do. I 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:32.460 feel very blessed doing what I'm doing. Yeah, 00:31:32.619 --> 00:31:37.039 absolutely. Yeah. Oh, oh, great. Well, it's been 00:31:37.039 --> 00:31:38.980 wonderful speaking to you. I think it's a lovely 00:31:38.980 --> 00:31:42.319 time now for us to stop. Yeah. Thanks, Erica. 00:31:42.460 --> 00:31:45.160 I've enjoyed chatting as well. Yeah. Thank you. 00:31:45.559 --> 00:31:47.640 You're very welcome. And listeners, you know, 00:31:47.640 --> 00:31:50.880 get out there, search Graham. He's done so many 00:31:50.880 --> 00:31:55.079 wonderful videos for Pianist Magazine and search 00:31:55.079 --> 00:31:59.460 out his courses and his online academy. There's 00:31:59.460 --> 00:32:02.220 a lot there for you to go and research so you 00:32:02.220 --> 00:32:22.700 can improve. That was an excerpt from Czerny's 00:32:22.700 --> 00:32:25.640 Variations on a Theme by Road, and it was played 00:32:25.640 --> 00:32:29.460 by Graham Fitch. Pianist podcasts are free, and 00:32:29.460 --> 00:32:31.960 a really good way to support what we do is by 00:32:31.960 --> 00:32:34.920 subscribing to Pianist. Visit our website at 00:32:34.920 --> 00:32:38.400 pianistmagazine .com and listen to us on YouTube 00:32:38.400 --> 00:32:41.759 by searching Pianist Magazine. And don't forget 00:32:41.759 --> 00:32:44.079 to sign up to our newsletter, which is full of 00:32:44.079 --> 00:32:48.359 extra playing tips and useful info. Go to pianistmagazine 00:32:48.359 --> 00:32:50.900 .com. to find out how to sign up.