Have you guys seen...

What I call the 'cat scratch' is a much more vigorous curling of the finger, and a curling as much as possible of only the distal phalange, used to create a crisp-as-can-be staccato. But this curling and playing on the nail is really interesting, something I've never seen before either. It seems to me that he is using the bulk of his finger, its actual weight, in loose form, to play the inner notes of the chord so that they are fat but still don't overpower the outer voices. It is also possible that he actually plays on the tip (what I call in my book the 'hammer stroke') but then CONTINUES the motion, the action of his finger to actually PULL his hand forward and even further into its potent arch shape, consolidating its function and thus his glorious sound. Fascinating, thanks for posting it! AFF

I'm having a ball with Alan's suggestion to play the chords loudly. Suddenly my 4th and 5th fingers have no problem of "weakness" at all. Okay, so the next fun thing would be to be able to play the whole thing very lightly and barely hear the chords. I'm forgoing that for the moment just to be able to play the thing with facility, but eventually I want to go for a musical effect. I wonder how I'm going to bring the volume of the chords down without going back to the loss of support I had formerly. Off topic for this thread, but when Alan gave me the hot tip about playing the chords loudly, and it worked so well, I thought, "Well hey, that must be why my Feux Follets always stank." I started practicing it with the lower notes loud and the upper line comes out better than it ever did. Now I got Alan's book from the library (I intend to buy it, too, but I just couldn't wait for it in the mail) and see that he devoted a whole section just to that etude. Very satisfying how these things come together. How many people talk about instrumental playing objectively? In my experience, there can be a lot of mysticism and mumbo-jumbo attached to it. It's so much more fun to get objective guidance that has an instant benefit.

You'll have to stick with playing those inner chords "too loud" for awhile longer - but not forever. There will come a time when your reflexes "know" the feeling of security in that part of the arch, and you will be able to reduce the volume without losing the security. It's like I write about legato being felt at the top knuckle as well as the fingertip. The ultimate end result of THAT one is that if you are ENTIRELY secure at the knuckles, you DON'T NEED TO CONNECT THE FINGERTIPS any more but can still get a legato line. This comes only when that top ridge is extremely potent and secure - a long period of apprenticeship is necessary. But one day if you are diligent and smart it will happen! Isn't it nice to be on opposite sides of the Atlantic, submitting simultaneous posts and furthering the discussion in a nice way! AFF

I very curious about Richter he said in the movie that he never played any cherny, hanon, scales, arppegious. He said that only three teachers were in fact: His Father, Neuchaus, Wagner Richard. How he could build this thechnique? What do you mean well-organized hand?

Richter was obviously a phenomenon, a 'force unto himself.' Of Neuhaus he said, "He freed my arm." His technique seems to be the best of the Russian School - that big arch in the hand, the phenomenal power that was never harsh, that unbelievable facility. But when I look at the Chopin Etudes of that London recital given late in his life, I see as well the limitations of the Russian School in that particular manifestation. He is using an exceptionally well-maintained arch structure, but if you examine carefully you will see that he uses arm weight coming down through that structure, to a certain extent, to move the keys. In a way he 'stands' on each note, even in very quick passages, instead of 'running.' He doesn't really , as Horowitz did late in life. Earlier on Richter had tremendous fire (that old video of Chopin Op. 10 #4 for instance where he just rips the keyboard apart - it's totally electrifying) - his inner energy animated his hand and fingers and made them work. Later in life, without that youthful energy, the hidden flaw in that type of arm weight approach comes to light. Ironically enough, after trying the Horowitz Steinway and realizing just how imperative it is that we use less energy to gain more sonically, I have a new understanding of what the arm weight school aims to achieve. I found myself doing, over and over again, just what they say, in order to make that piano speak with its silvery special glow. BUT I NEVER LOST TOUCH OF MY FINGERS. I let my arm go, and let it go, and let it go, to let my hand melt more into the keyboard - but in that state I continued to move my fingers within evermore precise, finely-tuned tolerances - they stayed alive and awake. I was more and more aware of my arms relaxing 'in,' but I did the work of the fingers. A well-organized hand for me is one that not only has a great, potent shape, but also allows that shape . AFF