Questions Regarding "Vladimir Horowitz's" Movement

Hello!Congratulation for your very good book "The Craft of Piano Playing".I think it is one of the best books dealing with anything that has to do with piano technique and piano music and specific elements dealing with common "pianistic" problems,and it offers great solutions to the reader. I have been reading these book with great interest.I became extremely interested when i read chapter 46 The Feldenkrais-Horowitz Connection.That chapter made me realize that Horowitz unique style of posture and use of his body was not something like a personal idiosyncrasy of himself, but instead a very good internal organization of his playing apparatus,something that all pianists could use ,take advantage and improve in many areas of piano playing. I have one question regarding the use of his fifth finger.After watching many videos of him performing various piano works i noticed something about his right hand pinky.The fifth finger always seemed to be curled tight until it needed to play a note.And it seems to me it would be very difficult for someone to have his pinky so curled,and play. Is this something like a "finger cobra strike" motion? Thank you very much for this wonderful forum.I am looking forward to buying the new dvd. Best regards Nikolas Drogosis

Hi Nikodr, I would like to answer to you but i think this is more prof.Alan's area. He is on his flight to Serbia right now,so he will answer you as soon as possible. See you!!! Jovan

Dear Nikodr, Very nice to receive your kind comments on my book, many thanks! As for Horowitz's fifth finger: I interpret it less as a cobra strike and more as a kind of "priming" motion. I suspect that curling his fifth had the same effect as raising all the fingers would have, but achieved in a more economical fashion. Activating the extensors gives a kind of "slingshot" effect, lending more zip to the attack of the finger when the flexors are brought into play. Hope this helps, let me know your further thoughts about this. kind regards, Alan Fraser

Thank you very much for your response Mr Fraser! Another question i have (though i do not know if this can be answered on this thread or should be moved in a new one) has to do with the posture at keyboard. I seem to have some troubles, regarding the bench height.After reading your book and especially after reading the horowitz chapter,i understood that sitting lower always has some advantages and as long as the wrist is not pressed hard down and is functional the quality of sound -(especially in places where the maximum sonority is needed)- becomes much more easily to produce and with fewer movements as long as the hand has a good supported structure and the joints are aligned. As long as i am playing i am trying to be sitting on my pelvis with no tension in shoulders or other areas of my body,to have my whole skeleton aligned and being "covered" with a muscle soup as you say in your book and to have my torso aligned and floating,and always to monitor my whole body and the status of my muscles and bones.However i seem to have trouble understading,how low or how high i should be sitting. The problem (i think) lies in the fact that only the bench height is adjustable as the piano keyboard height is always the same. Would you happen to have some advice for these problems? Best regards! PS:I am always thinking that i should always follow the advice that says that the forearm should be parralel to the floor as a starting point.

Dear Nicholas, Your comments are very perceptive. It's not so easy just to put the bench down low and then wait for that wonderful sound to come out. I myself over the years have gone up and down like a yoyo: most of the time sitting rather low but sometimes going quite high, to resolve some other issue or some aspect of the issue. I basically go by feel. Once you get into this whole process of allowing your whole-body organzation to educate your actions, it gets complicated and you have to be willing to adjust and try something new. The number one rule: it must feel comfortable! One other thing: I carry some small pieces of plywood with me on tour to place under the legs of the piano. This raises the keyboard and allows me to sit low relative to the keys without having my knees in the air... John Browning also did this. It's not so much a question of keeping the forearm parallel to the ground, but of finding the angle where you feel a sudden empowerment - all of a sudden ALL the angles, of each finger joint, the crown within the palm, all of it conspires to facilitate MOVEMENT. I hope this helps; let me know! Alan Fraser