Munich 2026 Piano Somatics Institute - May 18-21

Alan's teaching seems to have evolved to a new level in this Institute. He speaks about Piano Somatics being  not only about a group of physical strategies, but about allowing the pianist to experience the music, allowing the being to play and shape the music, rather than the mind imposing its interpretation on the music. With lessons on compositions such as

• the Aria from the Bach Goldberg Variations, where he waxed philosophical about the nature of the floating arm mapping onto the flow of time and manipulating it to achieve expressive sublimity.

• The Brahms Second Piano Concerto, where a subtle adjustment of the finger alignment offered a completely unexpected resolution to a problem of hyper-mobility.

• A waltz and a nocturne by Chopin, where again the subtle inflection of the arms' elliptical movement created a lilting waltz rhythm or an ethereal nocturnal melodic shape

• The simple Bach C major two-part invention, which became anything but simple when a habitual, overly weighted touch was completely eradicated to free the arm, eliminate pain and introduce a melody that sings rather than plodding note by note.

• The Bach F minor Chorale, where an exploration of the body's capacity to yield and soften actually began to blur the demarcation between self and instrument, creating an ethereal, prayer-like sonority, rich in harmonic color and melodic expressivity.

• Ravel's Jeux d'eau, where the simple expedient of understanding how the left-hand inflections create a warmer color helped a pianist who played fast but superficially get grounded and begin to shape this music artistically.

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