Shostakovich second sonata

Alan and Trifon working on a second sonata - from Sofia 2026 workshop

11 episodes 49:53 Intermediate Ongoing

Episodes

1 Shostakovich Sonata No. 2 First Movement Performance The student plays the first movement of Shostakovich's Piano Sonata No. 2 08:10
2 The hand arch as a color tool Alan Fraser goes over the student's questions on octaves and tempo. He then shows how the hand's arch and the arm's gestures can add color and character to this bitonal music 04:52
3 Playing without pedal and finding a focused sound Alan tries the passage with no pedal to get clarity back. He explains how an arched hand focuses the piano's sound, much like a singer's voice 03:47
4 Following the phrase and coloring key change Alan shows how the arm should follow the phrase. He also asks for a new color at each key change and more character in the upper voice of the double sixths 03:10
5 Phrasing octaves horizontally Alan explains that grouping notes into phrases makes difficult octave passages easier to play. He says the effort to shape this bitonal music is essential 04:05
6 Marcato accents and orchestrating with the hand Alan explains how to play the staccato accents and how the arm can carve a marcato phrase. He also shows how lifting the knuckles frees the shoulder and helps the hand orchestrate 05:51
7 Lifting the knuckle and a foggy long pedal Alan shows how a raised second knuckle lets the phrase move forward instead of braking it. He then suggests holding a long pedal through several bars for a foggy effect 03:32
8 The curving line and the rising thumb Alan explains that a curving line in the score asks for arm movement, not just fingers. He shows how lifting the thumb sends the phrase upward and adds a caesura to mark a special moment 05:39
9 Liga legato and the musical arm Alan introduces greasy liga legato and shows that wrong accents disappear when the hand has enough arch and the arm keeps flowing. He describes the arms as little musical brains 04:46
10 Arm and hand structure as a toolbox lan calls lateral arm movement a phrase machine and the hand arch a tone and virtuosity machine. He shows how hand structure makes a fanfare passage work 03:23
11 Hand structure organizes a wild passage Alan has the student focus on firm hand structure for wide leaps. The jumble turns into clear bell-like sounds and an organized bacchanal 02:38

Your teacher

Alan Fraser

Born in Montreal in 1955 Alan Fraser studied piano but also delved into composition, cello, classical singing and had several stints as a pop musician. Alan’s main pianistic influence was the pioneering research of Phil Cohen who studied alongside Ronald Turini, Andre Laplante and Janina Fialkowska with Yvonne Hubert, who had been Cortot‘s assistant in Paris. Alan spent several years with Cohen after an apprenticeship with two former Cohen students, Alan Belkin and Lauretta Milkman.