old boy was already working on Liszt’s Transcendental Studies, in particular, ‘Eroica’
and ‘Mazeppa’.
On 21 July 1855, at a soirée at the Altenburg, Tausig played some pieces and he and his
father Aloys, a respected piano teacher, were presented to Hans von Bülow and various
members of the Weimar school. Bülow played three of his own works and Liszt
concluded by playing his Scherzo and his Sonata. Afterwards everyone went down to the
Erbprinz Hotel for dinner.
Tausig made his debut in Berlin in 1858 with Bülow conducting. He toured widely as a
pianist, and as a conductor promoted new music. In 1864 Tausig married the pianist
Serafina Vrabely, from whom he was later divorced. In 1865 he settled in Berlin where
he founded a School for Advanced Piano Playing. Tausig wrote a piano concerto and
some transcriptions and published an edition of Clementi’s ‘Gradus ad Parnassum’.
Tausig was Liszt’s favourite and greatest pupil and his death from typhoid fever when he
was only twenty-nine was a severe blow for Liszt.
TCHAIKOVSKY
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) as a piano composer is mainly known for his
popular Piano Concerto no. 1 in B flat minor opus 23 and also, to a lesser extent, his
Piano Concerto no. 2 in G major opus 44.
Tchaikovsky wrote music for piano solo including ‘Chanson Triste’ and a set of twelve
piano pieces called ‘The Seasons’. He also wrote a number of songs for voice and piano
including the well-known ‘None but the Lonely Heart’.
Tchaikovsky’s music is known for its distinctive melodies, strong emotionalism,
colourful orchestration and directness of appeal. Some surveys have suggested that, of
all the composers, Mozart and Tchaikovsky are the most popular.
TECHNIQUE
Technique in piano playing is the ability to solve the physical difficulties of playing the
piano. Technique deals with finger, hand, wrist, elbow and arm positions and movements,
and the avoidance of unnecessary movements. It contrasts with expression in piano
playing which deals with nuance, tonal matching, voicing, rubato and pedalling.
Technique and expression are intimately connected.
Many articles and books have been written on piano technique but they perhaps tend on
occasion to be unscientific, dogmatic, confusing or contradictory. A teacher can work
with a pupil to solve individual technical problems. If a passage is not working, different
muscles should be used. This will mean relaxing all one’s muscles, changing the hand,
finger, wrist, elbow and arm positions and movements, playing more lightly and thus