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Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises Complete Schirmers Library of Musical Classics

Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises Complete Schirmers Library of Musical Classics

Since the first release of this classic Schirmer edition over 100 years ago, almost anyone who has taken piano lessons for more than two years has played from The Virtuoso Pianist. Millions of copies have been sold of these progressive exercises which guide a player’s technique, building finger independence and strength. This was the first American edition released of this music, and remains a classic at a remarkably affordable price.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars an old friend
I loved getting this book of Hanon exercises, which I had 25 years ago, the last time I played the piano. I’m enjoying them every day.

5 Stars buyer beware
This is a difficult and complete book of exercises. If you aspire to professional level piano ability but haven’t studied much yet, forget this one. It is written for pros. It will take a lot of study to master it. But it’s so complete, it’s worth the tiny price. Highly recommended.

1 Star Do not wast your time
There is no piano technique is this book. I wasted tree years on this. There is no musical purpose on the exercices. Piano technique combines body movement with musical expression.

5 Stars Great, but…
This is the definitive book for developing piano technique, bar none. The other reviews here will testify to this.

I just have one warning…be careful about over doing it. I hurt my hand practicing the Hanon excercises too much. Resist the temptation and don’t push yourself too hard. Otherwise you may end up with a repetitive stress injury like I did.

5 Stars Love it!
Helps warms up my fingers to enable me to then quickly pick up new pieces; the warm ups are very well varied, fun to play, nice to listen to even.

Sometimes I just play from this book than play actual music as I just like the feeling of flexing my fingers on the piano…

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Amadeus Blu ray Book Blu ray

Amadeus Blu ray Book Blu ray

Abrahams salieri declares war against the heavens for speaking through the genius of wolfgang amadeus mozart played by hulce. Flashbacks illuminate the mad energetic brilliance of mozart and salieris struggle with his own mediocrity. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 02/10/2009 Starring: F Murray Abraham Jeffery Jones Run time: 180 minutes Rating: Pg Director: Milos Forman

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star Mozart was not like this
I am aware that sometimes a movie take liberties about the subject they depict but in the case of Amadeus we are not talking about liberties, but about complete and utterly false distortions of who Mozart was, and about his life and history.

Had this movie been about a fictional character, I would have judged it as very good. But since it claims to be about Mozart, than lets get some facts straight (I wont even touch the subject of Mozart’s genius - suffice to say he was the greatest composer who ever lived, and every composer who lived after him recognised this)

- Mozart never signed any composition with the name Amadeus - but with Amade. Mozart’s name was actually Teophillus or Gottlieb - which in latin would translate to Amadeus, but he never used the latin name, instead he used the french translation - Amade.

- Mozart was NOT a poor guy, whose talent was unappreciated by his contemporaries. In fact Joseph Haydn, one of Mozart closest friends - and of course not shown in this picture - has said, in 1785, to Mozarts father Leopold, during Leopold’s visit in Viena : “Your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name” (in the movie Salieri is credited with this line). Mozart was the first free-lance composer the world has ever know, and he was making A LOT of money. He lived in a house in central Vienna, had servants and a carriage (big thing in those days). He was probably the best dressed in all Vienna, and everybody who knew his recognized that Mozart had a sublime and perfect taste in everything he did.

- The myth of Mozart poverty comes from two facts. Nr. 1 - he was buryied in the common grave. Of course, it’s never mentioned that 90% of Viena’s population at that time was buryied in the same way, since there was an imperial edict forbidding individual graves to anybody but the aristocracy. Nr. 2 - he borrowed money once or twice from a friend in 1788. Well, Austria was at war those days, the economy was in shambles, and Mozart, as a freelance composer, whitout a patron to support him, had to adjust. But at his death he was not a poor man, 1791 was a great year for him, as he made quite a little fortune with ZauberFlote and La Clementa di Tito, as well and some other works that he publised.

- Mozart seldom drank. He probably enjoyed a glass of wine once in a while, but he was NOT the alcoholic shown in the movie.

- Mozart never cheated on his wife - if fact he was one of the most straitforward of all composers, probably as much as Bach. He loved Constanze with all his heart, and she loved him back the same way. There are hundreds of letter that survie to prove this. Constanze never cheated on him either, she gave birth to six children, of who only 2 survied to adulthood. She never dumped Mozart - but due to health problem she went to Baden a couple of times (which was not cheap, and Mozart paid for it)

- Salieri and Mozart never had any problems or dispute, in fact they even were on the same stage a some point. Leopold - who was a conspiracy theory addict - claimed that there was a cabala of italians that conjured against him and Wolfgang, but later on, when Mozart broke away from his father, he realized that this was not true. In fact, later on, Constantze trusted the musical education of her two surviving sons (not one, as depicted in the movie) to Salieri. Whould a mother have trusted her sons to the man who murdered their father?

- Salieri was a great composer, one of the best of his time. His music is not in the repertoire anymore, but lets remember that at that time there were hundreds of composers, who wrote tons of music, since in a time with no TV, CD, iPOD, cinema, etc, music was all there was. The fact only two names from that era are still performed today, Mozart and Haydn, is a testament to their great genius, and not a proof that the others were bad, or mediocre. Salieri was one of the best composers around at that time, and this is why Beethoven chose to select his as his canto teacher in the 1790’s. He was also a very generous man, who helped a lot o people in his life. It is claimed that later in his life, in 1822, when he was in a mental hospital, he admited to poisoning Mozart, but this is denied by the two servants that cared for him (those two depicted at the beginning of the movie), who declared under oath that he never said that.

- Mozart was not a vulgar man. There are hundreds of leters surviving him to prove this. He used some foul language sometimes, but in a clever way, not in the grotesque way depicted in the movie.

- Mozart did not died alone. He was surounded by his whole family, and his final ilness span over 6 weeks. It is not sure what it was, but the final blow that led to his death was the medical treatment he was submitted to. As his wife’s sister recalls - he was severly bled that night (blood letting was the miracle cure for everything in those days), after which he never regained consciousness, and died the following morning. The treatment was applied by one of the best doctors of the time - another proof that Mozart was not a poor guy. Sophie Weber claimed that the procedure seemed to have made Mozart worse, but that he would have died anyway. Let me have some serious doubts on this.

- Magic Flute was premiered some 3 month before Mozart death. In fact Mozart had time to write quite a few things inbetween, including the opera La Clemenza di Tito. The Magic Flute was extremely succesfull, and was preformed almost every other night at Shickaneder’s theatre, bringing a lot of cash to Mozart. In 1892 it already reached 100 performances.

- Don Giovanni was actually comissioned by the Opera in Prague, where it was a great succes. It was comissioned after the huge succes of Le Nozze di Figaro. Mozart was venerated like a god in Prague.

- Although Mozart was tidyer than other composers, Beethoven for instance, he was not pouring out music dictated by god with the only duty to write it down. He worked very hard for his composition, and he was not afraid to cut and throw away what he was not satisfied with.

- Reqviem was comisioned not by Salieri, but by count Franz von Walsegg, who had the habit of comissioning works from different composers and then publish them as his own. Mozart knew who he was composing the reqviem for. He was working on it when he died, and left it unfinished.

And the list goes on, like for instance the King not being able to play well the piano - Joseph II was in fact a skilled piano player and sometimes even played on stage; or Mozart composing Noze di Figaro without the king knowing about it - the opposite is actually true, the king knew and first approved of the text of Da Ponte, and then Mozart started working on it.

Mozart was a great man. A great musical genius, but also a nice and considerate person, who has almost never iritated and morose, a nice guy who almost never spoke a bad word about anybody. He was perfectly aware of his genius - but what genius is not?

He deserves a lot more than the parody he is given in this movie.

5 Stars Absolutely the best depiction
of Mozart and the era he lived in. The music is superb, the costumes, the acting, the settings are exceptionally well done. But most of all, the pace that carries the viewer through the emotions and keeps it up till the end is outstanding. It’s not at all often that one connects to a high level to the character’s lives. If I could own only one DVD, this would be the one.

3 Stars DIRECTOR’S CUT DOESNT DELIVER
Like Wolfgan Amadeus sais in the movie, too many notes! How can can you re-write what’s already perfect ???…the original movie is GREAT…Directors cut gives scenes that mislead the characters personalities already established….TOO MANY NOTES!!!

Also I am maaad with Amazone because when I bought the blu ray never says it’s the directors cut which I already have and hate!

GET THE THEATRICAL VERSION IN BLU RAY!!!

4 Stars Very good piece of work
The movie is a classic , beautiful photography and narration , great performances , and sound!!!

In Blu Ray is even better!!!

5 Stars This movie will make anyone an instant classical music fan
This is a must see movie. The acting, directing, costumes and, of course the music are stellar. The directers cut is longer then the original but it is just more of a great thing. Also the short section on the making of the film is worth veiwing.

This movie is rated as on of the top 100 films by the AFI and you can see why.

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SPIN

SPIN

Founded in 1985 by Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione’s son, Bob Jr., Spin magazine aimed to occupy a space forged and outgrown by Rolling Stone, which had since moved on from counter-culture reporting to a more pop-culture focus. Due to its well-funded birth, Spin rode the wave of the burgeoning alternative rock movement and was afforded the luxury of being as controversial as it wanted, forsaking at times somewhat slanted reporting in favor of the punch and jibe. Nonetheless, it brought into America’s peripheral vision early stories of the ravages of AIDS in Africa, in addition to standard artist interviews and album reviews. Switching from a tabloid format to a glossy perfect-bound publication, the magazine now reports on fleeting music trends and the Next Big Thing more than it unearths alternative-rock gems, but it still does a good job of uncovering behind-the-scenes-stories, such as the violent acts and deplorably unhygienic conditions of 1999’s Woodstock III music festival, in a way no other music magazine does. When the Beastie Boys released Hello Nasty in 1998, Spin published three different editions of the magazine–each with a separate headshot of one member of the renegade hip-hop group. Three years later, Rolling Stone copied the gimmick, featuring the members of boy band ‘N Sync individually on five different covers. If Spin’s influence in rock journalism was ever in question, this event provides irrefutable proof. –Beth Massa

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star When awful bands are reviewed by Bohemian Ingrates…..
oh yeah, I remember a time in music when people used to rush to the cd stores when they heard a song on the radio…the time when Joshua Tree first came out, or when I first heard Stand on BRU, and had to immediately go get the tape from the /spin/ shop in the college town, and yeah when really tiny bands, like Better Than Ezra from N.O., seemed to come out of nowhere, and throw the song, ‘good’ on the radio, and man music seemed to just drool out of my ears/// I don’t know what happened really, maybe I discovered a whole other genre of music, ie. Tiesto, AVB, PVD, Ladytron, Carl Cox, Gabriel and Dresden, or I just dont have anything in common with the sad emo culture who makes bands like dashboard confessional out to be the new Iggy Pop, or on the same token these lemmings who crawl to the corporate swindlers FYE to shell out top sticker cd prices for the new Spears album…

…I remember when I first read Spin, all glossy and shiny cover with a bunch of no named bands, in which I could really try to dig and see who their influences were….I read it for awhile, but then one day, one month if I recall, it had the dudes from the /Strokes/ on the cover, remember, the really close up, tight shots, of the band members looking as if they just rolled out of bed or were going to a methadone clinic, and the same issue has multiple copies with the same content, but different covers with each member of the band, and if I recall, it said the ‘Best Band of the Decade?? It had been some time before that, that I had laughed so genuinely hard. I was actually really angry, that anyone, anyone, that appreciates or writes for a music magazine, would ever have the tenacity or testicular fortitude to ever embarass themselves enough to write something like that. I mean here’s a group of winey, college yuppies, who think of themselves as hard core, who review music from bands such as the Yeah, Yeah, Yeah’s? NO NO NO.

Spin is trash, (Fred Durst, on a cover? enough said, phttt) it’s writing is sophmoric and save the personal opinion that the bands they review are more or less worthless, I simply cannot see how this magazine is still around after these many years.

EXCREMENT.

5 Stars all right by me !!!
I like Spin magazine. Sure, it has a lot of ads and they primarily cover newer trends in music. There’s not a lot for people who like classic pop vocals here! However, I always like to keep my head tuned in for new artists and the evolution of music; and so for me Spin magazine serves the purpose well. Moreover, the quality of the paper, images and text is great; and the binding is well manufactured, too.

Spin has articles on great new music and hot developments in the music industry. For example, the current issue focuses on R.E.M. and their “resurrection.” I love it! They also have smaller articles with pictures of other newcomers to the music scene.

In addition, look for interesting articles like “who earns what” and “the honor roll” of new gadgets like t-shirts and wireless earphones that are rather informative about what’s “hip and happening” today. It could be construed as tabloid gossip; but to me it’s a great reprieve from heavy duty thinking!

Overall, Spin magazine is a fine choice for those of us who want the latest news and trends from the music industry. The writing isn’t exactly Shakespearian; but you didn’t buy this to read Shakespeare! The articles are actually rather well written and the humor is OK by me. I recommend this magazine for fans of modern music and people who enjoy updates about their favorite artists and bands.

3 Stars Informationally Better & More Inciteful than RS
Spin was the standard “way back when” elipsed in some ways by Paste, Under the Radar, Magnet etc but still comes through in the clutch with reviewers with a a wider frame of reference than many of the above and the opportunity to review odd-ball items and get out that information quickly in its “Spin Mix” column. If the songs they ID aren’t on myspace, the band usually is, thus a chance to sample new music. And the greatest advantage to a Spin subscription is that it’s so bloody cheap. (Note: In two years, they’ll paying YOU to subscribe!) It is respectfully submitted to start your subscription now, but remember to ignore some of the bands it hypes — but embrace some of the others.

4 Stars what?
i can’t believe people are bashing Spin for covering trendy bands. If any magazine should be bashed for such a thing, it should be Alternative Press, the typical myspace users’ magazine. Spin does touch on “hot” bands, true, but they also cover not so popular bands that are worth listening to. Spin may not be the perfect music magazine, but i like it more than most of the other options. Especially being a girl, when i pick up a “music” magazine, i want to actually read about music, NOT look at pictures of half naked girls and hot rods thrown in the mix to pick up more viewers, that are totally irrelevant. Spin is easy to read, friendly, and not super snobbish, which is why i like it. Because honestly, if any super indie underground band was mentioned in a major magazine, they would get crap for it, and then the band wouldn’t be so super indie secret cool. Spin is an enjoyable light magazine, more diverse than most mainstream music magazines. but if you’re looking for an real independent take on music, then go pick up an indie zine.

5 Stars Spin baby spin
I’ve been to a lot of concerts, met a lot of bands, seen a lot of hype, seen a lot of scandal. This magazine is pretty much the best source of any up-and-coming band that you may be hearing on the radio or seeing on MTV.

Not only is SPIN the best magazine for music for “kids my age (22)” but the picture quality is some of the best quality that I have seen in any magazine. I have framed pages out of previous spin magazines, because they were pictures I wanted to keep forever. I would recommend spin magazine to any fan of indie rock especially. Death cab for cutie, the shins, and the flamming lips are just some of the bands that are talked about in SPIN magazine monthly. SPIN magazine does include some rap/hip-hop music that I try to avoid but the indie-rock and rock band information that I receive is some of the best.

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