Readers’ Letters
Fun facts about silver screen pianists, plus learning to love Hanon exercises
PIANISTS ON FILM
Further to Warwick Thompson’s article Silver Screen Pianists
( Pianist 118), I was pleased you cited in your editorial Charles Williams’s lovely The Dream of Olwen from While I Live as a personal favourite amongst 1940s weepy themes; it also happens to be one of mine. To this piece, and the Warsaw Concerto from Dangerous Moonlight, I would add Hubert Bath’s Cornish Rhapsody from Love Story as another classic example of the genre. Interesting that these three movies in question are all usually better recalled via the titles of the music composed for them!
A little factoid re The Beast with Five Fingers: the hand seen playing on screen, and playing on the soundtrack (uncredited), is that of Ervin Nyiregyházi, a former staggering child prodigy whose life and career tragically ‘unravelled’ (see Kevin Bazzana’s biography Lost Genius).
One other cinematic curio I’d recommend to readers is The Alien Corn episode from Quartet (1948), a portmanteau film based on stories by Somerset Maugham. This cautionary tale stars the young Dirk Bogarde and Honor Blackman. It also features a wonderful, typically regal cameo from Françoise Rosay as concert pianist Lea Makart, who fairly rattles off the Schubert Impromptu included in your last issue. The hands actually playing all those of the great Eileen Joyce; she who gave us Rach 2 in Brief and Encounter and who dubbed Ann Todd’s keyboard performance in The Seventh Veil.
Jason McKinstry, London Hanon addict
As an adult relearner of the piano, I bought the book of Hanon exercises back in November 2019 thinking it would improve my beginner/intermediate technique. As it became clear that many respected teachers and my fellow aspiring pianists had negative views on Hanon pieces, I retreated into the closet and donned earphones while practising them, which I did daily for nine months before deciding I’d had enough of C major tedium. However, I am convinced that my finger strength (especially the fourth) and finger independence has improved considerably and, as I love playing Bach, I think this is no bad thing. I have gone back to practising Hanon exercises but don’t limit myself to C major or legato playing. They are excellent for warming up sluggish fingers, and as I don’t have to focus much on their melodic lines I can instead think about releasing tension in shoulders, arms etc. I’ve discovered another trick with Hanon which I call counterpointless: Play a Hanon exercise in the left hand against a different one in the right hand.
Chaminade once more
We certainly can. Watch this space!
Judith Wright, West Sussex
The Chaminade Aubade which appears inside issue 118 is glorious. Can you publish the easier version in a future issue?
Fiona Hall, Brighton