John's piano

(Note: This is the first in a series of posts about the pianos of some of our members.)

John's 1920 Heintzman

I greatly enjoy playing my Toronto-built Heintzman upright, whose inside label proclaims it as a "grand piano in upright form". It is the same one I​ took lessons and​ practised on as a child back at my mother's home in Vancouver in the 1940s. 

My grandmother purchased it, I believe, before I was born, though I know of no one else in my family who played. I checked the serial number one time on-line, which gave its date of manufacture as 1920. 

Today in its new position in our upstairs sitting-room (and it cost a pretty penny just to have it moved there from downstairs!), and after a long-overdue tuning, it sounds better than ever!

Music played at the November 20, 2016 session

Host: John

It was snowy outside but the warmth inside got our literary and musical juices flowing. There were some “golden oldies” and some pieces rarely played.

Round 1:

- Gregory: “Elegie” by J. Massenet
- Gordon: Waltz op. 69 #2 by F. Chopin
- Jeff: Prelude op 11 # 12 by A. Scriabin
- Karin: Méditation # 3 from “Avant dernières pensées”, by E. Satie
- David:  Farfarinette by J. P. Rameau (this was the theme for Jurgen Gothe’s “Disc Drive” on the CBC)
- Teresa: Prelude in D flat major by F. Chopin
- Sachie: Sonata Op. 10 # 3, 1st movement, by L. Beethoven
- John: 3 hymns/folk songs: “Londonderry Air”, “Purity”, and “Yield Not to Temptation”

Round 2:

- Gordon: Gavotte in D, by J. S. Bach
- Teresa: Etude in G Major, by Cornelius Gurlitt
- Greg: “The Maple Leaf forever” by Alexander Muir, and “Rule, Britannia” by Thomas Arne
- Jeff: Années de pelerinage, 3ième année, Aux cypres de la Villa d’Este (S163 #3) , by F. Liszt
- David: Fur Elise, by L. van Beethoven
- John: “The Little Light Tree”, own improvisation and words to “I had a little nut tree”

Looking for some practising tips?

This page on the Pianist Magazine website has ten tips on how to improve and maximize your practice time: Maximizing Your Practice Time.