Again from Iñaki Coello’s blog I found another interesting YouTube video. It is the performance in the final of China’s Got Talent 2010, by Liu Wei the armless pianist.
Monthly Archives: March 2011
The Kennedy Center Honors Dave Brubeck
I listen to some jazz, and of course to Dave Brubeck. When visiting Iñaki Coello’s blog I came across this gem of a clip from YouTube, from the Kennedy Center Honors Gala in September 2009, where Mr Brubeck was one of the Honorees for that year. Mr Brubeck didn’t know that his four sons were going to play in the concert. So when they are introduced you can see the surprise on his face, on his lips (“Son-of-a-b*tch!” at 3:26), and in the pump of the right fist!
Iñaki’s blog
A few days ago Iñaki Coello from Valladolid, Spain, contacted me asking for permission to use some of the pictures that I took during my visit to the Sauter factory in March 2008, for an article about piano construction. Iñaki’s blog is here: http://coellopiano.blogia.com/. It is in Spanish though, but the online Spanish-to-English translators do a good enough job (Babelfish is the worst). I point out Iñaki’s blog because it is a good read, and he is a piano technician. He has apprenticed at August Förster, Steinway & Sons Hamburg, and Sauter. He has also spent time at Yamaha’s factories in Japan.
Iñaki said that he was recently at the Sauter factory in Spaichingen to take a look at two Omega’s that the Ponferrada Conservatory has bought (along with a Hamburg S&S D, and some 20 uprights and grands from Yamaha.
Improved Non-dominant-hand awareness
In early February I underwent minor surgery on my right hand to remove a ganglion cyst at the base of the index finger (palm side). The cyst was small, about 3mm in diameter. But it was located at a pressure point in the hand so I had difficulty grasping things. After the surgery (under local anesthetic) I had to keep the surgery site dry, and of course I also had to do many things with my left hand. I also couldn’t play the piano for a month.
