In this video, Ben Laude talks with the great Garrick Ohlsson at his home in San Francisco.

They attempt to answer the unanswerable question of whether Frédéric Chopin falls into the classical or romantic style. This leads them to discuss Chopin's connections to their favorite works and composers along the way.

Join celebrated American pianist Garrick Ohlsson as he discusses pedaling, the "soul of the piano." Offering both simple mechanical advice and sophisticated insights, Ohlsson covers the dos and don'ts of pedaling, and shows how it is the ear, and not the foot, that is the key to mastering the pedal.

Constraining his discussion to the right, "damper" pedal, Ohlsson first discusses the workings of the pedal apparatus and issues caveats about foot technique in order to avoid unwanted stomping sounds. He then walks you through the history of the damper pedal, from its early days as a special effect in Haydn and Beethoven to its more mature use as a means for connecting disparate notes into a single sonority, and coloring phrases, as in Chopin.

Chopin's Third Ballade serves as the centerpiece of the discussion, as Ohlsson demonstrates how Chopin took a simple means of blending harmony and turned it into a vehicle for a wide range of nuanced expressions.

In this lesson, American pianist Garrick Ohlsson shares his insights into practice routines. He invites you to view your practice sessions as opportunities to develop self-awareness and step outside your comfort zone. Focus your practice sessions on identifying your strengths and weaknesses, and devote your time to the latter. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes!

Ohlsson will offer you strategies for practicing methodically, “dividing and conquering” the most difficult passages. He advises you always to practice with a sense of expression and musicality, especially when practicing under tempo. Finally, Ohlsson will teach you strategies for testing your knowledge of a piece when you believe that you have learned it successfully.

Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Concerto is not only a supreme depiction of the Russian Soul, it is a masterpiece of motivic unity and musical organicism following in the Germanic tradition from Bach through Beethoven and Brahms. As Garrick Ohlsson demonstrates in this second lesson of his six-part course on work, Rachmaninoff uses an economy of “genetic material” from which he spins out a living, breathing lifeforms of Brobdingnagian proportions. Tracing the inner relations of every theme and motive throughout the entire work, Ohlsson reveals Rachmaninoff’s unsung genius for musical craftsmanship.

As mighty as the piano writing is in Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Concerto, the piece only acquires its majesty once combined with the orchestra. This is no easy feat. In this third lesson of his six-part course on “Rach 3,” Garrick Ohlsson considers extended passages from the 1st movement in terms of two overlapping challenges: on the one hand, the ergonomic question of how to most efficiently distribute the multitude of notes among the 10 fingers, and on the other hand, the ensemble difficulties that arise when trying to coordinate Rachmaninoff’s flexible tempi with an 80-piece orchestra.

The first question people usually ask when they find out you learned Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Concerto is, “which cadenza do you play?” Rachmaninoff wrote a “lighter,” scherzando cadenza in-line with the rest of the 1st movement as well as an earth-shattering alternative cadenza as an Ossia in small notes above it. In this fourth lesson from his six-part course on “Rach 3,” Garrick tackles both cadenzas, breaking down their musical and technical differences while revealing how they line up ultimately merge into the same lane. As Ohlsson reveals, the cadenza(s) and their continuation into a reminiscence on the second theme serve as a recapitulatory function in the larger sonata form of the movement.

The second movement of Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Concerto is a formally complex theme and variations interpolated by flights of fancy, reminiscences on movement’s past, and a demonic waltz. In this fifth lesson from his six-part course on “Rach 3,” Garrick Ohlsson begins at said waltz and proceeds to dance around the movement to different passages offering his insider secrets on how to wrap your hands around the dazzling figurations and bold outbursts.

3rd Concerto – Technique & Practice (3rd Mvt)

The third movement of Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Concerto is, in Garrick’s Ohlsson’s words, a series of piano etudes that tests the dexterity and stamina of even the greatest virtuosi. In this sixth and final lesson of Ohlsson’s “Rach 3” course, Ohlsson faces the music’s obstacles one by one, showing how the daunting passagework can actually fit comfortably in the hand. Along the way, he provides invaluable advice on how to practice the piece with the aim of conquering its technical challenges, so the music may shine through in all its glory.

Join celebrated American pianist Garrick Ohlsson as he tackles a subject that is not discussed often enough, but vitally important to piano playing – rests. There's a paradoxical old adage that says you must "play through" the rests, and Ohlsson shows you how.

Drawing on examples from Beethoven and Brahms through Schoenberg and Webern, Ohlsson demonstrates how to treat rests musically – not as a cessation of the music, but its continuation. In some instances, you must "kiss" the rests, with subtle use of pedal and release points, as well as a feeling that the energy of the phrase continues to grow. In other places, you should feel rests as pregnant pauses and not cut them short, instead hearing the silence as generating uncertainty and anticipation on the part of the listener.

Thecenterpiece of Ohlsson's discussion is Brahms's enigmatic E Minor Intermezzo, Op. 116 No. 5.