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tonebase Piano Course

Schumann

Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18

Taught by renowned pianist

Nicolas Namoradze

In this lesson, Georgian pianist Nicolas Namoradze guides you through Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18, which he dubs one of the most “charmingly beautiful pieces of the piano repertoire.” <br><br>Namoradze breaks down the work’s rondo form and offers you strategies for highlighting the “logic, coherence, and organicism” within its contrasting sections. You will also explore ways of varying the repeated A section so that it always sounds fresh. <br><br>In addition to honing your interpretive skills, Namoradze shares with you his technical insights into voicing and legato. When you practice passages that require you to play multiple voices in rhythmic unison, Namoradze suggests that you practice arpeggiating them slowly. “Breaking” the voices in this way will allow you to focus your attention on each one. He encourages you to apply a similar attention to detail to your legato as well. He advises you to practice depressing the keys silently, gradually adding pressure until you start to perceive a sound. This exercise, if performed with a consistently slow attack, will attune you to the innerworkings of the piano’s action mechanism and reveal the infinite gradations of touch that are available to you.

  • checkmark icon
    Difficulty: 
    Intermediate
  • checkmark icon
    Duration: 
    1
     hours
     hour
All courses on tonebase include subtitles in English and Spanish

Course Syllabus

Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18

In this lesson, Georgian pianist Nicolas Namoradze guides you through Schumann’s Arabeske in C Major, Op. 18, which he dubs one of the most “charmingly beautiful pieces of the piano repertoire.”

Namoradze breaks down the work’s rondo form and offers you strategies for highlighting the “logic, coherence, and organicism” within its contrasting sections. You will also explore ways of varying the repeated A section so that it always sounds fresh.

In addition to honing your interpretive skills, Namoradze shares with you his technical insights into voicing and legato. When you practice passages that require you to play multiple voices in rhythmic unison, Namoradze suggests that you practice arpeggiating them slowly. “Breaking” the voices in this way will allow you to focus your attention on each one. He encourages you to apply a similar attention to detail to your legato as well. He advises you to practice depressing the keys silently, gradually adding pressure until you start to perceive a sound. This exercise, if performed with a consistently slow attack, will attune you to the innerworkings of the piano’s action mechanism and reveal the infinite gradations of touch that are available to you.

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Nicolas Namoradze
meet YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Nicolas Namoradze

First Prize winner of the 2018 Honens Competition, Nicolas Namoradze is being recognized around the world as an artist of rare intelligence and craftsmanship.

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Nicolas Namoradze
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