Allegro Multimedia Announces Strategic Partnership with Suzuki Music Corporation
July 30, 2007
Allegro Multimedia, a leading provider of music gaming software and music education tools, and Suzuki Music Corporation recently announced a strategic partnership agreement to fulfill keyboards for Allegro’s Piano Wizard video game.
The strategic partnership agreement will ensure that Allegro’s customers are equipped with the finest keyboards on the market to compliment the most innovative music education video game available. In addition to supplying Allegro with keyboards for Piano Wizard, Suzuki will also feature Piano Wizard in the annual Suzuki Musical Instrument Catalog that will be distributed in August.
“Reaching an agreement to have Suzuki as our hardware partner is a huge step for our company, our product and ultimately our customers,” says Chris Salter, CEO of Allegro Multimedia. “Coupling the strength and quality of the Suzuki name with the amazing teaching power of Piano Wizard means all aspiring musicians will have access to one of greatest teaching tools for years to come. We are making music both affordable and accessible to everyone.”
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2007 World Piano Competition winners announced
July 11, 2007
The winners of the 2007 World Piano Competition, held in Cincinnati, have been announced.
25-year-old Ching-Yun Hu of Taiwan won gold, receiving $10,000, plus numerous playing engagements.
30-year-old Christopher Atzinger of Minnesota took silver, earning $5,000.
26-year-old Yuri Shadrin from the Yale School of Music took bronze, and $3,000.
(Via Playbill Arts)
Image Line Software Introduces a Revolution to the World of Additive Synthesis with Morphine 1.0
July 11, 2007
Image Line Software, the creator of FL Studio, has released its first additive synthesizer, Morphine. With a flexible architecture and low CPU usage algorithms that retain a warm sound, Morphine introduces a revolution to the world of Additive Synthesis. Available in AudioUnit, VSTi and Standalone versions.
‘The development of Morphine was a long, stressful process — it took thousands of man-hours work, but it was worth it,’ said Maxx Claster, the developer of Morphine. ‘Now we have a powerful additive synthesizer with a tightly optimized, high-quality sound engine, great resynthesis features and a logical user-friendly interface.’
5 Cs of learning piano technique
July 11, 2007
The Collaborative Piano Blog has published a useful list: “The 5 Cs of Learning Piano Technique” which will ground any piano player in achieving good technique, and therefore good playing style, and therefore good performance.
The five points are:
- Command
- Clarity
- Comfort
- Creativity
- Confidence
Practicing technique through exercises and attention to detail may at times seem boring, but Chris proves that it’s not only necessary, but can be fun – and it’s definitely worthwhile.
GRAMMY Award Winner Angelin Chang Joins Yamaha Artist Family
July 10, 2007
A musical career that began “by accident” at the age of four to tame her “unruly” behavior, has blossomed into a prolific career in musical performance and pedagogy for Dr. Angelin Chang. Recently signed as Yamaha’s first Academic Performing Artist, Chang began her relationship with the company several years ago when she met Yamaha’s Mike Bates at a Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Conference. She was left with a positive impression: “I liked hearing about all the great things that were going on with Yamaha,” she recalls.
As 2007 GRAMMY Award Winner for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra, the internationally acclaimed pianist has been lauded for her sense of poetry and technical brilliance. She performs in Europe, Asia, Africa and North and South America at such venues as the Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), Kimmel Center (Philadelphia), Lincoln Center (New York), Severance Hall (Cleveland) and St. Martin-in-the-Fields (London), among numerous others.
As the first Artist-in-Residence at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Chang participated in the development and launching of the “Arts for Everyone” initiative. She has performed at the U.S Department of State, for the United Nations Women’s Organization and before the Royal Family of Nepal. An active chamber musician, she performs regularly with the legendary violist Joseph de Pasquale, The de Pasquale String Quartet, and with members of the Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras.
Yamaha Clavinova CVP300 Series include direct Internet connection for web music access
July 10, 2007
Yamaha has introduced its CVP300 Series of Clavinovas, which includes the CVP301, CVP303, CVP305, CVP307, CVP309, and CVP309GP models.
They all come with Internet Direct Connection, song and lyric displays, floppy disc drive, and Smart-Media slots, as well as the USA Edition upgrade.
Assuming the user has an Internet connection, they can go online from the Clavinova’s LCD panel in order to download their favourite songs and styles.
It’s also possible to send the digital audio of their music to another device for recording, using the built-in Optical Out terminal found on the CVP305 and higher models.
