Pianist's Day (08/11)

Pianist Day, which is celebrated annually on November 8, is gaining popularity in the musical community, and it concerns, first of all, those involved in such a musical instrument as the piano.

The holiday does not have any official status, however, thanks to the Internet and music communities, it is becoming increasingly famous. This indicates the desire of activists to give the holiday the character of an international day, capable of uniting not only pianists, but also all fans of this musical instrument. On the Internet you can find variations on the theme of justifying the date of the Pianist Day celebration, however, they are all more of a legend.

Piano music, which originated in the 18th century, quickly gained popularity and became widespread in the second half of the century after the musical instrument itself was finally formed, becoming a logical development of its predecessors – harpsichord and clavichord. The creator of the piano is considered to be the Italian master Bartolomeo Cristofori. The instrument, the mechanism of which has evolved and was formed mainly during the 18th century, in modern times has two variations of performance: piano and piano (horizontal and vertical arrangement of strings).

Despite the fact that the holiday is called Pianist's Day, we are certainly talking about the piano as a whole, since the piano is only a type of this string percussion-key musical instrument. The principle of sound extraction in it comes down to the fact that pressing a key activates a hammer, which, in turn, hits the strings.

History has given the world the names of brilliant, magnificent performers of piano music, each of whom contributed to its development and improvement of the technique of performing musical works. Each of them had unique abilities, a unique technique, turning sound into a truly living intangible substance, capable of transmitting an incredibly wide range of emotions, possessing strength, character, brightness and evoking deep psycho-emotional experiences in the listener from sublime enthusiastic feelings to sadness and tears.

One cannot help but recall the names of Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninov, Arthur Rubinstein, Svyatoslav Richter, Joseph Hoffmann and Vladimir Horowitz, Emil Gilels, Evgeniy Kissin and many others. The fate of one of the famous pianists of the 20th century, Vladislav Shpilman, during the Second World War formed the basis of the script on which the film «Pianist» was based.

As for the holiday, a tradition of organizing concerts dedicated to Pianist Day is gradually emerging, which are held in different countries, the number of which is invariably growing. One way or another, November 8 is gradually turning into a real professional holiday of international level, which can be celebrated not only by pianists, but also by fans of piano music, students of music educational institutions in piano, teachers and even masters who create this unique musical instrument.



Postcard November «8 — Pianist Day»

1937