Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. David Keep, Music
Document Type
Poster
Event Date
4-17-2026
Abstract
Steinway’s Spirio high resolution player piano combines technology and musicmaking in ways that open new possibilities for piano pedagogy. But as of yet, these have not been extensively researched. The present study focuses on how classical piano students can emulate historical style and performance through the practice of embodiment as made possible by the Spirio. Steinway’s iPad app features historically significant video performances of “Steinway Immortals” which are synched to the piano as it replays performances by these musicians, bringing the past to life on the instrument the students are practicing on. To better understand character as expressed in performance, we experimented with having students learn piano miniatures by playing back as closely as possible all the details of these performances as heard, saw, and felt. Typically we focused on re-playing the historical performance one phrase at a time, giving the student a chance to replicate the phrase in their own playing. Through this methodology of embodied performance, students learned Alfred Cortot’s performance of a Chopin Waltz and Vladimir Horowitz’s performance of Schumann’s “Träumerei”, both of which include many expressive attributes that are not notated in the score, but are vestiges of nineteenth-century performance practice. Students learned through performed emulations how to express character via asynchrony, tempo rubato, pedaling, and gestures. This close examination refined the subtleties of both students’ own interpretations. Via embodiment, students found new ways to conceive of musical meaning, as experimentation with the Spirio brought them to consider multiple vantage points across history. Countering the expectation to play from the score alone in a purely “original” way, this experiment freed students to learn works of the past not only by encountering great composers, but also great interpreters.
Recommended Citation
Repository citation: Chia, Rachel and Puglia, Jesse, "The Spirit and the Letter: Performance Practice, Piano Pedagogy, and the Steinway Spirio" (2026). 25th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2026). Paper 6.
https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/curca_25/6
April 17, 2026. Copyright © 2026 Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
Comments
This project was supported by the Marjorie Den Uyl Faculty Development Fund.