Eliana Yi dreamed of 'pursuing piano performance in college, never mind that her fingers could barely reach the length of an octave. Unable to fully play many works by Romantic-era composers including Beethoven and Brahms, she tried anyway—and in her determination to spend hours practicing a Chopin concerto, wound up injuring herself.
The efforts of Professor Carol Leone from the Southern Methodist University(SMU) are changing all that: twenty years ago, the school became the first major university in the U.S, to introduce smaller keyboards into its music program, leveling the playing field for Yi and other piano majors.
Yi, 21, tried one of the smaller keyboards, "I remember being really excited, because my hands could actually reach and play all the right notes," she said.
For decades, few questioned the size of the traditional piano. For those with small hand spans, it's difficult to properly play many works of Beethoven and Brahms. Those who attempt to play them either get used to skipping notes or risk injury with repeated play. Leone is familiar with such challenges. Born into a family of musicians, she favored classical music and pursued piano despite her small hand span and earned a degree as a doctor in musical arts.
The idea of smaller keyboards first met resistance from some traditionalists. Leone also said that when she raised the issue with one Viennese professor, he told her there were already too many pianists anyway.
Though such resistance is fading, there are some very traditional people who think of piano as a competitive thing. Leone said, "This is art, it's not sport. It's about making as much beautiful art as possible, and we should give everybody the opportunity to do that."
【小题1】Why did Eliana Yi find it hard to play a Chopin concerto to well?| A．Her fingers got injured. | B．It was time-consuming. |
| C．Her hand spans were small. | D．The traditional piano was out of tune. |
| A．Summarize the previous paragraphs. | B．Provide some advice for pianists. |
| C．Introduce a new topic for discussion. | D．Add some background information. |
| A．Unclear | B．Objective | C．Disapproving. | D．Positive. |
| A．A Hard-working SMU Professor | B．The Story Behind Smaller Keyboard Pianos |
| C．Traditional Piano: A Competitive Thing | D．Yi's Road to a Brilliant Artist |
