Indholdsfortegnelse for 142 i Pianist

As I write, I am listening to the slow movement of Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto over the radio (beautifully played by Nikolai Lugansky with the CBSO). How can anyone not be moved by music that touches the heart so deeply? When selecting scores for each issue, I am aware that I lean towards Romantic composers (our house pianist Chenyin Li says, ‘Please give me some Classical or Baroque to learn!’). As a pianist, I know that this is the music I find most rewarding. Cover artist Charles Owen evidently feels an affinity with Romantic-era composers such as Schumann. He enjoys engaging with many different composers and styles, from Bach to Jonathan Dove, but he’s fully at home with the many sides to Schumann’s creative identity, as he tells Peter Quantrill.…

Few pianists rival Charles Owen for the breadth of his activity, never mind the energy he brings to everything he does. Recitalist, chamber musician, concerto pianist, professor, festival organiser… I wonder when he takes a day off. When we met in central London, last November, Owen was thinking about Schumann, and his latest album for the Avie label. But he was also coming down from the high of the latest London Piano Festival, which gathered eight pianists at Kings Place for six concerts in three days, while cooking up ideas for the 10th anniversary of the festival next year. A second volume of Jonathan Dove’s chamber music was also in the pipeline, but meanwhile he had his Masters students to teach at the Guildhall School of Music, where he has…

LESSONS FROM THE EXPERTS MELANIE SPANSWICK is a pianist, writer, teacher and composer. As an author, she is published by leading publishing houses, and has written a three-book piano course for those returning to piano playing; Play It Again: PIANO (Schott Music). Melanie teaches the piano at Junior Guildhall School of Music & Drama and Eton College. As a composer, her music is published in the renowned Edition Schott Composer Series. Read Melanie Spanswick’s lesson LUCY PARHAM is a concert pianist, writer, teacher and broadcaster. She has performed with all the major British orchestras and is a regular presenter and contributor on Radio 3 and 4. Her Composer Portraits series – featuring the lives of Chopin, Debussy, Rachmaninov, Schumann and more – has resulted in hundreds of performances with some…

Key F major Tempo Allegro Style Classical Will improve your Articulation Rhythmic precision Dynamic range ABILITY RATING LATE ELEMENTARY Charles Ignatius Sancho (c.1729-1780) was a British campaigner, writer and composer. Thought to have been born on a slave ship in the Atlantic Ocean, he spent his first two years as an enslaved boy on the island of Grenada. As a two-year-old, Sancho was brought to England and was a servant to three sisters in Greenwich. Patronage from the Duke of Montagu eventually enabled him to enjoy a literary education and by the end of his life, he was a prominent figure in artistic and aristocratic circles. Sancho wrote the 12 Country Dances in 1779 shortly before his death. They were intended to be performed in line-dance formation. Bushy Park is…

BEGINNER German composer and organist Johann Krieger was one of the most important keyboard composers of his day. Settling in Zittau, he was highly esteemed by, among others, George Frideric Handel. He published two collections of keyboard music – Sechs musicalische Partien and Anmuthige Clavier-Übung – which contain harpsichord suites, organ toccatas, fugues, ricercars and more. Krieger’s contemporaries praised his contrapuntal skill, evident in his extant fugues (hundreds of his works were lost when Zittau was destroyed by fire in 1757). Playing tips: Find a good pace, and from then on, keep the pulse even, bearing in mind that this is a stately dance. Throughout, the LH almost ‘answers’ the RH, so think of this when working on the interpretation. Some dynamics have been added to the score, but feel…

INTERMEDIATE Russian Romantic pianist, composer and teacher Samuil Maykapar became professor of music at St Peterburg Conservatory in 1915. He wrote many works for solo piano, for all levels of players – this poignant piece, Longing for Home, appearing within his 12 Album Leaves Op 16. If you enjoy learning this piece, take a look at Pianist issue 138 in which we featured on article on Maykapar plus three of his scores. Playing tips: Full of yearning from the outset, the melody should be phrased perfectly, and with a projected singing tone. The slurred quaver/crotchet pairs of notes at bars 10 and 12 almost imitate short sighs. The more passionate middle section (starting bar 15) doesn’t last long, with the melody returning at bar 23. Die away calmly towards the…

INTERMEDIATE Until the arrival of Rossini, Domenico Cimarosa was one of the most frequently performed Italian opera composers of his era. His works, which include his many for keyboard, have a lightness and charm – just as this short sonata one does. Playing tips: Set in a rhythmic 6/8, try to slightly emphasise the first and fourth quavers in the bar. The LH dotted crotchets should be detached. In the second section, make a long crescendo through to bar 23, and on the repeat, make a slight rit. in the penultimate bar. Pedal is not needed.…

INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED Fanny Hensel (née Mendelssohn) wrote this glorious Notturno (Nocturne) in 1838. Having never visited Venice, she wrote the piece in the style of a barcarolle, or Venetian boat song, before departing on her yearlong trip to Italy. The work bears similarities to the Venetian Gondola Songs of her brother, Felix Mendelssohn, who had visited Venice before and shared his impressions with his sister, who eagerly anticipated the journey. Playing tips: There is real yearning to this romantic piece. It’s thickly written, yes, but it’s easier than it looks because the notes fit well under the hands. You will need a good sense of ebb and flow, as well as a solid chord technique – allowing the top melody line to be heard above the other notes. Aim for a…

DONOHOE & LUTCHMAYER Busoni: Fantasia Contrappuntistica, Sonatinas, Chopin Variations, etc. Chandos CHAN20342 What’s in a name? Busoni intended his Fantasia Contrappuntistica to live up to its subject, the final unfinished piece in Bach’s Art of Fugue. But if the grandiose title and half-hour scale of the piece have put you off before now, try this lucid and springy new version. Peter Donohoe and Karl Lutchmayer have experience of playing the Fantasia live, which tells to good effect in the coursing pulse and theatrical tension of their dialogue. It helps, too, that the 12 sections are tracked separately, giving listeners without a score a bird’s eye view. There’s nothing cute or miniature about the two Sonatinas, but Donohoe (in No 1) and Lutchmayer (in No 2) underline their Chopin-like potential for…

Alkan’s strange barlines I have done my best to research original editions of Alkan’s piece, Les cloches, which features inside issue 141, in order to understand why the single barlines are placed in such a way. It appears this is how the original score looks, and I can find no explanation as to why Alkan chose to do this. I don’t see any relation to phrasing or articulation – the barlines seem almost random. I’m sure it’s esoteric, so any help would be greatly appreciated. Rob Rennie, Tustin, CA, USA Chenyin Li, who plays the piece on the Pianist album, writes: If a composer were to write the music in a more ‘conventional’ way, they would place the barlines after the two semiquavers that act as upbeats. The first quaver…

Much of what we know to be the Romantic period in music spans the 19th century. More specifically, we tend to focus our sights on the post-Beethoven era – that is, from the tail end of the 1820s onwards. Such points in time are little more than notional lines in the sand, of course; indeed we can easily find repertoire from either side of this period that exhibits Romantic features. But what was it about the piano’s development through the Romantic era that impacted so fruitfully on the music written for it? And what are a few of the key aspects we need to consider when playing Romantic piano music? Celebrate the tenor register The tenor register became what I call the ‘sweet spot’ of the Romantic instrument (from an…

ABILITY RATING INTERMEDIATE Frank Bridge composed his Berceuse in 1901 while he was a student at the Royal Academy of Music. The original version for violin and strings was premiered there in 1902, in which year a version for cello and piano was also published. It remains unclear whether the solo piano version published in 1929 is Bridge’s work (an arrangement for orchestra by Hubert Bath was published in 1929, too) but in any case, this charming piece is effectively written and rewarding to play. A berceuse is a cradle song (the name derives from the French ‘bercer’, to rock). Typically simple, lyrical and gentle, the aim is to lull your listener to sleep. The tempo marking ‘Andante con moto’ literally means ‘going with movement’, so find a tempo that…

LESSON 65: VELOCITY On these pages, Pianist magazine covers the most basic stages of learning through a series of lessons by Hans-Günter Heumann. This issue, Heumann presents us with an exercise by French composer Jean-Baptiste Duvernoy which will help develop velocity. Duvernoy Elementary Study Op 176 No 5 Start out by practising extremely slowly, increasing the speed over time (the use of a metronome will help). Feel the full depth of the keys when practising slowly and use a lighter touch when playing quickly. Pay attention to the phrasing and dynamics. You will need a quick page-turn, so it would ideally be helpful to memorise the study! Hans-Günter Heumann continues his series for beginners in the next issue. To find out more about Heumann, visit www.schott-music.com…

BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE READ MELANIE SPANSWICK’S LESSON ON THIS PIECE Born on a slave ship somewhere in the Atlantic, Ignatius Sancho was sold into slavery in the Spanish colony of New Granada. He found his way to England as a two-year-old orphan, going on to become a butler and then a shopkeeper. As the latter, he enjoyed time to socialise and correspond with his many friends, sharing his enjoyment of literature. There are 62 known compositions by Sancho, which were printed in four collections in London between circa 1767 and 1779. These include volumes of minuets, country dances and songs. In addition, he wrote two plays. A plaque to the memory of Sancho was unveiled on 15 June 2007, by Nick Raynsford, MP for Greenwich, on the remaining wall of Montagu House…

INTERMEDIATE Haydn’s 12 Short Pieces were first published in 1799. This playful No 2, in the key of F major, should be performed at an Allegro speed. Playing tips: Good articulation of the fingers is vital in order to make the piece sparkle. Practise very slowly at first, building speed gradually. We suggest starting your practice at the coda (from approx. bar 34). Why? Because the most technically demanding part of the piece is in the last line of music, where octaves appear in the LH for the very first time (bar 41 in particular, will be challenging, with the quick quaver octaves). Practise the chords slowly, making sure to relax the wrist between each octave. This will avoid a tight wrist. Now let’s turn to the rest of the…

INTERMEDIATE German Romantic composer Adolf von Henselt was a fine pianist, teacher and composer ‘venerated by all’ according to Grove. Much of his career was in Russia, where he influenced the likes of Tchaikovsky and Balakirev. Playing tips: There are two very distinct sections in this catchy polka – these being bars 1-40 (cute, catchy and light) and bars 41-56 (lyrical and legato). In the first section, notice that nearly every single note is to be played staccato; this is most important, as the detached notes will help conjure up the cheeky dance-like character. Make the most of the ends of phrases – for example, allow for a real breathing space (with a little bit of rit., maybe) before the start of bar 9; likewise before the start of bar…

ADVANCED READ LUCY PARHAM’S LESSON ON THIS PIECE Schumann’s Fantasiestücke Op 12 was written in 1837. Containing a total of eight peices, the title was inspired by the 1814-15 collection of novellas, essays, treatises, letters and writings about music, Fantasiestücke in Callots Manier, by one of his favourite authors, E. T. A. Hoffmann. Schumann dedicated the work to Fräulein Anna Robena Laidlaw, an accomplished 18-year-old Scottish pianist with whom the composer had become good friends. The movements within Fantasiestücke contain two contrasting characters, Florestan and Eusebius, which represented the duality of Schumann’s personality. Eusebius depicts the dreamy side of Schumann while Florestan represents his passionate side. These two characters ‘speak’ with one another throughout the collection, ending self-reflectively with Eusebius in No 8, ‘Ende vom Lied’. Read Lucy Parham’s lesson…

Silence is golden, sang the Tremeloes in 1967. It’s a sentiment many people listening to another’s piano practice might agree with. However, pianists might also say that being able to play without consideration for others would actually be preferable as well as enormously liberating. The solution? The silent piano. It sounds like a contradiction but such instruments actually exist and are becoming very popular. By stopping the hammers just short of the strings and instead, as the keys are pressed, hearing the sampled sounds of a grand piano through headphones plugged into the instrument, day or night the ‘silent pianist’ is free to play without disturbing family or neighbours; even in the same room when others are watching television or reading. Another term for such an instrument is ‘hybrid’ piano…

BEST OF EASY PIANO CLASSICS 2 Schott Best of Easy Piano Classics, published by Schott in 2023, contained 50 original piano works selected by Hans-Günter Heumann. Best of Easy Piano Classics 2 contains 50 piano solo arrangements of classical music from a range of sources, presented chronologically from Charpentier to Gershwin. There are a few pieces originally written for the piano, such as Debussy’s ‘Clair de lune’, Mozart’s ‘Rondo alla Turca’ and Beethoven’s ‘Rage Over a Lost Penny’, but the majority of the repertoire has been harvested from chamber and orchestral origins. The pieces are all well-known with plenty of breadth in style, mood, and character to maximise its appeal. Heumann’s arrangements are typically well crafted, and the book is ideal for students ranging from Grades 1 to 5 who…

In Part 1 of this three-part series on preparing a piece for performance, I highlighted the pitfalls of the ‘repeated read-through method’ during the initial practice. We all love to explore repertoire by pulling a piece from our shelves and familiarising ourselves with it by reading it through a few times, perhaps glossing over some of the hard parts and omitting detail. However, if we eventually want to perform the piece, we need to restrict this type of busking to two or three readings before knuckling down to the type of rigorous practice that will pay dividends later. If not, we will soon start to embed sloppy habits that will be hard to fix later. When we delay the instant gratification that comes from the visceral and emotional pleasure of…

Key F minor Tempo Sehr rasch (very fast) Style Romantic Will improve your Speed Leaps & stretches Phrasing Aufschwung (Soaring) was one of the first pieces by Robert Schumann I heard as a child. It made me fall in love with his music. The sweep and passion are prevalent from the opening bars and they draw you into his inner world of fantasy and storytelling from the start. You can feel the spirit and soul soar through every note of this exquisitely crafted work. Aufschwung is the second piece within Fantasiestücke (Fantasy pieces). If you’re unfamiliar with the whole set, which comprises eight pieces, it is definitely worth taking the time to explore this great work. All sides of Schumann’s personality can be found here, from the tender opening piece…

BEGINNER Notes from the composer: On Top Of The World feels a suitable sentiment for this time of year, when we strive to be positive and in a happy place ready for what lies ahead. In the jubilant key of D major, this piece is slightly unusual in that it contains unequal phrases: the first phrase consists of seven bars, the second phrase of four bars, and the final phrase consists of six bars. It’s worth considering this before practising begins, also bearing in mind the upbeats to the phrases. Playing tips: Start out with the LH. Formed of three-note chords which stay in the same position throughout, be aware of the note changes within these chords. Learn the three slightly different note patterns and finger positions, swiftly moving between…

BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE Unlike his contemporary JS Bach, Johann Kuhnau never received glowing fame after his death. It is interesting to note, however, that during his lifetime he was much revered: he inspired Bach in his choice of the title Clavier-Übung for four keyboard publications; he collaborated with Bach in the examination of an organ at Halle in 1716, and he preceded Bach as cantor of the Thomaskirche, Leipzig, in 1723. No wonder, then, that this calm piece is reminiscent of a Bach prelude. Playing tips: Start our calmly and quietly, making sure that the two-note chords of the LH are the solid meter. The RH notes should be even, but you can make a slight emphasis on the top note. Pay attention to the dynamics; this is a long prelude and…

INTERMEDIATE READ MATTHEW MILLS’ LESSON ON THIS PIECE This dreamy Berceuse, written in 1901 while the young British composer Frank Bridge was a student at the Royal Acaadey of Music, is a real gem. You will be able to read more interesting information about the work’s background in Matthew Mills’ lesson. In the meantime, we suggest mapping out the two distinct sections, A and B, marking where they begin on the score. The emotional peak appears at bars 75-76 (roughly three quarters of the way through), so target this purposefully. Savour the tenor LH tune two bars later (at the start of the coda), and exploit all opportunities for shape, ebb and flow. The ending is just magical! Read Matthew Mills’s lesson on the Berceuse.…

INTERMEDIATE WATCH CHENYIN LI PLAY THIS PIECE AT WWW.PIANISTMAGAZINE.COM Grieg’s romantic Lyric Pieces are enjoyed by pianists far and wide, and many have appeared inside Pianist. The 66 short works were published in ten volumes; ‘Once Upon a Time’ is the first piece from the final volume. Playing tips: The opening is full of longing; good phrasing and a singing tone are a given. Make sure, also, to observe the dynamics and tempo markings. This whole section (first page) is telling us the story. The middle section, starting at bar 18, is in the style of a ‘Norwegian spring dance’. The drone of the repeated LH fifths certainly conjurs up a peasant-like feel. The LH has many quick leaps (especially from bar 64); make sure the hand is poised firmly…

In Schumann’s piano oeuvre, we immediately see how inspiration came to him away from music. His art thrives on external influences, and it is our duty as teachers to guide and inspire our pupils towards the love of literature, the Carnival and Commedia dell’arte characters that so strongly stimulated Schumann towards composition. Schumann’s music mixes extreme contrasts with extraordinary imagination. His obsession with the writings of ETA Hoffmann and all of that author’s bizarre, vivid characters is reflected through the utmost contrasts we can immediately hear in virtually every collection of piano pieces Schumann wrote. Sound out The Tales of Hoffmann. Share a laugh or two over that strange highly opinionated tomcat Murr! In a broader sense, pupils should immediately be conscious of the way Schumann separated his music into…