Innehållsförteckning för 112 från Pianist

 What better place to start than with ‘A’ for Sir András Schiff. He has several Beethoven-themed performances scheduled throughout 2020, starting out with an all-sonata recital programme (including the ‘Moonlight’) at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall on 29 March. If you’ve already got plans that night, don’t worry, he appears at the same venue two days later on 31 March – with a different assortment of sonatas (the ‘Les Adieux’ included). Schiff takes that second programme over to New York for a performance at Carnegie Hall on 2 April. He returns to London in late May to complete his cycle of the Beethoven piano concertos at the Barbican, with conductor Iván Fisher and the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Schiff began the cycle – together with said orchestra and conductor – in November 2019,…

Early – middle – late. Beethoven didn’t wake up one morning and think: ‘Now I must start composing my late works’, but thanks to his friend Anton Schindler and others, the notion was born that we could divide his music into three useful categories. Most of us begin in the middle, with the Fifth Symphony, the ‘Emperor’ Concerto, the ‘Appassionata’. These are the battleground pieces where the myth of Beethoven has taken firmest hold of historical imagination. It takes a certain, cussed, maybe even Beethovenian intellect to begin instead at the end. That’s what Igor Levit did. ‘The first really significant introduction to his music took place when I was 13, and I listened to John Eliot Gardiner’s early recording of the Missa solemnis. Shortly afterwards I heard Herbert Blomstedt…

The subject of whether we should practise exercises at all is polemic, with some teachers dead against it and others insisting on plenty of Hanon, Pischna, Joseffy, Dohnányi, Philippe and so on. I follow a middle path and have found that a balanced, varied yet spartan diet of such purely technical work can serve two main purposes: firstly, to help build and maintain aspects of technique; secondly, to warm us up thoroughly at the beginning of a practice session and to keep us in good pianistic shape. If done correctly, exercises help to prevent injury rather than cause it. It is important to keep this sort of practice in perspective, however. Those who believe technique can be built solely from such abstract, mechanical exercises would do well to mark the…

Key: D minor Tempo: Largo e mesto Style: Classical Will improve your: ✓ Sense of line ✓ Balance between the hands ✓ Drama This Sonata is one of the major piano works from Beethoven’s early period. It is the final of his Opus 10 set, and for me, this movement is one of the deepest and most profound of all his slow movements. Beethoven writes Largo e mesto at the start. Very slowly and mournful. The 6/8 time signature is a big clue when interpreting this piece; six even quavers, rather than two triplet figures, indicate the solemnity – as well as helping to judge the tempo of the opening RH notation. Try to think of one long bow, as if you were a violinist, imagining these six separate notes…

This elegant, and rather well-known dance, is taken from a collection of six minuets originally written for orchestra and published in Vienna in 1796. The ‘WoO’ stands for ‘Werke ohne Opuszahl’ – works without an Opus number, which were catalogued by Georg Kinsky in 1955. A strong rhythm quality is essential throughout this piece, especially in the RH pattern of dotted quavers/semiquavers, usually in either thirds or sixths. The fingering, supplied by Melanie Spanswick, should work well. Aim to make a nice contrast in the Trio section (starting at bar 17), where the mood is calmer and the sound softer. Read Melanie Spanswick’s step-by-step lesson on page 20.…

Born in Hungary, this well-travelled and well-connected pedagogue and composer met Beethoven and Schubert early in life. At the age of 9, he had already performed Dussek’s Concerto for Two Pianos with his teacher, F Brauer. He settled in Paris for the last 25 years of his life. Playing tips: It might be an odd thing to hear, but the rests play a very important role in this tender piece. Take a glance at all the semiquaver rests that feature throughout and you will see that they act as a kind of ‘breath’ between the short phrases. Make sure that one can ‘hear’ them by raising both hands off the keys at the same time. The staccatos should be taken in context – that is, never too sharp or abrupt.…

The Swedish composer and critic Peterson-Berger is best known for three albums of national romantic piano pieces entitled Frösöblomster I, II and III (Flowers of Frösö). They include the popular ‘Vid Frösö kyrka’ (Going to Frösö Church) which appeared in our Scandinavian-themed issue 102. Playing tips: This evocative piece, in ABA form, carries a chorale-like feeling throughout. Even if some of the LH melody notes appear close to the RH, we suggest always playing them with the LH. This may mean you won’t be able to hold some of the notes for their full length, due to the purpose of coordinating with the nearby RH. Marked Lento, try to keep things moving, or things will become too static. When the RH melody enters at bar 8, it should be like…

DON’T MISS LUCY PARHAM’S LESSON ONTHIS PIECE PAGE Beethoven composed this four-movement Sonata in 1798, the same year that he revised and premiered his Second Piano Concerto. He dedicated the Sonata to Countess Anne Margarete von Browne, who was probably one of his pupils. Even if composed during his first, early period (which extends to around 1802) this Sonata No 7 – which is the final of his Opus 10 set – is a monumental work. This soul-searching second movement, marked Largo e mesto, is written in the key of D minor and – as Lucy Parham says at the start of her article on page 24 – is one of the most profound of all his piano sonata slow movements. Read Lucy Parham’s step-by-step lesson on page 24.…

Stein (1786): When living in Bonn, Beethoven visited the Stein workshop in Augsburg and got to know the instruments thoroughly. The sound was light and very clear, but the touch was like a harpsichord’s. Striking the key harder did not increase the volume. [Picture No 1] Walter (1795): Following his arrival in Vienna in 1792, Beethoven was quickly attracted to the pianos of Anton Walter. The firm’s Prellmechanik action prevented the hammers bouncing back, while the instrument’s larger soundboard and bridge created a richer, more brilliant sound. [2] Erard (1803): Although many of the Viennese piano manufacturers were eager to deliver an instrument to Beethoven, the young virtuoso decided to buy himself an Erard. The keyboard spanned five-and-a-half octaves, had three-way stringing, a split bridge for the bass and four…

BEST OF BEETHOVEN Hans-Günter Heumann Schott ISMN: 979-0-001-20887-1 Included in this volume are 30 of Beethoven’s most famous pieces for piano. The first half of the book contains 20 piano solos ranging from short dances around Grade 3 to more substantive works around Grade 8 such as ‘Rage Over a Lost Penny’. The remaining ten items are Heumann’s own arrangements for the higher grades of a selection of Beethoven’s most popular works, such as the Fifth Symphony, Third and Fifth Piano Concertos, and the ‘Spring’ Violin Sonata. Although the engraving isn’t best of class, and some of the music could have been printed more spaciously, the quantity of material and breadth of its difficulty will hold broad appeal. BEETHOVEN AROUND THE WORLD Jean Kleeb Bärenreiter ISMN: 979-0-006-56611-2 Jean Kleeb has…

There is a decidedly uncertain attribution to Beethoven of both this F major Sonatina and a companion work in G major but they may date from his teenage years in Bonn, around 1785. His talents had been noted in a newspaper article two years earlier, placed there by his teacher Christian Gottlob Neefe: ‘Louis van Beethoven⅒ a boy of 11 years [sic] and of most promising talent. He plays the piano very skilfully and with power, reads at sight very well, and I need say no more than that the chief piece he plays is Das wohltemperirte Clavier of Sebastian Bach⅒ He would surely become a second Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart if he were to continue as he has begun.’ Playing tips: This catchy Rondo should be full of vitality and…

While most festivals take place during the summer months, the inaugural Hastings International Piano Festival kicks off towards the end of February, and will feature top classical pianists, singers, songwriters, dance groups and more. The first concert on the classical end of the spectrum is the Classical Gala Concert (29 Feb) at the White Rock Theatre, with Martin James Bartlett (pictured, second from left) and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Bartlett will play Ravel’s Concerto in G and is joined by winner of the 2019 Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition, Fumiya Koido (Rachmaninov Concerto No 2) and Prizewinner Sylvia Jiang (Liszt Concerto No 2). Pianist contributor and concert pianist Lucy Parham appears at the same venue on 1 March. She is joined by actors Patricia Hodge (pictured, second from right) and…

Beethoven’s piano style evolved remarkably during his 56 years. A great deal has been written about the three periods of his life – a categorisation that has been widely accepted by scholars since the 1850s. The first of these periods, extending to 1802, was greatly influenced by Haydn, with whom Beethoven learned in Vienna, which spawned the first two piano concertos and his initial wave of sonatas, including the ‘Pathétique’. Beethoven’s move from Bonn proved a turning point during this early period – a newfound grandeur was now evident, reflecting the composer’s more ambitious view of the orchestra and keyboard. From the ‘heroic’ middle period, lasting just a decade (1802-1812), the ‘Moonlight’ Sonata is a prime example, but so are the ‘Appassionata’ and ‘Waldstein’ Sonatas. The late period, some 15…

Key: G major Tempo: Moderato Style: Classic Will improve your: ✓ Dotted rhythm ✓ Evenness ✓ Double-note playing This popular little piece exudes Beethovenian charm. Make sure not to play it too fast; crotchet equals 105 beats per minute will allow for the necessary elegance. The pulse should remain the same throughout, too, with the Trio offering a distinctly contrasting texture to that of the opening. I suggest practising hands separately until confident. Let’s begin with the LH, which forms the accompaniment. The opening eight-bar phrase consists entirely of crotchet beats. Aim to play them all with a slightly non legato touch. To achieve this, after playing a note, lift your finger off the key at the last possible millisecond, just before sounding the subsequent note, creating a fairly long…

On these pages, Pianist covers the most basic stages of learning the piano through a series of lessons by Hans-Günter Heumann. In this issue Scale we cover: Syncopation studies (Heumann), Preparatory School Op 101 No 94 (Ferdinand Beyer) – a perfect exercise piece for syncopation – and a warm-up exercise on the last page. More advanced readers can use all of them as sight-reading examples. Syncopation studies…

Being a Beethoven-themed issue, Pianist asked contributor Hans-Günter Heumann to come up with a simplified arrangement of a Beethoven classic. So here we have it, with this ‘Turkish March’ theme, first used in Beethoven’s Six Variations on an Original Theme Op 7 and also featured in the fourth movement to his incidental music The Ruins of Athens. The catchy tune proved to be popular: Liszt wrote a piano transcription, Anton Rubinstein also arranged a popular version, and Rachmaninov further arranged Rubinstein’s arrangement to come up with a version of his own! Needless to say, Heumann’s is by far the easiest. Look closely at the technical tips within the score.…

Beethoven composed his Sonata Op 22 in 1800, and he regarded it as the best of his early sonatas. It comprises four movements, of which this is the third. Composed in minuet and trio form, the trio (marked Minore) is in G minor, the relative minor of the Sonata’s key signature. Playing tips: The movement starts out in a calm fashion, but in true Beethoven style, it doesn’t take too long for the storminess and strong contrasts to set in: notice how the bar 10 fortissimo chords ‘answer’ the previous bar’s oscillating piano semiquavers. The opening melody returns at bar 17. The contrasting Minore trio section appears at bar 31 and is full of gruffness. The LH semiquaver runs should be bold and wellarticulated. Make sure, too, to adhere to…

Evocación serves as a prelude to the suite Iberia (composed 1905-1909) – a collection of 12 piano pieces depicting the colourful and vibrant sounds from Spain. Albéniz lived most of his adult life away from his homeland and this piece is a nostalgic haze of memories that recall Spain. Playing tips: With the exception of the brief central climax, most of Evocación is surrounded in delicate textures and sonorities, and there is an over-abundance of quiet dynamic markings culminating in a ppppp on the last page. Reserve your quietest and most intimate playing for the Coda and have a healthy dose of cantabile in the opening of the piece, making sure that the melody is reminiscent of the ‘Cante Jondo’ style of flamenco singing. Managing textures is one of the…

If Beethoven had taken an elixir of immortality he would have been 250 this year. In order to celebrate his quarter-millennium, three of the greatest current Beethovenians have organised some wild and wonderful keyboard plans for the coming months – and the sonatas, of course, are at the heart of them. The most intriguing of these projects is called Beethoven 32. It’s the brainchild of Israeli pianist Boris Giltburg, who will be filming performances of all 32 sonatas (despite only having nine of them in his repertoire) and blogging about it over the course of the whole year. That’s twenty-three sonatas to learn from scratch, and performances at the rate of one every ten to 14 days. It’s certainly a risky high-wire act, though my money is on him producing…

What did Beethoven ever do for us? Aside from leaving the world some of its greatest music and influencing future generations through his themes of freedom and personal expression, he also gave us better pianos. You could argue that the invention of the iron frame in 1825 (two years before the composer’s death), the arrival of steel wire in place of iron for the strings in 1834 and Henry Steinway’s patenting of overstringing in his grand pianos in 1859 did more for the instrument. But without Beethoven, these technologies would have been applied to pianos that were not as well developed. We think of our time as the age of the influencer; those people who, through social media platforms such as Instagram, promote products and ideas to their trusting audience.…

OUR VERDICT What is Dorico? If you are an avid piano composer or arranger, there’s a high chance you have already come across Sibelius or Finale software. Dorico, however, is a piece of software you may not have encountered. We review the latest version. Note input made simple Dorico has a note inputting system that makes for a much more efficient notation experience. Unlike Sibelius, you can input all of your notes using just your computer keyboard. Warning: It does take a little bit of practice to get used to it! Prefer to play in the notes yourself? No problem If learning the keyboard shortcuts doesn’t appeal to you, don’t worry. You can simply play in the notes if you have a piano or keyboard with a MIDI input. Dorico…

Playing tips: Don’t be put off by the Presto tempo. As you work on it, you’ll find this movment is a great lesson in so many things – and if you practise it carefully, building up the tempo ever so slowly, you will reach a lively tempo in no time. Look at the LH and RH parts as totally separate units: the LH has its own plan of action (dotted bass quavers and lots of Alberti bass) and the RH another plan (arpeggios galore and melody). Your arpeggios will improve no end…

Menuetto from Sonata Op 22 (p42): This movement needs elegance, so resist scurrying away in the ‘wobbling’ semiquaver passages, such as at bar 8. The Minore section has a busy LH line that will certainly warrant a patient approach to fingerings, so that it sounds smoothly contoured and bump free. The off-beat RH sf chords easily sound ugly, rather than emphatic. Overall, target the music’s light-hearted mood and at the Da Capo, find something new to say. First movement from Sonatina in F (p45): This opening movement needs a bright pacing and even dispatch. Subdue the LH accompaniment so that it gently nudges the music forward. The development section from bar 19 is where you can contrast the dynamics with confidence. Elsewhere, look for chances to be almost Mozartian in…

Key: F major Tempo: Allegro assai Style: Classical Will improve your: ✓Coordination ✓Differentiation of touch ✓Pedalling There are countless reasons why Beethoven’s writing is so remarkable. One of them is arguably the connection between distinct rhythmic patterns and their underlying harmonic structure, so much so that many of Beethoven’s best works have unforgettable melodic lines. The first movement of the Sonatina in F is no exception. What is seemingly a rather simple chord sequence becomes a bit of an earworm in Beethoven’s hands. This movement is perfectly accessible for Grade 3-4 pianists. It is often used as entry-level Beethoven, yet there is plenty that surprises. For example, one of my favourite moments is the beginning of bar 27, which links rhythmically to an idea first set out in bar 21,…

German composer Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler (known for short as Louis Köhler) received a thorough musical education at the hands of legendary Viennese pedagogues Simon Sechter and Ignaz von Seyfried. He became a teacher himself and had talented students – one of them being the composer Adolf Jensen, whose gorgeously romantic Lied Op 33 was published inside issue 80. Another of Köhler’s Easiest Practice Pieces featured recently, inside Pianist issue 106. Look closely at the technical tips within the score.…

An Ecossaise is a type of Scottish dance in 2/4 time – even if the actual origin is French (as in ‘écossaise’). Ecossaise compositions were usually written for solo piano, with couples dancing together, facing each other. The form was adopted by Beethoven (as we see here, with these Six Ecossaises, published in 1807), Schubert and Chopin. Playing tips: What a wonderful set of short dances this is. It’s full of rhythmic drive and will need great clarity and good finger articulation. Even if marked Vivace, we urge players to start out slowly, increasing the tempo gradually. Take note of all the accents and phrase markings, as these will give the dances their spirit. Listen to Chenyin Li’s mesmerising performance and hear how she creates variety from one dance to…

DON’T MISS NILS FRANKE’S LESSON ONTHIS PIECE PAGE 22 There is a decidedly uncertain attribution to Beethoven of both this F major Sonatina and the companion work in G major, but they may date from his teenage years in Bonn, around 1785. His talents had been noted in a newspaper article two years earlier, placed there by his teacher Christian Gottlob Neefe: ‘Louis van Beethoven⅒ a boy of 11 years [sic] and of most promising talent. He plays the piano very skilfully and with power, reads at sight very well, and I need say no more than that the chief piece he plays is Das wohltemperierte Klavier of Sebastian Bach⅒ He would surely become a second Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart if he were to continue as he has begun.’ The Sonatina…

Written in 1824, after the late piano sonatas (to which they bear some resemblance), the six Bagatelles Op 126 were Beethoven’s last works for the keyboard. As he wrote to his publisher, Schott, he was pleased with the six ‘little things’. Playing tips: The first and final six bars act as a ferocious introduction and finale to an otherwise calm and melodic work. These bars are surely the hardest, technically-speaking, and should be practised slowly, bulding up the tempo gradually until you reach the required presto speed. Make sure the notes are even and well-articulated. The middle section, the core of the piece, requires a steady bass line over which the RH produces a tender cantabile singing line. The indication Andante amabile at the start of this section means ‘at…

The Cobbe collection of keyboard instruments at Hatchlands Park, near Guildford, Surrey, includes a grand piano made by Conrad Graf, a Vienna-based manufacturer, in around 1820. It would have been very like the piano the company lent to Beethoven in 1825. It is one of the few surviving examples of a quadruple-strung Graf (most pianos of the time had a maximum of three strings per key) designed to provide a fuller tone and appeal to the composer. However, despite its additional strings, to modern ears it is rather quiet and ‘thin’ sounding. This is noticeable in its treble register, where the strings are extremely short, dry and woody. The action is extremely light and difficult to control. Nevertheless, playing it provides an insight into the new freedoms Beethoven enjoyed: the…

EDITOR’s CHOICE BORIS GILTBURG Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 2; Rondo, WoO 6 Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/Vasily Petrenko Naxos 8.574151 As the Beethoven anniversary season gets underway, Boris Giltburg fires a shot across the bows of his colleagues with a dazzling and ear-opening account of the composer’s first two piano concertos (the others will follow in coming months). His trademark clarity of articulation is fully in place, as is his directness and unsentimentality – no schmaltzy rubatos here, no sir – but he also invests the music with irresistible energy, focus and momentum. In the First Concerto (composed later than the Second) the rising grace notes of the piano’s first entry sweep upwards with a bullish tension which is masterfully relaxed in the following downward arpeggio; the acciaccaturas of the third…