Innehållsförteckning för 123 från Pianist

Winter is always a time for taking stock and looking back over the year. Twelve months ago most of us were isolated by lockdown. Our cover artist Hiromi shared the sense of loneliness felt by many of us. As a jazz pianist who thrives on live music-making, she found that the pandemic had threatened both her career and her creative identity. But she learnt from the experience, emerging with a new album, Silver Lining Suite, which traces her story, through music, of life in temporary solitude. We can all relate to Hiromi’s situation in our own ways. At Pianist, we were pleased to discover how much readers looked to us for support. So many correspondents told us how the magazine had become a lifeline and how the Scores had motivated…

1 Punctuate your learning of new pieces with brief score-study sessions, to grasp how the music fits together structurally and help root out basic errors/misconceptions. 2 Systematic repetition is valuable, but often best done in short-ish passages to avoid fatigue or staleness. 3 Experiment regularly with different speeds – some suited to methodical spadework, others better suited to ‘performance mode’. 4 Avoid getting into a rut by trying out new approaches when learning new pieces – e.g. tackling certain chunks out of sequence, practising straight rhythms as dotted, or memorising short extracts. 5 Aim always to keep technical work a musically rewarding, enjoyable experience.…

Key A flat major Tempo Adagio cantabile Style Classical Will improve your ✓Voicing ✓Ornamentation ✓Discipline (with ornaments!) Any suggestions from Beethoven’s students? Actually, yes. Ferdinand Ries claimed in 1803 in relation to Op 13 that ‘the precision he [Beethoven] demanded is hard to believe’ and Carl Czerny advised that ‘we see from the fingering that the inner accompaniment is to be played by the right hand, without exception. The whole legato, and the melody clearly brought out. The succeeding four-part repetition of the theme, very harmonious, legatissimo, and a little louder. At the return of the theme, in the second part, the triplets very intelligible, as follows (the whole not dragging or spun out).’ Czerny also recommended a tempo of quaver equals 54 bpm, whereas Ignaz Moscheles, who prepared the…

Rather than include playing tips within the score, Mark Tanner offers his own tips here: This arrangement is dedicated to Margaret Murray McLeod, who sadly passed away in September. She was such a dear friend and colleague as well as a very fine pianist, teacher and composer. This arrangement has one or two unexpected chords, but the tune itself is just as you’d expect to find it. The upbeats to each phrase are important moments – do savour these – and let the tune ring out with all the shape, colour and radiance of your Christmas tree.…

This stately Sarabande is the third movement from Handel’s four movement Suite in G minor. The composer was known to have written about 22 keyboard suites in total and they would have been played on the harpsichord. Playing tips: The trills can either be taken from the note (as in bar 1) or from the note above (as in bar 6). Experiment and then go with what you think makes the most musical sense. The score lacks dynamic markings for a reason: it is up to the performer to decide. Maintain a steady tempo and phrase as if you were singing the melody. Even if the pedalling helps in terms of keeping a smooth melodic line, where possible try to join the notes with the fingers. Pedal tips: We suggest…

DON’T MISS NILS FRANKE’S LESSON ONTHIS PIECE Heralding the Romantic era, Beethoven’s Sonata No 8, written in 1798, is one of his most popular. Unlike most of the nicknames given to Beethoven’s works, ‘Pathétique’ is believed to have been picked by the composer himself to convey its romantic and sometimes tragic mood. Each movement conveys a different feeling: the first starts out dark and dramatic, the second is full of romance and longing, and the third is a tempestuous rondo. The outer movements require an advanced technique, but this intensely lyrical interlude – which takes the form of a song in several distinct sections – is the perfect piece for the intermediate level pianist to learn. Read Nils Franke’s lesson on this piece.…

In the festive season, it seems fitting to include one of the movements from Liszt’s Christmas Tree (Weihnachtsbaum) suite. This one, the evocative No 9, is editor Erica Worth’s favourite. It is pure magic and confirms the genius of Liszt. The suite exists in versions for solo piano and piano four-hands. Playing tips: It is hard to put into words how to go about learning this piece because it’s really all about colour and sonority (think of the sounds of different bells). Phrasing and voicing are all key factors too, of course, let alone the pedal, which you should continually experiment with. One thing that we do suggest is to start at the end. That is, to start learning from the last section at bar 99/100, the glorious climax. Don’t be…

Each week on Radio 3’s In Tune, Katie Derham interviews top performers live on air. She has huge respect for their ability to chat lightly one moment and play seriously the next. ‘I take my hat off to them,’ she says. ‘I’m so lucky to meet lots of great musicians and not just pure classical ones but more versatile ones, too, such as the cellist Matthew Barley. I did all the grades but I’d like to be able to make music spontaneously, like Matthew.’ Derham describes the violin as her first love but in fact her first instrument was the piano. ‘It was my first but, and I better whisper this for a piano magazine, the violin is more sociable. I started it aged five because I wanted to catch…

EMAIL: editor@pianistmagazine.com WRITE TO: The Editor, Pianist, Warners Group Publications, The Maltings, West St, Bourne, PE10 9PH. Letters may be edited. Left hand discoveries I was amazed when I opened issue 122 to find so much relating to left hand playing. About a month ago I injured my right hand and had carpal tunnel surgery a few days ago. Recovering from this surgery will take some time, so you can imagine my elation reading the articles in issue 122. Indeed, it is correct to say that every cloud has a silver lining and Pianist magazine is mine. Issue 122 has opened up a new world to me. Thank you! Peter A Jones, New South Wales Small hands, big Rachmaninov I am grateful to Lucy Parham’s lesson on Rachmaninov’s Prelude Op…

If you could play only one piece from now on, what would it be? A big orchestral piece with an open piano cadenza so that I can play whatever I want. If you could play only one composer from now on, which would it be? I’m too greedy: I can’t choose one. One pianist, dead or alive, you’d travel long and far to hear? Erroll Garner. One concert hall you’d love to play in? La Scala, Milan. (I love the recording by Keith Jarrett.) Any technical struggles? I have small hands – I can’t reach a tenth, so it’s extra effort for ragtime, stride… and Liszt. What would be your advice to an amateur pianist about how to improve? Apart from practice, listen to amazing pianists, especially live. If you…

The Holly and the Ivy Perfect the tune first, rendering it as legato and contoured as you can. Then begin threading in the harmonies, keeping an eye (and ear) out for an occasional quirky chord (e.g. bar 6 and 14) as well as the jazz-infused final line (16-18) where a Phrygian cadence adds an unexpected colour. An occasional touch of pedal could also ease the musical flow. Beethoven ‘Pathétique’ slow movement Tune is king! At each melodic variant, especially when positioned in the delicious tenor register, as at the beginning, ensure from day one that all chords are thoughtfully and expressively voiced. Use stronger fingers for this where possible rather than defaulting to the fifth finger. You could learn the harmonies as block chords, thus minimising unnecessary hand movements as…

Pianist 123 • Read the lessons • Play the scores 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 NILS FRANKE is Dean of Higher Education at the University Centre Colchester, UK, having previously held posts at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and the University of Reading. He has recorded for Warner and Brilliant Classics. Nils specialises in historical performance…

Key D flat major Tempo Valse Style Late Romantic Will improve your ✓Sense of rhythm ✓LH independence ✓Finger agility Saint-Saëns composed this charming Valse nonchalante in 1898. At that time, Paris was the home of a thriving arts scene, and the city had celebrated the opening of the famous Moulin Rouge just a few years earlier. Saint-Saëns was himself an excellent pianist. Amongst his numerous compositions he wrote several waltzes. This one appeared to be a particular favourite, however, as he orchestrated it for a ballet score in 1913. The piece is reminiscent of Chopin and has a lovely Parisian salon feel to it. Seductive and supple, it smiles from start to finish, albeit with a sense of charm dusted with pathos. As this waltz is generally light and dexterous,…

Composer’s playing tips: Rose Tinted is a wistful, slightly melancholic piece which provides an opportunity to play expressively using plenty of dynamic colour. I’ve written some dynamic markings into the score, but you are also free to add your own. Aim to practise each bar as a chord – this way you will be able to locate notes and fingerings that much quicker. When playing the quaver patterns as written, be sure to use a very smooth legato touch, and take note of the tenuto markings. The sustain pedal will add a lovely resonance throughout each bar.…

James Welburn’s playing tips: Get creative with your C major scales (practise ascending/descending, dotted rhythms, triplets) – this piece is practically one big improvisation of the C major scale with a few embellishments, so knowing your way around the keys is a great starting point. Keep your touch light throughout, particularly on the staccato notes, which will help to give shape and definition to some of the quicker passages (e.g. bar 22). To bring out the LH octaves in bars 51-55, move seamlessly from light and bouncy to heavy and accented, reaching a powerful climax at the forte marking and finishing with a bang! (Fingerings have been added by Pianist.) This arrangement of Ding Dong Merrily on High, from composer James Welburn (www.jameswelburn.com), features in his latest book, Star of…

Dedicated to Schumann’s young daughters, and evidently meant for their small hands to play at the keyboard, Album for the Young Op 68 dates from 1848. Though meant for beginners, it presents challenges for pianists of all levels and ages, not least in keeping a simple and clear style. Winterime I (No 38) featured inside 2019’s December issue (No 111). Playing tips: Listen to the creeping bass-octave writing at the start and you can feel the dark chill of winter. Keep the dynamics quiet and use your best legato – the fingers should ‘crawl’ over the keys. A more passionate and spirited section in the key of G minor appears at bar 25 – make sure to bring out the sharp contrast of dynamics from bar 33. The opening returns briefly…

DON’T MISS LUCY PARHAM’S LESSON ONTHIS PIECE French composer Saint-Saëns enjoyed writing waltzes for the piano from a young age, though only seven of them were actually published. The Valse nonchalante, published by Durand in September 1898, was premiered by its composer at the Teatro Janeiro on 18 June 1899. He orchestrated the piece a few years later for the ballerina Stacia Napierkowska, of Polish descent but born in Paris, whom he was said to have found utterly charming.  Read Lucy Parham’s in-depth lesson on this piece.…

The actor, who has appeared in everything from Shakespeare at Stratford to Netflix’s The Crown – in which he played Margaret Thatcher’s husband, Denis – is curious about why he gets more nervous playing the piano than playing characters. ‘I’ve reached the conclusion that with acting you can move around and mitigate the tension. We actors can get away with murder and gloss over our shortcomings and mis-remembered lines – but precision in music is vital. Music is also very subjective. There’s more of a gold standard for people to compare musicians by. In this respect, interpretation in music is paramount. The scope for interpretation on the stage is much greater but people have expectations regarding music.’ This will be Boxer’s third Celebrity Gala. ‘They’re interesting,’ he says enigmatically. During…

Learning to play should be accessible to all, and for some the cost and practicalities of a full-sized digital or acoustic piano are challenging. This is where a product such as the Casiotone CT-S1 fits in, offering a compact and portable instrument on which new players can learn some of the basics, and players with an interest in composition can develop their musical creativity. It is also a good potential tool for players of other instruments who are studying harmony at A Level or as part of a degree. The CT-S1 (pictured, above) offers more piano-focused qualities than you might expect, and it steers clear of the distracting features of electronic keyboards such as Casio’s own CTK-series. The CT-S1 is relatively affordable at £255 (RRP), looks attractive, and feels well-constructed…

COUPERIN Les Baricades Mistérieuses CPE BACH Solfeggio Edition Peters ISMN: 979-0-014-13683-3 (Couperin); -13682-6 (Bach) The enigmatically titled ‘Les Baricades Mistérieuses’ was published around 1717 as part of Couperin’s Second livre de pièces de clavecin. It is a four-page piece in rondo form, around Grade 7, with three couplets inserted between four appearances of the eight-bar refrain. Featuring syncopated harmonies that create a mesmerising effect, this single edition from Edition Peters benefits from clear and spacious presentation and is printed without fingering suggestions. Bach’s Solfeggio is a popular two-page piece that has been set on exam syllabuses at Grade 6. It is an excellent piece to develop a student’s precise coordination and evenness between the hands, and its inviting semiquaver passagework and prestissimo indication often leads youngsters to test the limits…

Leeds Town Hall is packed. Waiting for the results of the jury’s deliberations, the audience is on tenterhooks. Finally, jury chair Dame Imogen Cooper and her colleagues take to the stage. As she announces the results, the odds of 23-year-old Alim Beisembayev taking First Prize at the 2021 Leeds International Piano Competition narrow, and I can feel the tension rising. And, yes – he has won. A roar of applause – almost relief, really – erupts through the hall. Smiling, and frankly a touch dazed, Beisembayev clutches his trophy and takes in the acclaim. The Kazakh pianist isn’t exactly an unknown quantity or a bolt from the blue. I’ve seen him play in London and Beijing: how he didn’t make it through to the finals of the 2019 China International…

The challenge of learning new music keeps us feeling inspired and motivated. Done efficiently, the pleasure and satisfaction gained far outweighs any patches of frustration we may face along the way. Learning how we learn best is crucial. It’s not unusual to sense that our fingers or brains are coping less well with one or more aspects. As an examiner and adjudicator, I frequently witness a misalignment of skills – players whose rhythmic or coordination control appears to be a couple of stages behind (or indeed ahead of) their current expressive capacities perhaps, or whose nimbleness conspicuously outstrips their present ability to phrase effectively. Such unevenness is to an extent inevitable for all of us of course, though with patience we can discover for ourselves ways of smoothing out the…

One of the first tasks we face when learning a new piece is to organise a fingering that suits our individual hand size and shape. We carefully select fingering to help us recreate the piece with the sounds, phrasing and touches the music requires with the maximum of ease and comfort. It’s important to take time over this stage, experimenting with different possibilities over the course of a few days until the right fingering comes. This painstaking process is made more challenging if the piece is fast. We need to find a way of getting the feel of the fingering at performance tempo even if we can’t manage it skilfully yet, because a fingering that seems fine at a slower tempo might not work so well at full speed. Try…

Key G major Tempo Andantino Style Late Romantic Will improve your ✓Cantabile ✓Phrasing and shaping ✓Legato This delightful miniature was written by French Romantic composer Hedwige Chrétien. The second of her Six Petits préludes récréatifs, I found it when searching for works by female composers. The piece evokes a lullaby, as the title (‘baby falls asleep’) suggests. The lilting character of the music works well at a pace of crotchet equals 80. Aim for a steady four beats per bar: it is a lullaby, but the pulse should ideally be firmly kept. The LH provides the accompaniment. The whole piece consists of two-note semibreve chords – usually one per bar. Be sure to take note of fingerings; notice how the LH stays in exactly the same hand position throughout, with the…

On these pages, Pianist covers the most basic stages of learning the piano through a series of lessons by Hans-Günter Heumann. This lesson features two Czerny exercises for trills. Czerny Study Op 139 No 2 This sweet, melodic study is a good entry-level piece for learning how to play trills. It’s a great workout for the fingers, too, as a warm-up. Start off slowly and try to play as evenly as you can, with equal weight given to all the trill notes. Czerny Study Op 599 No 65 Another attractive study for trills. Tip: When you play the trills with the ‘weaker’ fingers (such as in bar 4 and 5 where you use the fingers 3, 4 and 5), remember to keep the thumb lowered and relaxed, and as close to…

DON’T MISS MELANIE SPANSWICK’S LESSON ONTHIS PIECE Hedwige Chrétien was born in Compiègne, in France. She was appointed professor at the Paris Conservatoire in 1889, where she had previously been a student under the tutelage of Ernest Guiraud. Chrétien was a prolific composer; her compositions, about 150 in all, consist of pieces for piano, orchestral and chamber works, songs, two ballets and two one-act operas. This sweet lullaby (‘baby goes to sleep’) is No 2 from her Six Petits préludes récréatifs. Read Melanie Spanswick’s lesson on this piece.…

A neurological illness ended the virtuoso piano career of Moritz Moszkowski, but it didn’t stop him from composing many works for the piano, including his set of four Moments Musicaux Op 84. This whimsical piece, in the key of F major, is the second from the set. Playing tips: As the pulse of the piece, the LH should convey rhythmic stability from the outset (silently counting the quavers within the dotted-minim chords will help). The RH enters with a carefree, improvisatory-style melody; it seems to float upwards (with a crescendo) and then downwards (with a decrescendo), so try to feel the ebb and flow. The LH comes to the fore at bar 27 where it joins in as part of the melody. Bar 41 sees the return of the opening…

WATCH CHENYIN LI PLAY THIS AT WWW.PIANISTMAGAZINE.COM Playing tips from Derry Bertenshaw: I have composed this arrangement of Silent Night in the style of Rachmaninov. I hope I have done the great composer justice. I have tried to imitate his rich textures, but without his large stretches. For smaller hands, any chords greater than an octave, which are not already arpeggiated, may be split. Bars 33-38 are the trickiest; make sure the carol melody is heard over the RH octaves. The opening depicts a clear frosty night with the clock striking midnight heralding Christmas.…

The first thing to do when you start teaching an adult pianist from the beginning is to celebrate! Making the decision at age 18 or over to start playing with no prior knowledge requires tremendous courage and investment – not only in terms of time and money but also in terms of emotion. Bravo to any adult ready to take on such a commitment. It is our duty as teachers to be warm, encouraging and positive at all times during the lessons, ensuring they are managed in as inspiring a way as possible. The early stages of learning can be stressful and frustrating for adults, who may find that their brains work much faster than their fingers. Do everything you can to minimise annoyances felt by adults through lack of…

KIT ARMSTRONG TheVisionaries of Piano Music: Works byWilliam Byrd and John Bull Deutsche Grammophon 486 0583 (2CD) Intricate but essential listening. Most of us are happy to play and listen to Bach and Couperin on the piano. Why not the 16th-century English virginalists? In his booklet note and his playing, Kit Armstrong makes the most persuasive case for these melancholy pavans, extravagant fantasias and playful variation sets as masterpieces of keyboard writing to be enjoyed on any instrument. Mind and ears are set racing to catch up with Armstrong’s fingers and florid ornamentation in Byrd’s complex reworkings of folksongs such as The Woods so Wild and John Come Kiss Me Now. He brings a Lisztian freedom and virtuosity to bear on the more outlandish invention and raw passion of John Bull’s…