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Composers are not our friends, but they can feel that way sometimes. They get inside our heads as we turn to their music, relax in their company and puzzle over the challenges they have left us. 2024 has brought an unusually rich harvest of composer anniversaries. These anniversaries present much more than promotional and marketing opportunities to concert halls and record labels. For the rest of us, they offer time to remember, to discover and to celebrate figures who may have been in our peripheral vision until now. This issue of Pianist marks two of those anniversaries, with music and words dedicated to Gabriel Fauré and Ferruccio Busoni, who both died in 1924. Fauré is still an elusive figure, best known for his Requiem, but he left a rich repertoire…

INTERVIEW In a letter of November 1835, the 23-year-old Franz Liszt confessed that the virtuoso life was not for him. He had recognised within himself an ‘inner thread’, spiritual in nature, which would compel him to turn away from both performing and writing in the style which had won him the kind of acclaim now routinely visited upon pop stars and football players. ‘He had wanted to be a priest as a teenager,’ remarks the pianist Saskia Giorgini, ‘and his parents stopped him. So there was this conflict between his life, and what people would consider sinful. And this was all fascinating to me, because I grew up in Italy. I heard lots of this kind of talk, in church. All the things that you shouldn’t do, or you will…

LESSONS FROM THE EXPERTS MELANIE SPANSWICK is a pianist, writer, teacher and composer. She has published over 25 books including the best-selling three-book piano course, Play It Again: PIANO (Schott), as well as the more recent series, Women Composers – A Graded Anthology For Piano (Schott), which won the 2022 Presto Music Award for ‘Best New Series of the Year’. Melanie teaches the piano at Junior Guildhall School of Music & Drama and Eton College. Read Melanie Spanswick’s lesson CLARE HAMMOND Acclaimed as a ‘pianist of extraordinary gifts’ (Gramophone) and ‘immense power’ (The Times), Clare Hammond is recognised for the virtuosity and authority of her performances. This year sees debuts at the BBC Proms, the Konzerthaus Berlin,the Salle Bourgie in Montréal, a return to the Wigmore Hall and London’s National…

ABILITY RATING ADVANCED Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924), composer, organist, pianist and teacher, lived during a period of rapid musical development. Born while Chopin was still composing, he witnessed the birth of jazz and the atonality of the Second Viennese School. By the end of his life, Fauré was regarded as France’s leading composer, although it took decades for his music to become as celebrated overseas. He is best known for his songs, yet his piano output is also considerable, comprising nocturnes, valses-caprices, impromptus and barcarolles. ‘This is introspective, contemplative music, of unassuming profundity’ As a child, Fauré studied at the Ecole Niedermeyer in Paris where he was exposed to plainsong, Renaissance polyphony, fugue and counterpoint in preparation for a career as a church musician. When he was 16, Saint-Saëns joined the…

BEGINNER/ INTERMEDIATE READ MELANIE SPANSWICK’S LESSON ON THIS PIECE Berlin-born Theodor Oesten was a composer, performer and music teacher. He learned to play wind and string instruments at the Stadtmusikus in Fürstenwalde (a small town outside Berlin). From the age of 19 he studied composition with various renowned teachers in Berlin. Oesten is perhaps best known for his easy piano compositions, including transcriptions of operatic works, written in the sentimental style of his day. The Echo comes from a set of 25 pieces which includes such great titles as Love in May, Heavenly Bliss, Alpine Glow and Sleep Well, Thou Sweet Angel. Oesten died in his native city of Berlin. His son Max Oesten also became a composer. Read Melanie Spanswick’s lesson.…

INTERMEDIATE WATCH CHENYIN LI PLAY THIS PIECE AT WWW.PIANISTMAGAZINE.COM Notes from the composer: I wrote this short piece for a French friend, Antoine Rousseau. He is a talented musician and pianist who played in a piano bar in Montmartre, Paris, for many years and who excels at improvisation. I wrote it with no agenda other than that it is to be enjoyed – and perhaps improvised upon ‘comme vous voulez’! The first 16 bars should be played with a strong sense of rhythm. Keep the LH crotchets detached; no pedal other than a splash on the minim Ab7 chord in bar 12 – a tri-tone substitution to be enjoyed! The cantabile section starting on the upbeat to bar 17 should be much more lyrical and dance-like, pedal employed where marked.…

INTERMEDIATE READ GARETH OWEN’S LESSON & WATCH CHENYIN LI PLAY THIS PIECE AT WWW.PIANISTMAGAZINE.COM Like Chopin, Romantic Hungarian composer Stephen Heller wrote 24 Preludes for the piano in all the major and minor keys. No 10, featured here, is in the key of C sharp minor. Like many other foreign artists of his time, attracted by the then leading musical city of the world, Heller moved to Paris where he settled for good. He was soon received into a society of friends consisting of such musicians as Chopin, Liszt, Berlioz and more. It didn’t take him long to make a name for himself as a pianist and teacher. Read Gareth Owen’s in-depth lesson.…

INTERMEDIATE/ ADVANCED Baroque Italian composer Domenico Scarlatti wrote 555 keyboard sonatas throughout his career. Many are recognised as real gems, but they also require a solid and sparkling technique. Playing tips: Here’s one of those sonatas, in the sunny key of E major, which should really sparkle. It will need a lot of slow practice, taking the hard parts and working on them out of context. Enjoy the changes in dynamics (e.g. at bars 18, 40 etc) and make the most of the bars with the fermatas (bars 39, 46, 98, 105); these ‘pauses’ should come as a real surprise. Phrase markings have been added, but that doesn’t mean the notes should be played legato. Increase the speed over time. Chenyin Li takes a brisk tempo; a slower tempo is…

PIERRE-LAURENT AIMARD Schubert: Ländler Pentatone PTC5187034 ★★★★ Pierre-Laurent eats Boulez and Ives for breakfast; what’s he doing with these well-thumbed volumes of waltzes and country-dances? The notes should lie comfortably enough under the fingers of most Pianist readers, and perhaps they wouldn’t think to listen to someone else play them. Ravel, for one, valued Schubert’s waltzes dearly enough to write his own tribute to them in the Valses nobles et sentimentales. Aimard never just plays through an entire set; he picks out his favourites, and invites you to wonder which particular turn of phrase or harmonic twist has drawn him to this or that one. Generous with rubato in search of the telling inflection, he still refrains from pulling them about; they sound as you would read them. You may…

Winning teacher What a lovely surprise it was to open the April-May issue of Pianist (No 137) and spot the familiar face of my childhood piano teacher. Congratulations to Isabel Morrison on what is undoubtedly a well-deserved win! I couldn’t have been luckier to have Isabel as my teacher growing up. Not only did she prepare me for the all-important grades and competitions, but she also shared with me the sheer joy of just playing the piano for the sake of it. A testament to her skill as a teacher and something for which I’ll be forever grateful. It was even on her recommendation that I started my subscription to Pianist way back with issue 40. Needless to say, I look forward to her composition Comme vous voulez being published…

Much has been written about slow practice – in particular the undeniable benefits of threading this into our overall learning strategy in order to improve accuracy, consistency and assurance, especially at the more foundational stages. But there are cautionary tales to be told about depending on slow practice excessively – letting it become a crutch when we can’t find more lucrative means of improvement. While slow practice allows us to zoom in on issues and gives our brains a chance to keep ahead of our fingers, we run the risk of becoming expert slow players who can’t play fast. Logically, therefore, if our particular bête noir happens to be playing up to speed, we shouldn’t avoid practising fast, any more than a sprinter could hope to run faster by trading…

ABILITY RATING ELEMENTARY Key G major Tempo Pastorale Style Romantic Will improve your ✓ Articulation ✓ Rhythm ✓ Dynamics German composer Theodor Oesten (1813-1870) wrote numerous educational piano works and easy operatic transcriptions. His overtly sentimental style captured the mood of the era, and his set of 25 piano pieces, May Flowers, written for the younger player, is a case in point. This little piece lies well under the fingers and demands a steady tempo of 96 beats per minute in order to capture the splendid ‘echo’ effects. Start out by developing a thorough understanding of the rhythm. The triplet quaver figure which features throughout must be carefully placed. Beginning with a slightly slower tempo than that suggested, tap the pulse of the RH part alone, ensuring that each quaver…

INTERMEDIATE This popular Aria appeared inside issue 136. Two very astute readers noticed some discrepancies in the score, so we decided to print this corrected version in order for both existing and new readers to benefit. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Playing tips: In the poignant key of G minor, this simple, slow melody requires a good sense of phrase-shaping and a deep touch. Make sure that the LH accompaniment remains steady and calm throughout, allowing the RH to ‘sing’ over it. There are places that require a dynamic drop to subito piano (e.g. bars 6, 14 etc). Remember to make these sudden and unexpected. This piece is great for practising soft playing and for keeping the pulse going at a lento pace. It is also a good exercise…

INTERMEDIATE The Ländler is a folk dance in 3/4 time which was popular in Austria, Bavaria and German Switzerland at the end of the 18th century. Schubert wrote many of these dances and some have been featured in past issues. Playing tips: Suggested fingerings feature on the score, but if anything feels awkward, you should always play around with different fingerings. Try to bring out the feel of a peasant-style German dance, with a touch of humour and a bit of a swagger – always making a slight emphasis on the first beat of the bar. With its octave stretches, the forte section is technically harder. Keep the RH relaxed and use some rotation movement as well. The LH part containts many quick jumps; keep the hand close to the…

INTERMEDIATE La chevaleresque (The knight errant) is the final piece in Burgmüller’s popular 25 Easy and Progessive Studies. As the last in the set, it is technically the most challenging. Playing tips: This quick, rhythmic march should always come across as elegant and poised. Staccatos feature throughout, but try not to make them too short. From bar 9, a gruff forte run is ‘answered’ with light piano chords in an almost amusing fashion. The middle section from bar 17 comes as a lovely contrast – being sweeter and more flowing. Shape the RH runs and keep the LH accompaniment in the background, but always remain in tempo. The coda from bar 33 is great fun. Aim to make one long build-up from bar 33 right to the last fortissimo chords.…

INTERMEDIATE The multi-talented Ferruccio Busoni was an Italian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, editor, writer and teacher. He had an international career and reputation that led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary figures of his time. He was also a sought-after keyboard instructor and teacher of composition. Most of his compositions for the piano are extremely challenging, but this Prelude from his Op 37 set can be mastered by the intermediate-level player. Playing tips: Here’s some good news: the LH is absolutely the same throughout! That’s 42 bars of the same alternating two notes. The LH accompaniment needs to be 100% even, though, which can be hard, especially at the required soft dynamic. It’s really all about the RH melody – which needs a…

INTERMEDIATE/ ADVANCED Mussorgsky’s 1874 suite Pictures at an Exhibition, a tribute to the versatile artist Hartman, has proved the most popular of all the composer’s works – both in its original version for piano and in colourful orchestral versions. This Rêverie, though, composed in 1865, is a masterpiece in melody and tone control and it deserves to be learnt. Playing tips: Count the pulse before you begin; it is important to get the tempo spot-on. You also need to create a feeling of lilting/rocking – like a lullaby. There are many fluctuations in tempo – ritardandos that are followed by ‘a tempos’ – and we suggest marking them into the score from the outset. It is easy to see that the LH is the gentle accompaniment; keep the pulse even…

It is easy to reach for names like Artur Schnabel in Beethoven, Edwin Fischer in Bach, and Alfred Cortot in Chopin. But think of how it was back in the old days (and is today, in fact): so many new releases – some getting lost or forgotten after a short while. In this article, I intend to open up this Pandora’s Box of delights, to open a window onto different eras, when characters were finely-drawn, stories sometimes tragic, but everywhere – everywhere – was magic and imagination. Many names spring to mind: first, Louis Diémer (whose playing I first encountered via an APR release, The Piano G & T’s Volume 4 – that’s The Gramophone and Typewriter company, not a drink). Diémer (1843-1919), who taught Cortot, Yves Nat and both…

SUK Easy Piano Pieces and Dances Bärenreiter Josef Suk is the fifteenth composer to be given a berth in Bärenreiter’s series of books titled Easy Piano Pieces and Dances; an interesting and unexpected choice of composer, given Suk’s relative lack of fame as a composer for the instrument. As with some of the other books in the series, the pieces aren’t easy in the sense that they are suitable for beginners, but they represent his least demanding compositions. The 12 pieces are around Grade 6-8, and range in length from one to four pages. Pieces such as the poignant ‘How Mother Sang to Her Sick Child During the Night’ and the expressive Andante (1897), to name a couple, deserve wider attention and invite further exploration of the composer’s piano music.…

When we play, we are not usually conscious of our pedalling. We go for the sound that we have in our imagination, relying on the direct line of communication we have formed between the ear, hand, and foot during practice. Occasionally, we might need to figure out how to achieve a particular sound, so the more pedal technique we have the better. In this article, I have selected a few examples from the repertoire that outline often neglected pedal techniques. Half pedal Low bass notes are much harder to damp than notes in higher registers. Try this experiment: depress the sustaining pedal and play a low bass note and a dissonant note in a higher register together, firmly, releasing the hands immediately. Now, change the pedal very quickly, up (or…

ABILITY RATING INTERMEDIATE Key C sharp minor Tempo Allegro non troppo Style Romantic Will improve your ✓ Passagework ✓ LH jumps ✓ Balance between hands Hungarian composer Stephen Heller wrote many studies for the piano. Similar to Bach and Chopin, this piece is from his set of 24 Preludes, with one prelude for every major and minor key. This is very much a study in evenness of tone, lightness of touch and balancing the melody to the accompaniment. To achieve the light, finely traced instruction (‘Très léger finement tracé’), slow practice with a deep tone is recommended to learn the finger patterns and to gain tonal control. I would also recommend learning the harmonies by playing the LH part throughout (RH in bars 17-19 and 21-23) on its own and/or…

BEGINNER Notes from the composer: Eastern Promise offers a hint at Eastern musical influences, what with the open fifths present in the LH part between bars 1-9, the slightly sombre mood found in some intervals used in the melodic line, and the quietly introspective character created by the key of A minor. Despite a Presto tempo marking, the piece requires a majestic feel, demanding nimble articulation in the melodic line and careful adherence to dynamic markings. Try to be aware of the apex of each musical phrase: for example, the D in the RH part on the third beat of bar 3 needs greater sonority and tonal colour than the rest of the phrase – and similarly the E on the first beat of bar 8. Keep accompanying material soft…

INTERMEDIATE Marie Jaëll was a French pianist, composer and pedagogue. She composed works for piano, concertos, quartets and more. Jaëll was actually the first pianist in Paris to perform all the Beethoven piano sonatas. Her students included Albert Schweitzer, who studied with her while also studying organ with Charles-Marie Widor. She died in Paris. This poignant piece (Shepherd and shepherdess) is No 2 from a volume of 12 short pieces entitled Les Beaux Jours (Fine Days). Playing tips: Make sure to play as tenderly and lovingly as you can, which means producing a gorgeous tone! Start out very quietly and keep the staccatos ‘cushioned’ (they should never be too ‘short’). Maintain a good pulse and work on the phrasing. Make the most of the ritardando (from the middle of bar…

INTERMEDIATE Solo piano works and songs make up the bulk of Fanny Hensel’s compositions, which number around 500. Considered by her contemporaries to be a ‘salon’ composer, such small-scale works were a socially acceptable outlet for her talents. They reveal a talent for lyricism and a respect for traditional harmony and form, but also a strongly individual streak. Written in 1823, when Hensel was just 18, Schluss (‘Conclusion’) is wistful and nostalgic. It has a Baroque/Bach-like quality to its style (reminiscent, also, of Schubert’s G flat Impromptu). Playing tips: Beautiful as it seems, this piece is a type of study. The RH accompaniment should be hushed and super-even, over which the minim-note melody is to be played legato and with well-judged phrasing. As you can see, there are few dynamics;…

INTERMEDIATE Dedicated to his friend, mentor and older cousin Alexander Siloti, Rachmaninov wrote his Polka Italienne for two pianos in 1906. Siloti went on to arrange it for solo piano just a couple of years later. It is worth listening to the original version (there are many fine versions on YouTube) before starting to work on the piece. Playing tips: To ensure accuracy, begin by practising very slowly. Yes, this Polka needs to be fast – but only when the notes are secured. A strong sense of rhythm is essential; notice the slurs, accents and staccatos, all of which – if executed successfully – will add to the impish, sparkling, dance-like style. The LH contains many leaps, so try to remain close to the keys at all times. At bar…