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Musicians often find that a certain amount of life experience – a few miles on the clock – deepens their approach to late and visionary works such as Beethoven’s Op 110 or Schubert’s last sonata in B flat. Interviewed on page 8, however, Denis Kozhukhin observes that we often confuse experience with maturity. A child, uncorrupted by cynicism, may view life (and music) from a different, more positive, and possibly more mature perspective. Kozhukhin’s new album, Somnia, captures both the innocence and the uncanny perceptions of youth, with music ostensibly written for children by Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev. These collections form part of a rich history of piano music for and about children, of which Schumann’s Kinderszenen is one of the most celebrated examples. Did you know that by the end…

There comes a point in life for most of us when we say, enough. We say goodbye to responsibilities that had begun to feel more like obligations, and we either seek new challenges, or find joy in what really motivates us, or both. For Anne-Marie McDermott, that point is now. The challenge (and the joy) immediately in front of McDermott, when we talk on a video call in March, is Beethoven. She has, after all, been playing the concertos for the best part of 40 years. Now is the time to commit them to record: ‘a daunting but thrilling process,’ she tells me, over a video call from her home in Santa Fe. She has partners of long standing for company: Bridge Records, and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería under…

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…

LATE BEGINNER This simple four-hand version of the first movement from Ravel’s famous Ma mère l’Oye Suite (or Mother Goose) is perfect for the late-beginner level player. There are many ways that you can approach learning the piece (and that includes not even having a duet partner!). Intrigued? Then read Ann Martin-Davis’s tips on how to learn this duet in her article on Ravel. A bit of Secondo part advice: Pay special attention to the pedalling; it is the job of the Secondo player to take care of the pedal. Read Ann Martin-Davis’s learning tips inside her article on Ravel.…

INTERMEDIATE WATCH CHENYIN LI PLAY THIS PIECE AT WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/@PIANISTMAGAZINE Jelena Poulíčková was the winner of our 2025 Pianist Composing Competition. It’s a wonderfully atmospheric piece, so do give it a try! Here are her learning tips: ‘In the melodic sections, always balance the hands so the melody is prominent, keeping the LH very much in the background unless to highlight a change of harmony. With the repeated bass figures, consider which bars are strong and which are weak, in order to give the music shape and avoid verticality. In the chordal sections try to create a long line, imagining that it’s played with legato bowing. Also think about how to balance the voices in the chords so they don’t sound too thick. As a general rule, follow the contours of…

INTERMEDIATE Ravel’s Menuet sur le nom d’Haydn was composed as part of the collective work ‘Hommage à Joseph Haydn’ initiated by the French musicologist and writer Jules Écorcheville. It was created for the Revue musicale de la Société Internationale de Musique in order to celebrate the centenary in 1909 of the death of Haydn. The piece is constructed around a motif based on the transposition into notes of Haydn’s name, ‘HAYDN’ (B-A-D-D-G). You can see the notes laid out on the small treble clef above the score. For learning tips, read Ann Martin-Davis’s article on Ravel.…

ADVANCED READ LUCY PARHAM’S LESSON ON THIS PIECE Rachmaninov’s six Moments musicaux (Musical moments) were composed between October and December 1896. Each Moment musical reproduces a musical form characteristic of a previous musical era, such as the nocturne, song without words, barcarolle, etude, and theme and variation. The Moments musicaux were written because Rachmaninov was short of money, but they manage to portray his deep knowledge of piano composition up to that point. The Andantino featured here opens the set with a long, reflective melody that develops into a rapid climax. Lasting over seven minutes, it is the longest in the set by playing time. It is described as a ‘generic hybrid’, combining elements of the nocturne and theme and variation genres. Read Lucy Parham’s lesson on this piece. Lucy…

Maurice Ravel has been an enduring part of my world, both as a performer and teacher. As a little girl I played the Mouvement de menuet from his Sonatine at a piano competition, which the renowned pianist Phyllis Sellick was adjudicating. Six months later, I was her newest (and smallest) recruit at the Royal College of Music. Phyllis didn’t teach at the Junior Department, or ‘JD’ as it’s known, but amazingly she made an exception for me and I can only think that this was the reason why: She explained that she had played the very same piece, also aged 11, to Ravel in Paris. Phyllis had been studying with Isidor Philipp, a student of Georges Mathias, the famous pianist and pedagogue, who had learnt with Chopin. It was through…

MASTERPIECES FOR PIANO Mozart; Beethoven; Schubert Edition Peters Subtitled ‘Essential repertoire for intermediate to advanced level pianists’, these books contain an impressive quantity of their respective composers’ original compositions. Weighing in at 170 pages for the Schubert, and around 140 pages for the Beethoven and Mozart, the pieces mostly range in difficulty from around Grade 6 to Grade 8+, although the Mozart book stretches back further, to around Grade 1. The pieces have been chosen from Edition Peters’ catalogue by Roland Erben, with the original musical text and fingering simply transferred across. The quantity and choice of repertoire make these books ideal introductions to each composer, since many of their most popular pieces are represented, but check the contents online to avoid disappointment. A thoughtful selection of several longer items,…

EMAIL: editor@pianistmagazine.com WRITE TO: The Editor, Pianist, Warners Group Publications, The Maltings, West St, Bourne, PE10 9PH. Letters may be edited. More on page turning I recently had the pleasure of reading Alisdair Hogarth’s article on page turning. It is indeed an informative piece that highlights the evolving landscape of technology in music performance. However, I noticed that several critical aspects concerning page turning, as well as the use of different types of tablets and sheet music applications, are not addressed. I would like to share my insights and experiences, as these might help to provide a more comprehensive perspective on this fascinating topic. It is important to mention that many musicians do not rely on iPads and iOS alone but use a large variety of tablets under Windows…

BEGINNER French composer Théodore Lack composed two volumes of studies, each comprising 20 small pieces. The first volume Op 85 contains short pieces of beginner to late-beginner level.The rhythms are generally easy and the key signatures Lack chooses feature one accidental or less. Playing tips: House pianist Chenyin Li uses a detached articulation, as you will hear on the album, but you can also abide by the slur/legato signs indicated on the score. This cheeky 3/4 waltz needs to be lively (notice the ‘Allegro spiritoso’ marking at the start), with a slight emphasis on the first beat of the bar. The RH carries the melody at the start, but the LH takes over between bars 9 to 16. Always try to think in four-bar phrases, making sure that you’ve paid…

LATE BEGINNER Ma mère l’Oye was originally written as a five-movement piano duet in 1910. It was written for Mimi and Jean, ages 6 and 7, the children of Ravel’s friends the Godebskis (he had dedicated an earlier work, Sonatine, to the parents). It was then transcribed for solo piano by Ravel’s friend, Jacques Charlot, the same year. In 1911, Ravel orchestrated it. Later that year, he expanded it into a ballet, separating the five initial pieces with four new interludes and adding two movements at the start – ‘Prélude’ and ‘Danse du rouet et scène’. The ballet premiered on 29 January 1912 at the Théâtre des Arts in Paris. Read Ann Martin-Davis’s learning tips inside her article on Ravel.…

Russian composer and pianist Genary Karganov began his studies in Tiflis (now Tbilisi), and then attended the Leipzig Conservatory, studying under Carl Reinecke, among others. (Interesting to note that Gurlitt, another composer who appears inside this issue’s scores, also studied with Reinecke). St Petersburg Conservatory was his last port of call. Karganov wrote a number of works for piano, including instructional works, some enjoying popularity in his short lifetime. Playing tips: The quick interplay between the hands, which takes place in the top register of the piano, is challenging but fun. Work out where the phrases ebb and flow, and keep the semiquavers even. Seamlessness is the key here. Tail away towards the end. Pedal tips: As you can see, the suggestion is for one pedal change per bar. However,…

INTERMEDIATE/ ADVANCED READ MATTHEW MILLS’S LESSON ON THIS PIECE Philipp Scharwenka was a Polish-German composer and teacher of music. He was the older brother of the more well-known Xaver Scharwenka. His compositions include three symphonies, symphonic poems, a violin concerto, some choral works (of which Sakuntala became very famous), the four-act opera Roland, as well as numerous instrumental works such as sonatas, quartets, caprices and dances. In contrast to his brother’s very extroverted compositions, Philipp’s many-sided works have dreamlike and thought-provoking inflections. His output for solo piano was extensive and includes piano sonatas, intermezzos, bagetelles, mazurkas and various sets of klavierstücke. This gorgeous piece is the sixth movement from his Op 71 Album for the Young. It is full of yearning and requires a rich singing tone, subtle use of…

Counterpoint, the art of combining and exploring music with two or more voices, can terrify even advanced students. They can be overwhelmed with intellectual concerns (what is a ‘stretto maestrale’, for example?) as well as coordination issues and worries over memory when tackling intimidating fugues with three or more voices. When coaching beginners and elementary players, teachers understandably feel that counterpoint is not something they need to embrace. After all, even the simplest of Bach’s Two-Part Inventions are not set until Grade 6. Indeed, it is easy to avoid fugal writing altogether even when entering for diplomas. So why stress? Counterpoint from kindergarten Firstly, let’s relax about this subject completely. It is not coldly intellectual – but it is fundamental. Counterpoint brings different musical strands together. In this sense it…

Why did you decide to record an album depicting ‘childhood’? It was originally a tribute to my mother, who passed when I was 11. But during the recording process, I also lost my father. And so Somnia became a dedication to both of them – a reflection on memory, love, and the ever-changing way we return to the past through music. And how did you arrive at the title, Somnia? The title comes from one of the pieces on my album which translates as ‘Dreams’. In Russian, the word is ‘gryozy’ – a more poetic, wistful kind of dream, one that feels closer to memory or imagination. That felt right to me, because when we think of childhood, or the past, we rarely remember it precisely. We dream it. The…

BEGINNER Composer’s learning tips: Start by ‘blocking out’ chords – that is, playing all the notes of a full bar as one chord. This helps getting to know patterns, and it will also firm up fingering. Some notes have two fingering options; both are equally valid – it depends on the size and shape of your hand. When playing the notes as written, ensure that the quaver patterns are even and rhythmical. Highlight the first note of every bar (marked with a tenuto sign), finishing with a tremendous ‘roar’ on the last two notes, with the RH taking the penultimate note G, leaving the LH to play with final low C.…

INTERMEDIATE German composer Cornelius Gurlitt was a classmate of Carl Reinecke, whose father was head of the Leipzig Conservatory. Gurlitt studied with Reinecke senior for six years, and after became a success on the concert platform, but he decided to continue his studies in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. While there, he became acquainted with the Danish composer Niels Gade and they remained friends until Gade’s death. Playing tips: Keep the LH strumming along rhythmically, with emphasis on the first beat of the bar. The idea is to create an alluring bolero style (think Ravel’s famous Bolero). The RH carries the melody, though the LH joins in at bar 10 with a duet between the hands. The ending takes the listener by surprise with the subito piano at bar 26. Make…

INTERMEDIATE Beethoven took a long time to complete his eleven Op 119 Bagatelles: By the end of 1803, he had already sketched Nos 1-5. In 1820, he finished the last five bagatelles and published them as a set of five a year later. The following year, he revised his old bagatelle sketches to construct a new collection for publication, adding another bagatelle to them, No 6, composed in late 1822. Initially he struggled to get them published – even Edition Peters declined! Eventually three publishing houses took them: Clementi, Maurice Schlesinger and Sauer & Leidesdorf. Playing tips: This is such a great piece to play! Take a firm (but not too fast) tempo, and don’t be put off by the fiddly trills. Practise the bars with trills out of context,…

ADVANCED Ravel described his Pavane pour une infante défunte (Pavane for a dead princess) as ‘a slow Spanish dance to which a little Princess might once have danced’. He wrote the Pavane in 1899, while he was studying with Fauré, and it became one of his most popular pieces. It isn’t easy, but readers have often requested for it to be published. So, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Ravel’s birth, there’s no better time than the present. Read Ann Martin-Davis’s in-depth learning tips on the Pavane inside her article on Ravel.…