Variations And Interludes

SKU: PR.110418370

ISBN 9781491135075. UPC: 680160686247.

Compo sed as an organ solo by the 17-year-old Ives for his own performance purposes, the beloved Variations on America is a treat for any occasion, whether a holiday concert, a serious recital, or other special event. Danny Holt’s transcription for Piano, Four Hands adds a dazzling new option to play at home or on stage, taking best advantage of Ives’ tremendous contrasts in color, dynamics, and texture.
Composed when Charles Ives was a teenager, Variations on “America” is both a convenient introduction to Ives’ body of work, and an early example of his iconoclastic musical voice and creative genius. Just a few years after composing this piece, Ives would leave home to study music at Yale. But until then he had been taught by his father, George (who had been a bandmaster in the Civil War). George subjected the young Ives to experiments such as singing a song in one key while being accompanied in another, or arranging for two marching bands to converge on a town center, with the resulting cacophony that ensued.The Variations exemplifies an early period of experimentation in Ives’ work, spurred on by the unusual pedagogy of his father. The piece is particularly notable for its use of bitonality in the two interludes, subtly foreshadowing more well-known examples by Stravinsky, Bartók, and others by approximately two decades.The bitonal interludes were so ahead of their time, in fact, they were omitted from the first copy that was submitted to a publisher in 1892. (Alas, the piece was rejected even despite these “shocking” elements having been left out, and it wasn’t published until more than five decades later.) There is some ambiguity about when exactly Ives added the interludes into his manuscript copy, though ample evidence suggests he had performed the piece with the interludes around the time he notated the piece in 1891-92. In any case, in light of this piece and his other polytonal explorations from the last decade of the 19th century, it seems fair to give Ives credit for being a pioneer in this area!This arrangement for Piano, Four Hands, closely follows Ives’ original version for organ, setting aside William Schuman’s popular adaptation for symphony orchestra and William Rhoads’ band transcription of the Schuman orchestration. Pianists will find that the piece translates well to the instrument. Ideally, the choreography and logistics of elbow-to-elbow four-hands playing approximates the wild joy one gets from watching an organist play the piece (e.g., the elaborate pedal part in the final variation).In preparing this publication, attention was paid to details in the dual Critical Editions (Presser 443-41003) of both Ives’ manuscript edition and the 1949 publication edited by organist E. Power Biggs (who is credited with discovering what had been a long-lost, forgotten work.) But as with much of Ives’ output, attempting to create a true ‘urtext’ score is a futile endeavor, and especially with a piece such as this one – in which Ives incorporated improvisation in live performance – seems unnecessary anyhow. True die-hards are of course encouraged to consult the critical editions and even find inspiration in the orchestrated version. Generally, performers are advised to be wild, have fun, and not to be too rigid in their interpretive choices.Dynamics in this arrangement mostly follow the organ score closely. Pianists will use good judgment about pedaling throughout, which should be straightforward and intuitive. Courtesy accidentals have been provided frequently – without parentheses – balancing the need for extra clarity in the context of Ives’ murky musical language, and a desire to avoid unnecessary clutter.A few notes that might inform interpretive decisions:mm. 15-16: There are inconsistencies here between Ives’ original manuscript and the 1949 Biggs edition, regarding the top voice in m. 15, beat 3 (C# vs. Cn) and m. 16 (D Major vs. D Minor).mm. 76-84 & 143-146: In both Interludes, Ives emphatically notates extreme dynamic contrast, in order to highlight the bitonality. Although it may seem counterintuitive (or even a misprint, as has apparently been misconstrued by some), performers are urged to follow the composer’s marking!m. 109: Two-note slurs have been added here for clarity and consistency with other similar passages, though they do not appear in either the original manuscript or Biggs.m. 112: The last two eighth notes of Primo appear as 16ths in the original manuscript.mm. 183-186: The original manuscript has a slightly different bass line.mm. 184 & 186: Primo gestures have been re-written to be slightly more idiomatic for Piano, Four Hands.m. 186: The breath mark at the end of this bar does not appear in either the manuscript or Biggs, but is an editorial suggestion – aside from being appropriately dramatic, it will indeed be necessary in a reverberant hall!I would like to thank Steven Vanhauwaert, the other half of my piano duo, 4handsLA, for his input on early drafts of this arrangement.— Danny Holt, April 2022.

SKU: HL.48025394

UPC: 196288195467.

This small suite of three solo pieces was written for violist Deborah Lander, a member of the Sydney Alpha Ensemble, which recorded Kats-Chernin's first portrait CD Clocks for ABC Classics in 1997. The first piece turns out to be a “classical” ragtime in which theabsence of the accompanying piano with its chords and alternating basses is never noticed. The second piece on the open D string flows meditatively in quiet triple time. The third piece is a solo variation of Elena Kats-Chernin's big “hit”, the beautiful Eliza Aria from her ballet Wild Swans. The three interludes can be included in a programme individually or together, in any order.

SKU: HL.49047043

UPC: 196288111023.

The organ works by Gregor Lehr (1906–1986), cathedral organist and master of music at the cathedral in Worms, were primarily intended for use in church services: these pieces were performed by the composer himself at church services in Worms at the cathedral of St Peter and at the church of St Paul, as well as in church concerts. Until now these musical scores were only accessible to a few former pupils of Lehr. These pieces composed in late Romantic style consist mainly of chorale preludes, along with some variations, interludes or postludes and chorale fantasias.

SKU: SU.00220525

This CD Sheet Musicâ?¢ collection brings together over 140 works for solo piano, piano duo, and piano four-hands by both familiar and lesser-known French composers active in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Works include: Alkan (Saltarelle, Symphony, from 12 Ã?tudes; Concerto, from 12 Ã?tudes, Le Festin d'Ã?sope, Theme and Variations); Bizet (Variations Chromatiques de Concert, Jeux d'Enfants Parts 1and2); Chabrier (Pièces Pittoresques, Bourrée Fantasque, 3 Valses Romantique); Chaminade (Air de Ballet, Scarf Dance, Scène de Ballet); D'Indy (Poème de Montagne, Sonata in E); Dukas (Variations, Interlude et Finale,sur un thème de Rameau) Franck (Danse Lente, Prélude, Aria et Final, Short Pieces (originally for Harmonium), Variations Symphoniques); Ibert (Histoires I-X, Matin sur l'Eau); Koechlin (Paysages et Marines I-XII); Massenet (10 Pièces de Genres, Toccata); Milhaud (Saudades Dos Brasil); Poulenc (3 Movements Perpétuels, Cinque Impromptus); Ravel (Gaspard de la Nuit, Miroirs, Ma Mère l'Oye (arr for solo piano), Sonatine, Le Tombeau de Couperin, Valses nobles et sentimentals); Roussel (Des Heures Passant..., Rustiques, Sonatine); Saint-Saëns (Danse Macabre, Romance without Words, 3 Mazurkas, Ã?tudes Books IandII, Variations sur un Thème de Beethoven); Satie (3 Gymnopédies, 3 Gnossiennes, Embryons Desséchés, Descriptions Automatiques, Embroyons Desséchés, Sports et Divertissements, Morceaux en forme de Poire); Schmitt (Musiques Intimes, Books IandII); Vierne (Suite Bourguignonne), and more Also includes composer biographies and relevant articles from the 1911 edition of Groveâ??s Dictionary of Music and Musicians 2300 pages

Please note, customers using Macintosh computers running macOS Catalina (version 10.5) have reported hardware compatibility issues with this product. If you encounter these issues, we recommend copying the entire contents of the disk to a contained folder on a thumb drive or other storage device for use on your Mac.

SKU: LM.28855

ISBN 9790230988551.

Them e (Calmes, calmes) - Variation I (Berge du lac) - Variation II (Cigale du soir) - Variation III (Plus je me souviens) - Interlude (Uga jinja) - Variation IV (Fete des morts) - Variation V (Le gobe-mouches bleu chante).

SKU: HL.50579166

SKU: HL.48024700

ISBN 9781540059819. UPC: 888680955151.

Each cycle in this Op. 104a consists of 12 etudes and a finale in a form of a set of variations. They can be programmed in combination with other pieces or as interludes between them.

SKU: FG.55011-472-2

ISBN 9790550114722.

Prel udes, etudes and poems are like a planetarium with points of light twinkling in every direction. The grand old man of Finnish Modernism Paavo Heininen's (b. 1938) extensive output for piano expands with a comprehensive four-part collection of etydes (Etydes op. 104, 2011/2016). Each cycle consists of 12 etudes and a finale in a form of a set of variations. Complexity as style and humour as guideline in titles and ideas, these etydes can be programmed in combination with other pieces and as interludes between them.

SKU: FG.55011-469-2

ISBN 9790550114692.

Prel udes, etudes and poems are like a planetarium with points of light twinkling in every direction. The grand old man of Finnish Modernism Paavo Heininen's (b. 1938) extensive output for piano expands with a comprehensive four-part collection of etydes (Etydes op. 104, 2011/2016). Each cycle consists of 12 etudes and a finale in a form of a set of variations. Complexity as style and humour as guideline in titles and ideas, these etydes can be programmed in combination with other pieces and as interludes between them.

SKU: HL.14004585

ISBN 9780853609964.

Sele cted works by Arthur Bliss for solo piano. Suitable for advanced pianists.

SKU: SU.50027820

Copyright 1990. Published by: Seesaw Music.

SKU: HL.48024703

ISBN 9781540059840. UPC: 888680955182.

Each cycle in this Op. 104a consists of 12 etudes and a finale in a form of a set of variations. They can be programmed in combination with other pieces or as interludes between them.

SKU: HL.48024701

ISBN 9781540059826. UPC: 888680955168.

Each cycle in this Op. 104a consists of 12 etudes and a finale in a form of a set of variations. They can be programmed in combination with other pieces or as interludes between them.