SKU: BR.EB-8029
ISBN 9790004174326. 9 x 12 inches.
This series of easy piano music for teaching purposes presents pupils in the lower and lower middle grades with a carefully chosen selection of well-known and lesser-known compositions by important masters. The volumes are deliberately kept small in extent, since it is more stimulating for children to change the teaching material frequently. There are four existing harpsichord books with a total of 226 compositions by Francois Couperin le Grand (1668 -1733). His works are as unknown to pianists as they are famous among harpsichord players. The grace and imaginativeness of his works lend themselves especially well to the sound of the harpsichord, which is why the piano interpretation of works by Couperin, Rameau, Scarlatti and other composers of that time has been categorically rejected. But, after all, the works of Bach and Handel were written for the haipsichord and clavichord, and no one would dare question their intetpretation on the pianoforte. In order to introduce these lmpressionists of the Baroque Era to piano instruction, the editor has added to this series a folio of both Couperin's and Rameau's (EB 8033) music. The selection of the pieces is based on two criteria: 1. relatively modest demands made on technique, 2. various musical forms of expression. The Butterflies and the Windmills are both especially typical of masterful character pieces. The demands made on technique certainly correspond to a level of moderate difficulty. The simplifications made are restricted to the artistically realized twopart accompaniment (eg. p. 4 f. and p. 8 f.) with regard to finger stretch and to the profuse ornamentation of the original. The indications for phrasing and articulation are those of the editor. The first two pieces have been precisely elaborated on in this respect to serve as a model, whereas the remaining pieces contain only suggestions. As in other folios of this series; what is here to be stressed, is the importance of working out independently the phrasing and the dynamics. Directions for this are given by the respective footnotes; these directions, however, are not obligatory. lndications pertaining to dynamics and tempo have been omitted completely; the clearly recognizable character of the individual pieces should be direction enough. The tonal possibilities of the piano should in any case be used subtly. The very precise fingerings have been adapted to the suggested phrasings and to the corresponding realization of trills (according to the table). Heinz Walter, Salzburg, Spring 1980.
SKU: M7.AST-6173
ISBN 9790203800002. UPC: 841886033597.
The work Selbstbildnis [Self Portrait] was composed in 1989 at the suggestion of the viola player Gunter Pretzel who was in search of compositions reflecting other pieces of music. The Prelude from Bach's first Suite for violoncello solo should be included in my composition. As a starting point, I chose a theme from my opera Sturmnacht [Stormy Night], thus combining two very significant personal things: the story of my first full-length opera and my love of Johann Sebastian Bach whose music I, as son of a church musician, grew up with. Back then, his portrait hung above my piano. Wolfgang-Andreas Schultz.
SKU: SU.12800094
BachScholar Editions Vol. 94: SCHUMANN: Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (18 pages) offers a fine performance edition of Schumann’s popular work, consisting of 13 short and imaginative character pieces (subtitled Easy Pieces for the Piano according the first edition). In addition to presenting a beautiful and robust musical manuscript with optimized page turns, this edition also includes a four-page essay that explains and elucidates the composer’s controversial metronome indications. Also, this edition is replete with useful fingerings and pedalings as well as practical hand redistributions which students and teachers will find innovative and refreshing. This quality edition of Schumann’s masterwork should be in the library of all piano students, teachers, and performers. Published by: BachScholar.
SKU: BT.EMBZ15079
English-German.
Bach's Wohltemperiertes Klavier was Bartók's first instructional publication, divided into four books. Bartók became a professor of piano at the Budapest Music Academy in 1907, and it was probably in this capacity that he was entrusted with preparing a Hungarian edition of the set of pieces. His basic idea was that students learning independently without adequate guidance should receive sufficient directions from the music to perform the works. As a consequence Bartók's score is deliberately over-detailed.For pedagogical reasons the composer ignored the original order of pieces, and compiled the material according to grades of difficulty, dividing it into four books. Thepresent edition presents the Bartók Wohltemperiertes Klavier in two volumes, each containing two books. One interesting feature of the Bartók edition is that two of the fugues in both book III and book IV are written out in full score, to accustom the pupil to score-reading. For some pieces he deliberately refrained from providing performance indications, to give pianists an opportunity to exercise their creativity.The current edition is not a reprint: errors we know of have been corrected, and the layout of the score has been re-arranged keeping in mind the need to turn pages. This edition which includes Bartók's detailed comments is complemented by facsimiles of Bach's manuscript and an afterword by László Somfai.
SKU: BR.EB-6774
ISBN 9790004169735. 9 x 12 inches.
The pieces contained in this volume prepare the student for the playing in three and four parts that is required for the perfomance of the three-part inventions and the French suites. They are most appropriately incorporated into the teaching material after the two-part inventions have been studied. New technical problems, such as the passing under and over of fingers without using the thumb and the rapid substitution of fingers on one key, must here be solved. In order to make the fonn clear, the notation has been simplified as much as possible; the indications of fingering remain quite complicated enough, even though they cannot by far show all the possibilities. lt is necessary to adapt the fingerings to the mobility and span of the particular player's hands, whilst retaining the chosen phrasings to the best of his ability. Isolated notes which require a span exceeding the octave have been placed in brackets; the performance of the ornaments is shown in footnotes. As in the first volume, the missing dynamic and tempo indications must be supplied by the performer himself in accordance with the character of each piece. Especial attention must be paid in polyphonic music to the problem of phrasing and articulation. The editor's suggestions can be replaced by other solutions that make musical sense; these should then be written into the parts. An intensive preoccupation with polyphone structures can even at an early age increase the understanding and love of the musical work of art. Heinz Walter, Salzburg, Summer 1977.