SKU: BO.BC0006

Despite a strong vocation for the cello, which he studied and began to play with a distinctive character, Pau Casals, like most ambitious, creative musicians, wrote at the piano and for the piano, as it is the ultimate teaching instrument, summarising the full vision of the creative process. Any creative musician habitually worked at the piano, whether for this instrument alone or for piano accompanied by other solo instruments. To date, it has not been possible to document whether Casals had systematic training on this instrument, although at that time it was more common than it is today because, considering its qualities of timbre and combination, it was particularly attractive for creating test pieces and different kinds of compositions.

The piano works contained in this second volume include part of the salon repertoire, a continuation of the first volume, and four sardanas for piano of diverse origin: some are reductions of more complex forms and others sketches for instrumental groups. In the first group, some works intended for children are published, a demonstration of the tenderness the ‘cellist felt for the children of his closest friends. In the second case, the sardanas are works from his first exile in Prada and show the nostalgia of the composer, away from his country against his will.

In general, the works are not especially complex; their purpose and nature are diverse. They come in the context of salon music, with the appearance of creative entertainments characterised by a basically tonal, transparent language with a widespread tendency to modulate to nearby keys more as a momentary expressive resource than as a structural evolutionary procedure. They show a lack of systematic work on the instrument as well as the commonplaces of piano composition of their time. In some of these works, the piano thread breaks, the works do not have the thrust of finished products; the occasional appearance of chords that are difficult or impossible to finger leads us to think of intentions closer to test pieces than to products intended for normal performance. But not all these piano works are circumstantial. There is also a prelude and a minuet of a certain piano writing complexity.

SKU: HL.360543

ISBN 9781789361940. 9.0x12.0 inches.

The new RSL Classical Piano syllabus aims to reflect the widening tastes of young people, positioning itself at the forefront of thevast array of music available to pianists, encompassing the rich heritage of music from the Baroque right through to the modern day and emerging composers. The repertoire strikes a balance between a radical redesign and maintaining a recognisable structure, and sticks to four key principles: championing ethnically diverse composers, representing genders, acknowledging the history and tradition of piano learning, and enabling students to feel comfortable studying music in a popular and classical environment. The syllabus books are all beautifully presented, and to the high standard for which RSL books have become renowned from their market-leading Rockschool examinations for contemporary music. Each contains 10 pieces from a diverse range of composers and include everything students need to take their exams, including technical exercises and supporting texts for sight-reading, ear tests and general musicianship questions.

SKU: HL.360544

9.0x12.0 inches.

The new RSL Classical Piano syllabus aims to reflect the widening tastes of young people, positioning itself at the forefront of thevast array of music available to pianists, encompassing the rich heritage of music from the Baroque right through to the modern day and emerging composers. The repertoire strikes a balance between a radical redesign and maintaining a recognisable structure, and sticks to four key principles: championing ethnically diverse composers, representing genders, acknowledging the history and tradition of piano learning, and enabling students to feel comfortable studying music in a popular and classical environment. The syllabus books are all beautifully presented, and to the high standard for which RSL books have become renowned from their market-leading Rockschool examinations for contemporary music. Each contains 10 pieces from a diverse range of composers and include everything students need to take their exams, including technical exercises and supporting texts for sight-reading, ear tests and general musicianship questions.

SKU: HL.1115751

ISBN 9781705180129. UPC: 196288106029.

Composer Scott Aaron Miller has created a collection of seven short preludes, for solo piano, in different styles. Some follow a style close to Scriabin while others go further back to even reach Rameau. However, each one holds the individual personality that Mr. Miller has acquired over the years as a seasoned composer.

SKU: BT.WA-4089-401

ISBN 9789043141963. English.

This beautiful melody from the French master of romance makes an ideal piano which can be used in a great variety of circumstances from weddings to funerals.

Composés entre 1909 et 1912, les deux livres de Préludes pour Piano comptent parmi les œuvres tardives de Claude Debussy (1862-1918). Elles révèlent une grande diversité de styles, de textures, de climats et d’émotions, et constituent un condensé de toutes les particularités du langage de Debussy. La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin est le huitième prélude du premier livre. Il est célèbre pour sa profondeur émotionnelle malgré sa simplicité technique et harmonique. Nul ne sait qui fut la fille aux cheveux de lin, mais cette miniature merveilleusement subtile réveille notre imaginaire.