Contemporary International Piano Music

SKU: BR.BG-922

ISBN 9790004140192. 9 x 12 inches.

When the mathematically oriented compositional method started losing favour, composers began turning again more strongly to the piano, from the midsixties on, and discovered, as it were, the new poetry of the instrument through effects obtained with harmonics and preparation. For this reason, only a few pieces dating from before 1965 have been selected. Most of the following pieces were composed especially for this anthology. They are arranged in order of increasing difficulty. While the first volume is intended more for the amateur, the second volume presupposes a greater degree of skill. Due to the great number of composers, it was impossible even to pretend to offer a representative cross-section of contemporary German piano music. Several composers had to be excluded because they wrote no notable works for piano. Another criterion influencing the selection of pieces was the effort to present the most varies styles of piano writing possible. Moreover, special notice has been given to the works which display originality, even though their authors are not among the most widely known and marketable musicians of the day.

SKU: BR.BG-591

ISBN 9790004130841. 9 x 12 inches.

These two books of piano pieces arranged in progressive order of difficulty are the first collection to give a representative survey of contemporary Greek music. No pretensions of completeness are being made. The piece by Skalkottas is the only one that has been published before, and I am indebted to the Universal Edition, Vienna, for their kind permission to republish it.The younger generation of Greek composers have turned away from their national folklore, which is in evidence in just a few works only as a latent force. Some of the composers were introduced to modern techniques by the outstanding teacher Jannis A. Papaioannou and have gone abroad to complete their knowledge of the latest methods and to integrate them into their personal style. Older composers like Poniridy and Konstantinidis are represented by works of artfully stylized folk music.I should like to acknowledge the advice and help given to me by my friend and colleague Jannis A. Papaioannou, as well as to the American Director of the Gennadeios Library, Francis R. Walton, for generously providing the manuscript of the piece by Mitropoulos. (Gunther Becker).

SKU: BR.BG-507

ISBN 9790004130261. 9 x 12 inches.

SKU: BR.EB-8288

ISBN 9790004176047. 9 x 12 inches.

SKU: BR.BG-776

ISBN 9790004131534. 9 x 12 inches.

SKU: BR.BG-1014

ISBN 9790004132142. 9 x 12 inches.

SKU: BR.BG-658

ISBN 9790004131329. 9 x 12 inches.

SKU: BT.CAZOMW01

One Minute Wonders Volume 1 , A Collection Of Contemporary Piano Works By British Composers. A Fascinating Snapshot Of British Contemporary Piano Writing At The Beginning Of The 21St Century. Highly Recommended. Epta Piano Journal I Found The Collection Extremely Inspiring And It Deserves A Strong Recommendation. International Piano.

SKU: ET.PNO81

ISBN 9790207003256.

L’enfance en éclats 2001 [Childhood Shattered]
As its title suggests, Childhood Shattered is program music. A simple and graceful tune, symbolizing childhood, is abruptly interrupted by a horrific, dissonant chord. The tune returns ; but the echo of the chord, still lingering in the background, tells us that the memory of the traumatic event persists. Life has darkened. Nothing is as it was before. The initial melody wanders into keys ever stranger and more distant, ultimately arriving at a new theme, obsessive, with grating seconds and thrusting accents. This shattered childhood and its episodes of aimlessness, will it give birth to new certainties?
The piece is an exercise in contrasting detached notes with tied notes.
Commissioned by the Association Jeune musique. Required work at the International Piano Competition Freiburg - Jeune Musique, 2002.

Toccata (2004)
This piece by Caroline Charrière issues from the historical lineage of the toccata, traditionally an exercise of dexterity characterized by repeated musical motifs.
The introduction is constructed of subtly displaced upper-register chords in the right hand that alternate with two lower notes in the left hand, creating an almost meditative preamble. In the rapid section of the piece, the performer playfully exploits the keyboard's full breadth in the course of spirited dialogues between notes high and low.
Commissioned by the Association Jeune Musique. Required work in Category IV at the International Piano Competition Freiburg - Jeune musique, 2004.
Irène Minder-Jeanneret.