Beethoven's piano sonatas are a cornerstone of the piano repertoire and favourites of both the concert hall and recording studio. The sonatas have been the subject of much scholarship, but no single study gives an adequate account of the processes by which these sonatas were composed and published. With source materials such as sketches and correspondence increasingly available, the time is ripe for a close study of the history of these works. Barry Cooper, who in 2007 produced a new edition of all 35 sonatas, including three that are often overlooked, examines each sonata in turn, addressing questions such as: Why were they written? Why did they turn out as they did? How did they come into being and how did they reach their final form? Drawing on the composer's sketches, autograph scores and early printed editions, as well as contextual material such as correspondence, Cooper explores the links between the notes and symbols found in the musical texts of the sonatas, and the environment that brought them about. The result is a biography not of the composer, but of the works themselves.

With clear and easy-to-understand exercises, The Piano Handbook is perfect for anyone interested in learning the piano. It provides fresh material and techniques, and gives brand-new players everything they need to learn and enjoy the piano. This book's innovative tutorial approach to piano covers classical and contemporary music styles in an integrated way. Instead of limiting students to one type of music and one style of playing, author Carl Humphries draws connections between various genres and techniques, highlighting the principles and history they share. Performance, improvisation, and composition are treated as interrelated skills that can be learned together. Featuring a mix of repertoire and freshly composed study pieces, The Piano Handbook demonstrates that learning different kinds of music at the same time can be a positive and enriching experience.

Alfred's Basic Adult All-in-One Course is designed for use with an instructor for the beginning student looking for a truly complete piano course. It is a greatly expanded version of Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course that will include lesson, theory, technic, and additional repertoire in a convenient, "all-in-one" format. This comprehensive course features written assignments that reinforce each lesson's concepts, a smooth, logical progression between each lesson, a thorough explanation of chord theory and playing styles, and outstanding extra songs, including folk, classical, and contemporary selections. At the completion of this course, the student will have learned to play some of the most popular music ever written and will have gained a good understanding of basic musical concepts and styles. The comb binding creates a lay-flat book that is perfect for study and performance. Titles: Alexander's Ragtime Band * Arkansas Traveler * Ballin' the Jack * The Battle Hymn of the Republic * Black Forest Polka * Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair * Bourlesq * Brahms Lullaby * Bridal Chorus from "Lohengrin" * Calypso Carnival * Canon in D (Pachelbel) * Chorale * Circus March * Danny Boy * Dark Eyes * Deep River * Divertimento in D * Down in the Valley * Etude (Chopin) * Farewell to Thee (Aloha Oe) * Fascination * Festive Dance * For He's a Jolly Good Fellow * Frankie and Johnnie * Guantanamera * Hava Nagila * He's Got the Whole World in His Hands * The Hokey-Pokey * The House of the Rising Sun * Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 * Introduction and Dance * La Bamba * La Donna E Mobile * La Raspa * Light and Blue * Loch Lomond * Lonesome Road * Love's Greeting * The Magic Piper * The Marriage of Figaro * Mexican Hat Dance * Morning Has Broken * Musetta's Waltz * Night Song * Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen * Olympic Procession * Overture from "Raymond" * Plaisir D'Amour * Polyvetsian Dances * Pomp and Circumstance No. 1 * The Riddle * Rock-a My Soul * Sakura * Scherzo * So

Growing up in Huntsville, Alabama, during the first quarter of the 20th century, Alabama-born organist and composer Lee Orville Erwin, like many of the 20th century s great American composers, spent time studying in Paris. From 1930 until 1931 Erwin studied in France with organist Andre Marchal and the harmony teachers Jean Verd and Nadia Boulanger. This formative experience greatly shaped his compositional style and aesthetic. Upon returning to the United States, Erwin began his lengthy career in radio and television working with Arthur Godfrey. In 1967, Erwin was commissioned by the American Theater Organ Society to compose organ music for the Gloria Swanson film Queen Kelly. It was this film that led his career back into the consoles of the great American theater organs. He toured extensively, playing thousands of concerts of organ music during silent film showings. He thus ushered in the silent film revival, continuing the genre of live music performance accompanying film. Erwin, believing that cue sheets originally compiled for these films during the silent film era were full of the musical cliche s of the 1920s, composed new scores to over 100 silent films. An American Organist in Paris presents Lee Orville Erwin's letters from France to his family in 1930-1931. In these letters, Erwin recounts his daily experiences and encounters with some of the 20th century's greatest musicians and teachers. He writes of his lessons with Marchal, Verd, and Boulanger and dinner parties with Olivier Messiaen. Erwin's letters not only provide the singular experiences of a young musician but also reflect the common experiences shared by the multitude of American composers who studied in France during this time. These letters are extensively footnoted to provide clarity and background information of the locations and personalities discussed. A biographical chapter on Erwin, which outlines his extensive musical career and impact on the silent film music revival in the 20th century, is also included. This book will serve as a unique glimpse into the life of one of America's most prolific composers for the theater organ.

Influenced by Robert and Clara Schumann and Joseph Joachim, Johannes Brahms not only learned to play the organ at the beginning of his career, but also wrote significant compositions for the instrument as a result of his early counterpoint study. He composed for the organ only sporadically or as part of larger choral and instrumental works in his subsequent career. During the final year of his life, however, he returned to pure organ composition with a set of chorale preludes--though many of these are thought to have been revisions of earlier works. Today, the organ works of Johannes Brahms are recognized as beautifully-crafted compositions by church and concert organists across the world and have become a much-cherished component of the repertoire. Until now, however, most scholarly accounts of Brahms's life and work treat his works for the organ as a minor footnote in his development as a composer.
Precisely because the collection of organ works is not extensive, the pieces--composed at different times during Brahms's lifetime--help to map his path as a composer, pinpointing various stages in his artistic development. In this volume, Barbara Owen offers the first in-depth study of this corpus, considering Brahms's organ works in relation to his background, methods, and overall artistic development, his contacts with organs and organists, the influence of his predecessors and contemporaries, and analyses of each specific work and its place in Brahms's career. Her expert history and analysis of Brahms's individual organ works and their interpretation also investigates contemporary practices relative to the performance of these pieces. The book's three valuable appendices present aguide to editions of Brahms's organ works, a discussion of the organ in Brahms's world that highlights some organs the composer would have heard, and a listing of the organ transcriptions of Brahms's work.
Blending unique insights into composition and performance practice, this book will be read eagerly by performers, students, and scholars of the organ, Brahms, and the music of the Nineteenth Century.

(Piano Collection). This new volume in Schirmer's Library of Musical Classics presents 26 preludes, 21 nocturnes and 19 waltzes a large amount of music at a value price. There are new urtext editions of seven pieces included, not edited by Joseffy in his original Schirmer editions: Prelude in A-flat Major (1834), Nocturne in C-sharp minor (1830), Nocturne in C minor (1837), and Waltzes in A-flat Major (1830), E-flat Major (1830), E-flat Major (1840), and A minor (1843).

Isolde Ahlgrimm (1914-1995) was an important pioneer in the revival of Baroque and Classical keyboard instruments in her native city, Vienna, and later, throughout Europe and the United States. She trained as a pianist at the Musikakademie in Vienna under the instruction of Viktor Ebenstein, Emil von Sauer and Franz Schmidt. In 1934 she met the musical instrument collector, Dr Erich Fiala, whom she married in 1938. His activities opened up the world of early instruments to her. Using a 1790 fortepiano by Michael Rosenberger, Isolde Ahlgrimm began her career as a specialist on early keyboard instruments with the first in her notable series of Concerte fA1/4r Kenner und Liebhaber, given in Vienna's Palais Palffy in February 1937. Ahlgrimm's career as a harpsichordist also began in 1937, when a new instrument was commissioned from the Ammer brothers in Eisenberg, Germany. In 1943 Ahlgrimm performed her first all-harpsichord programme, which consisted of the Goldberg Variations by J.S. Bach. From 1949 to 1956, she devoted herself to performing and recording nearly all of Bach's harpsichord music for the newly-founded Dutch label, Philips, presenting her new approach to the harpsichord to a wider audience. Ahlgrimm's performances of Baroque music represented a radical departure from the distinctly twentieth-century interpretations by the much more famous Wanda Landowska and her followers. Most obviously, Ahlgrimm's harpsichord performances eliminated frequent registration changes (her instrument had hand stops rather than pedals to change registers), and largely eschewed the massive ritardandi and other anachronistic performance practices that were hallmarks of Landowska's essentially Romantic style. Ahlgrimm researched and emphasized rhetorical traditions on which the music was based. This became more pronounced throughout the course of her later performing, writing and teaching career, and it was the beginning of an approach to the performance of eighteenth-century music which was later further developed by Gustav Leonhardt, Nikolaus Harnoncourt and their students. Peter Watchorn provides an engaging study of this pioneer, and argues that Isolde Ahlgrimm's contribution to the harpsichord and fortepiano revival was pivotal, and that her use of period instruments and the inspiration she instilled in younger musicians, including Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt, has been almost entirely overlooked by the wider musical world.

Music theory is often seen as independent from - even antithetical to - performance. While music theory is an intellectual enterprise, performance requires an intuitive response to the music. But this binary opposition is a false one, which serves neither the theorist nor the performer. In Interpreting Chopin Alison Hood brings her experience as a performer to bear on contemporary analytical models. She combines significant aspects of current analytical approaches and applies that unique synthetic method to selected works by Chopin, casting new light on the composer's preludes, nocturnes and barcarolle. An extension of Schenkerian analysis, the specific combination of five aspects distinguishes Hood's method from previous analytical approaches. These five methods are: attention to the rhythms created by pitch events on all structural levels; a detailed accounting of the musical surface; 'strict use' of analytical notation, following guidelines offered by Steve Larson; a continual concern with what have been called 'strategies' or 'premises'; and an exploration of how recorded performances might be viewed in terms of analytical decisions, or might even shape those decisions. Building on the work of such authors as William Rothstein, Carl Schachter and John Rink, Hood's approach to Chopin's oeuvre raises interpretive questions of central interest to performers.

The purpose of The Organists' Manual is to provide, within a single volume, technical studies, diverse compositions, and technical information for beginning organists.

The Piano Player: British Classics presents 20 iconic pieces of British classical music, specially arranged for intermediate piano solo. The collection includes the theme from Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar and Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis alongside music by Rachel Portman, Benjamin Britten, Howard Goodall and more, as well as traditional classics from across the British Isles. All the books in The Piano Player series feature a collectible pull-out print of the stunning cover artwork by the 20th century British painter Edward Bawden, alongside some of the greatest classical music ever written, specially arranged for the intermediate pianist.

At fifteen, Sanford Brunson Campbell (1884-1952) became enchanted with the new sounds of ragtime and ran away from his rural Kansas home, hopping a train to Sedalia, Missouri, determined to take piano lessons from a black musician he had never met. Scott Joplin nicknamed his white protege ""The Ragtime Kid."" A composer and entertainer at the dawn of the ragtime era, ""Brun"" was a prime mover in the ragtime revival of the 1940s and helped establish Joplin's prominence as an American virtuoso. Campbell's own legacy was tarnished by his inability to tell a straight story and he was often dismissed as a liar and a clown. Based on his memoirs, musical compositions and correspondence with music industry notables, this first comprehensive biography of Campbell reveals an engaging storyteller and a devotee wholly dedicated to a musical genre that had been given up as dead. His firsthand account of life as an itinerant pianist in the Midwest provides a unique picture of life a century ago.

Longtime collectors of video recordings (VHS) of piano, both solo and with orchestra desire nothing more than a catalog listing only piano performances. This catalog provides the means whereby music professionals, average piano students, and piano aficionados can study piano performance in both its audio and video aspects. Part I provides information on nearly 200 piano performance videos that where personally heard by the authors. There is a brief evaluation of each video, the authors thoughts as well as the opinions of highly regarded critics in the music performance field. Part II lists supplemental video recordings containing performances by more than one pianist, as in collections, competitions, and documentaries. Part III cross-references the catalog by composer. Each composition relates to a piano performance listed in Part I or Part II. In some instances, the pianist plays only excerpts of compositions, but these musical fragments are included because they are the only VHS performances the authors could find by that particular pianist or simply because they are so representative of the pianist's style. The video recording provides an evocative look at the pianist, how he produces his particular sound, what hand position he prefers when playing a concerto, and his rapport with both orchestra and conductor. A useful tool for piano music enthusiasts, for those looking to hear piano performance, and for skilled pianists looking for new insights.

The key to fast and fun piano proficiency! Whether you're a wannabe Mozart or are an experienced hand at tinkling the ivories, the latest edition of Piano For Dummies has what you need to take you to the next level in making beautiful music using this much-loved and versatile instrument. Working as an introductory course--or as a refresher to keep those fingers nimble--you'll find information on getting started, improving your technique and performance, and the best ways to practice until you hit finely tuned perfection. And, along the way, you'll pick up the techniques for different styles, including classical, blues, and rock. In an easy-to-follow style, the book also helps you sharpen your sight-reading. You can also tune in to audio and video online to help you improve your creativity and discipline, as well as hear and see that you're hitting the right notes. Choose the right piano Know your keys Scale up for success Care for your instrument Whatever you want from your love affair with the old "88," you'll find enough right here to keep you hammering happily--and even more proficiently--away for years to come! P.S. If you think this book seems familiar, you're probably right. The Dummies team updated the cover and design to give the book a fresh feel, but the content is the same as the previous release of Piano For Dummies (9781118900055). The book you see here shouldn't be considered a new or updated product. But if you're in the mood to learn something new, check out some of our other books. We're always writing about new topics!

Lang Lang Piano Academy: mastering the piano level 5 (approximately equivalent to Grade 5/Intermediate) includes sections on legato pedalling, phrasing and rubato and new accompaniment styles. Units: Developing dexterity Instinctive pedalling Refining the touch Phrasing and rubato Character Ornamentation Interpretation and style Performing Mastering the piano is the first series of books to be launched in the Lang Lang Piano Academy. Comprising five progressive books, mastering the piano captures Lang Lang's passion, drive and extraordinary mastery of the piano. Each book gives students the chance to learn from this exceptional talent, with: 8 units that develop key aspects of piano technique; specially devised exercises & studies; a diverse selection of repertoire including Lang Lang's favourite works; and inspirational commentary & guidance from Lang Lang himself. Mastering the piano is also available as an iPad App! Listen to Lang Lang perform Prelude in C by J. S. Bach Download FREE Scales & Arpeggios Chart for Level 5

The authors' new approach to learning two playing techniques offers a systematic method for mastering the modern, legato technique needed for organ music composed after 1750, as well as an articulated technique for earlier works. The authors also present useful information on accompanying anthems and solos and on adapting piano and orchestral accompaniments to the organ.

80 masterworks arranged for easy piano. It includes 1812 overture by Tchaikovsky, Air on the G String by Bach and the ode to joy by Beethoven.

Mozart's emergence as a mature artist coincides with the rise to prominence of the piano, an instrument that came alive under his fingers and served as medium for many of his finest compositions. In Mozart's Piano Music, William Kinderman reconsiders common assumptions about Mozart's life and art while offering comprehensive and incisive commentary on the solo music and concertos. After placing Mozart's pianistic legacy in its larger biographical and cultural context, Kinderman addresses the lively gestural and structural aspects of Mozart's musical language and explores the nature of his creative process. Incorporating the most recent research throughout this encompassing study, Kinderman expertly surveys each of the major genres of the keyboard music, including the four-hand and two-piano works. Beyond examining issues such as Mozart's earliest childhood compositions, his musical rhetoric and expression, the social context of his Viennese concertos, and affinities between his piano works and operas, Kinderman's main emphasis falls on detailed discussion of selected individual compositions.

The piano works of Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) are among the most treasured musical compositions of the twentieth century. In this volume, pianist and Russian music scholar Sofia Moshevich provides detailed interpretive analyses of the ten major piano solo works by Shostakovich, carefully noting important stylistic details and specific ways to overcome the numerous musical and technical challenges presented by the music. Each piece is introduced with a brief historic and structural description, followed by an examination of such interpretive aspects as tempo, phrasing, dynamics, voice balance, pedaling, and fingering. This book will be an invaluable resource for students, pedagogues, and performers of Shostakovich's piano solos.

Piano Pedagogy: A Research and Information Guide provides a detailed outline of resources available for research and/or training in piano pedagogy. Like its companion volumes in the Routledge Music Bibliographies series, it serves beginning and advanced students and scholars as a basic guide to current research in the field. The book will includes bibliographies, research guides, encyclopedias, works from other disciplines that are related to piano pedagogy, current sources spanning all formats, including books, journals, audio and video recordings, and electronic sources.

This guide to the piano literature for the one-handed pianist surveys over 2,100 individual piano pieces which include not only concert literature but pedagogical pieces as well. Following the introduction are four chapters cataloguing original works for the right hand alone, original works for the left hand alone, music arranged or transcribed for one hand alone, and concerted works for one hand in concert with other pianists, instruments, or voices. Each entry assesses the individual composition, its quality, its difficulty, its particular appeal, and its uses with the composer's name, dates, and nationality, where possible. Also included is a selected discography of commercially produced phonodiscs, compact discs, and cassettes.

Instructors and pianists alike will appreciate this exhaustive guide to one-handed piano music. To aid further research, a bibliography of books, articles, and theses about the literature is provided along with a chapter that lists the contents of thirty-six anthologies devoted to one-handed piano music. This unique reference also includes an index.

Keyboard Music Before 1700 begins with an overview of the development of keyboard music in Europe. Then, individual chapters by noted authorities in the field cover the key composers and repertory before 1700 in England, France, Germany and the Netherlands, Italy, and Spain and Portugal. The book concludes with a chapter on performance practice, which addresses current issues in the interpretation and revival of this music.