Why does a piano sound like a piano? A similar question can be asked of virtually all musical instruments. A particular note-such as middle C-can be produced by a piano, a violin, a clarinet, and many other instruments, yet it is easy for even a musically untrained listener to distinguish between these different instruments. A central quest in the study of musical instruments is to understand why the sound of the "same" note depends greatly on the instrument, and to elucidate which aspects of an instrument are most critical in producing the musical tones characteristic of the instrument. The primary goal of this book is to investigate these questions for the piano. The explanations in this book use a minimum of mathematics, and are intended for anyone who is interested in music and musical instruments. At the same time, there are many insights relating physics and the piano that will likely be interesting and perhaps surprising for many physicists.

This stylish album for violin and piano takes players on a musical tour of autumn, presenting well-loved songs such as 'September in the Rain', 'Autumn Leaves', 'Danny Boy', and '(Somewhere) Over the Rainbow' and original compositions on other seasonal themes. The nine pieces reflect a wide variety of jazz styles, including swing, blues, calypso, and bossa nova, and draw on artists such as Yehudi Menuhin, Stephane Grappelli, Didier Lockwood, and Regina Carter. With fully notated rhythms, grooves, and improvisations, Violin Jazz in Autumn is the perfect collection for instrumentalists looking for that authentic sound.

This volume considers the influences and development of the English organ sonata tradition that began in the 1850s with compositions by W. T. Best and William Spark. With the expansion of the instrument's capabilities came an opportunity for organist-composers to consider the repertoire anew with many factors reinforcing a desire to elevate the literature to new heights. This study begins by examining the legacy of the keyboard sonata in Britain and especially the pedagogical lineage that was to be seen through Mendelssohn and ultimately the early organ sonatas. The abiding influence of William Crotch's lectures are studied to illuminate how a culture of conservatism emboldened the organist-composers towards compositions that were seen to represent the ideals of the Classical era but in a contemporary vein. The veneration of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven is then examined as composers wrote "portfolio" sonatas, each with a movement in a contrasting style to exhibit their compositional prowess while providing repertoire for the novice and connoisseur alike. Finally the volume considers how the British organist-composers who studied at the Leipzig Conservatorium had a direct bearing on the furtherance of an organ culture at home that in turn set the ground for the seminal work in the genre, Elgar's Sonata of 1895.

A deeply researched biography of the great French organist, who composed some of the best-loved works in the organ repertory -- and the masterful Requiem. Maurice Durufle: The Man and His Music is a new biography of the great French organist and composer (1902-86), and the most comprehensive in any language. James E. Frazier traces Durufle's musical training, his studies withTournemire and Vierne, and his career as an organist, church musician, composer, recitalist, Conservatoire professor, and orchestral musician. Frazier also examines the career and contributions of Durufle's wife, the formidable organist Marie-Madeleine Durufle-Chevalier. Durufle brought the church's unique language of plainsong into a compelling liaison with the secular harmonies of the modern French school (as typified by Debussy, Ravel, and Dukas)in works for his own instrument and in his widely loved masterpiece, the Requiem Op. 9 for soloists, chorus, organ, and orchestra. Drawing on the accounts of those who knew Durufle personally as well as on Frazier's own detailed research, Maurice Durufle offers a broad sketch of this modest and elusive man, widely recognized today for having created some of the greatest works in the organ repertory -- and the masterful Requiem. James E. Frazier holds advanced degrees in philosophy, organ, theology, and sacred music from St. Alphonsus College, Mt. St. Alphonsus Seminary, Hartt School of Music, the Yale University Divinity School, and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. He served Episcopal churches in Hartford, Connecticut, and St. Paul, Minnesota, as organist and director of music. For ten years he was director of music for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

The music of Edvard Grieg is justly celebrated for its harmonic richness, a feature especially apparent in the piano works written in the last decades of his life. Grieg was enchanted by what he styled the 'dreamworld' of harmony, a magical realm whose principles the composer felt remained a mystery even to himself, and he was not alone, in that the complex nature of late-Romantic harmony around 1900 has proved a keen source of debate up to the present day. Grieg's music forms a particularly profitable repertoire for focusing current debates about the nature of tonality and tonal harmony. Departing from earlier approaches, this study is not simply an inventory of Griegian harmonic traits but seeks rather to ascertain the deeper principles at work governing their meaningful conjunction, how elements of Grieg's harmonic grammar are utilised in creating an extended tonal syntax. Building both on historical theories and more recent developments, Benedict Taylor develops new models for understanding the complexity of late-Romantic tonal practice as epitomised in Grieg's music. Such an investigation casts further valuable light on the twin issues of nature and nationalism long connected with the composer: the question of tonality as something natural or culturally constructed and larger historiographical claims concerning Grieg's apparent position on the periphery of the Austro-German tradition.

Piano Sketches 2 is a fabulous new collection for younger pianists at intermediate level (approx. Grades 4-5). The pieces include a broad range of appealing and accessible styles and will delight student and listener alike, as well as helping to reinforce technical skills. Get toes tapping with the 'Country Fiddler', lose yourself in the delicately beautiful 'Sweet Memories', take a trip into orbit with 'Space Wanderer', and step back into the Baroque with the magnificent 'Sonatina Polifonica'. As well as being great fun to play, these pieces offer young pianists an adventure in texture, melody, and harmony and will support formal study.

Improve your sight-reading! Piano Grade 2 (Elementary) is part of the best-selling series by Paul Harris, guaranteed to improve your sight-reading! This workbook helps the player overcome problems by building up a complete picture of each piece, through rhythmic and melodic exercises related to specific technical issues, then by studying prepared pieces with associated questions, and finally by 'going solo' with a series of meticulously graded sight-reading pieces. This edition now includes supporting audio available online for students to check their performances against. The Improve your sight-reading! series will help you improve your reading ability, and with numerous practice tests included, will ensure sight-reading success in graded exams.

Grooves for Two is a collection of seven groovy pieces for piano four-hands, written by leading pianist-composers working in jazz and other popular styles. Designed for teacher-pupil duos, the pieces provide foot-tapping fun while exploring rhythmic styles often reserved for bands, encouraging good ensemble playing and a strong sense of beat. To heighten the creativity, the collection includes optional improvisation sections, and a CD of demo performances and practice backing-tracks. This is piano-duet playing at its coolest...

This book presents figured harmony as a form of aural training. It seeks to make the student more keenly aware of chord-relationships as actual sound. It will increase the student's power to form an inward realization of what a page of music is going to sound like without having actually heard it.

With a host of accessible, quality new settings, and with pieces based on all the major hymn tunes, these volumes are a must for every church organist's library.

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.

With a host of accessible, quality new settings, and with pieces based on all the major hymn tunes, these volumes are a must for every church organist's library.

Alkan: lonely 19th century genius, virtuoso pianist and also composer of some of the most difficult and disturbingly powerful piano music. After a long period of neglect his piano music is being discovered by an ever-widening public and played and recorded by some of the world's leading pianists. This edition, in two parts, was originally published in two separate volumes - the first dealth with the man, and the second was devoted solely to his music. With this reprint in one volume the books have been extensively revised, with two extra appendices added, and new bibliographies and discographies included.

The title of this collection of essays refers to a tailor's mannequin that Alfred Brendel spotted in a shop window in Arezzo, a small Tuscan town. Who is this strange lady? What is she looking at? And why is she carrying an egg on her head? The mannequin now graces a room in the attic of Brendel's house in Hampstead. Her features convey great artistic seriousness in combination with absurd comedy: the epitome of his own musical and literary preferences. And so, in his delightful new collection, great masters of nonsense meet great masters of music.

This five-volume graded series of organ music by J. S. Bach (2 volumes for manuals only; 3 volumes for manuals and pedals) provides a wonderful selection of pieces for all players. The whole is an authoritative and fully practical introduction to this cornerstone of the organ repertoire, with pieces presented in highly practical form for teachers and students.

This five-volume graded series of organ music by J. S. Bach (2 volumes for manuals only; 3 volumes for manuals and pedals) provides a wonderful selection of pieces for all players. The whole is an authoritative and fully practical introduction to this cornerstone of the organ repertoire, with pieces presented in highly practical form for teachers and students.

Embertides is a four-movement suite for organ based on the roughly equal divisions of the church year - Advent, Lent, Whitsun, and Michaelmas - which in turn hark back to earlier, secular traditions. Throughout, there are short references and hints to plainsong and other hymns relevant to the seasons. Drawing on a wide range of colours and textures, the composer creates an evocative and varied suite of pieces, perfectly suited for both recital and church performance; as such, the work will be welcomed by a wide range of players.

This five-volume graded series of organ music by J. S. Bach (2 volumes for manuals only; 3 volumes for manuals and pedals) provides a wonderful selection of pieces for all players. The whole is an authoritative and fully practical introduction to this cornerstone of the organ repertoire, with pieces presented in highly practical form for teachers and students.