Piano The Books

My son (age 8) has used the primer level of the Faber series for the past 6 months. I think it has a comprehensive and fun approach to teaching piano. He loves it as does his teacher.

This set conveniently collects Griffes' four masterpieces: the impressionistic Roman Sketches, Four Tone-Pictures and Fantasy Pieces, and the masterful Piano Sonata, a work in one movement from 1919, anticipating Bloch and even Prokofiev, angry, violent, dissonant, rhythmically daring for its days.

See my reviews of various recordings: Griffes: Complete Piano Works, Vol. 1, MacDowell & Griffes, Vol. 1, MacDowell & Griffes, Vol. 2, MacDowell & Griffes, Vol. 3 and MacDowell & Griffes, Vol. 4.

This book is a must have for anyone who plays. It has all the classics from "Hail! Hail! The Gang's All here" to "Dixie" to "Danny Boy" and tons more that we all already know or should know! Love the spiral binding - no pages flipping back while playing. Great songs, Great quality book.

the author of this books is the most amazing person i know. he is so very creative and full of life. so may interesting ideas in this one book i can't wait untill he publishes him next book.

I have listened to many albums of `new century music'. This one is my favorite. Peaceful piano melodies are immersed in the sound of cascade and birds. It is a delicate and beautiful combination of piano and the nature. I appreciate the composer's work. I think he truly captured the beauty of natural sounds. When I listen to this album, I feel peaceful and relaxed. I enjoyed it so much.

The Leeds triennial international piano competition is to the UK what the quadrennial Van Cliburn international piano competition is to the USA. The essence of this 1990 book is the dream and impetus of one of the great ladies of the Arts, Dame Fanny Waterman, who reportedly was "unable to sleep one summer night in 1961" and then waking her husband said, "Why don't we start an international piano competition?" The rest, as they say, is history although a history well rendered and documented in the book by Wendy Thompson with Dame Fanny Waterman.

So too, although I believe it needs to be strongly reiterated today, classical piano competitions need to be defended because as Dame Fanny Waterman rather 'realistically' points out in the Foreword of the book, ".... but with the breakdown years ago of the patronage system which fostered great soloists of previous generations, the competition ladder remains the only fair and reasonable alternative."

Note her use of the word "fostered" versus "foisted" because while great talent is a pre-requisite to being recognized, it is very difficult to get heard and recognized trying to do it alone and a case where the exceptions to success 'waiting to be discovered' remain minimal to the rule. In effect, the forum or competition has its place and despite post competition laundry lists of its "evils" and/or the "dehumanizing" aspects of same. Not to mention the difficulties of competition juror consensus or the inevitable comment post 'any' international piano competition of who was allegedly "robbed" of competition advancement or for that matter the first place win itself. But warts that are de facto inherent in such competitions are, in my view, outweighed by the competition opportunities. Much less the very real pressures, demands and intimidations inherent in the classical piano circuit itself!

An excellent read and the realities of the competition and hence most well known by name international competitions are not side stepped but confronted therein. Much of the same would easily and equally apply to the quadrennial Van Cliburn competition. There is another consideration, "stress" does "not" magically disappear when one "makes it" and hence those kinds of things which find their way into classical piano competitions will be ever present later on although how each individual artist deals with it becomes part and parcel of the career process. Think Horowitz! And so many others where it comes as a revelation for others to hear that "nerves" or "jitters" if you will still manifests itself and must be reckoned with even for those of the known and indeed publicly acclaimed virtuoso/virtuosa strata.

Doc Tony

This is a most excellent and updated book on international piano competitions [emphasis on classical piano] by "the" authority on such matters, Dr. Gustav A. Alink. And hey, if Martha Argerich recommends it and she most certainly does in the book Foreword, you can bank on it!

Note this too: I happen to get a 'used' copy graded "very good" by the seller and that's exactly what it was when it arrived yet I bought it through an Amazon vendor for exactly $5.00 plus $3.49 shipping! I've seen some rather hefty prices for this paperback book for reasons that escape me so be careful! It is, after all, dated March of 2003. And obviously dated per se since we're now in April of 2007 but read on.

The book contains a wealth of international piano competitions plus input on what these competitions are all about and what can be expected in terms of the application process, facilities, jury selections, fees, practice facilities, competitor accommodations and related data in about 45 pages before the international listings begin with the book itself running 228 pages. Even the ads at the end of the book offer webpage references and hence up to the minute info is available via the internet 'now' kind of thing and simply going to the 'today' website source itself. Ditto all the listings of course with good information in re competitor age limits, prizes, frequency of the event, phone numbers, contact personnel, URL website info and assorted data. The beauty of the thing is that the data provided where, granted, in various cases, the '2002-2006' competitions are obviously already over, 'but' it gives you the frequency of the competition and the competition phones, fax, website, etc. to get updated info immediately! A handy time saver so to speak.

This is the 4th and latest edition dated March 2003. As I said, I got the book from an Amazon vendor for $5.00 so look around as vendors offer the book for sale. Used or as they say these days, 'pre-owned.' The book is a sort of "yellow pages" directory, if you will, where the info is good but of necessity succinct although by going to the indicated website of the competition or at the very least the address and phone number to request further current information, you'll have it all for follow-up 'instant update' purposes. What's that? Me? Well, if the "old man" with the straight white hair and those facial tell-tale warts could come back from the Vale and hear me play his 2nd and 6th Hungarian Rhapsody pieces [my obvious favorites!], I fear Herr Liszt would give me that penetrating 'stare' of his [that his students often made reference to when the master was not pleased] and then a sort of 'variation' of our old cinematic friend Professor Kingsfield ["The Paper Chase"] a la, "My dear doctor, here's a 'florin', call your 'wife', and tell her that there is serious doubt about your ever becoming an accomplished [to Lisztian standards anyway!] classical pianist!" Hey, could be Ms. Argerich herself along the lines of a sympathetic,, "Have you ever considered simply sticking with the guitar?" ;-)

Doc Tony

It's all here -- all the instrumental piano music Mussorgsky ever wrote. From his first-ever composition written in 1852 (at 13 years old!), taking in "Pictures at an Exhibition" about halfway through, all the way through to his original piano versions of music from his final (and never-completed) opera, "Sorochintsy Fair" -- it's all here.

So what makes this collection better than its rivals? There are two primary attributes, in my mind, which make this collection superior.

The first is its completeness. Not only does this collection include all of Mussorgsky's surviving compositions, but some of them are even represented in two distinct versions. It can be really interesting to compare the two versions of a composition, and obtain partial insight into Mussorgsky's composition methods.

The second advantage this collection has is its accuracy. Unlike other Mussorgsky piano books on the market, this one is based on an "Urtext," which means that special effort has been made to examine the original manuscripts, verifying that each and every note is what the composer actually wrote. This is especially important for Mussorgsky, whose work has suffered from "corrections" made by his contemporaries -- "corrections" which are often unwittingly passed along even today. (For example, not many people know that Rimsky-Korsakov made a number of little "corrections" to "Pictures at an Exhibition," nor do they know that these "corrections" are still passed along by music publishers who don't even know they're there.) With THIS collection, you can be certain that everything is as accurate as possible -- so that the music comes the closest to representing what Mussorgsky actually wrote.

In conclusion, this edition of Mussorgsky's complete piano works is magnificent. The print is large enough to use for performance purposes, and the multiple versions and technical notes at the end make this a good choice for research purposes as well. Combine this with its outstanding completeness and accuracy, and you have a collection that simply can't be beat.

So even if you're only interested in the sheet music for "Pictures at an Exhibition," you should strongly consider purchasing this collection. You'll not only get the most accurate version of "Pictures" available, but you'll also get accurate versions of Mussorgsky's other piano compositions as well. For those who already know they love "Pictures," this is the ideal opportunity to discover more of Mussorgsky's music to love.

Liszt was the composer and pianist that modify the piano technique. He used the whole arm and the body as an alone thing and not only the fingers as it was before. His imense work for piano include various diferent styles of composition. Religious, Sinistre, Romantic, mistic, Religious, technical, trancedental, .... He was really the master of the piano and this full score of his concerts contains all the difficulties and the essence of the work of this wonderfull composer. Definitively Indispensable in music literature.

If the same standards are applied for the other two works in the "Complete Concerti for Piano" also issued by Dover (which I've as yet not seen), I'll regret not getting the latter volume (which has all three concerti the composer ever wrote for piano and orchestra)!! Outstanding in all events - easy to read, excellent for study and possible even to play from (though for practical purposes as a pianist, a 2-piano version {where the 2nd-piano is the reduction of the orchestral part} is eminently preferable) while remaining eminently scholarly. Most definitively GET IT!!!