Pianist - October-November 2016

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No 92 Helping you become a better player 

S  O   N    S  

 LEAR  LE ARN N ADE ADELE LE’S ’S  STIR  ST IRRI RING NG HIT HIT SIN SINGL GLE  E 

 M akee You  Mak  Feeel My  F M y Love  Love  ALEXANDRE  TH  T HAR ARA AUD Conjuror of the keyboard  MASTERCLASS 

14 LEARN PIECES PIEC ES TO TO

Create fluency in your playing

 ALL LEVELS LE VELS AND ALL STYLES STY LES

BEGINNER LESSON

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Clementi

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Sonatina  in C op 36 no 1

Pianist 92

WHAT ACTUALLY IS A

LISTEN • LEARN • PLAY

HYBRID PIANO?

14 LEARN PIECESTO

 ALL LEVELS ANDALL STYLES

BEGINNERLESSON

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Clementi

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Sonatina  in C op 36 no 1

Exclusivebon us tracks

ALEXANDRETHARAUD plays Scarlatti & Chopin MELVYN TAN plays Beethoven

Expert advice on advice on Scriabin’s smouldering

 Etude op 8 no 12 in D sharp minor 

SCORESBY CZERNY SCRIABIN CLEMENTI  BORODIN GRIEG NAZARETH MAYKAPAR andmore performedby ChenyinLi Pinit

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Still time to enter our COMPOSING COMPETITION! 

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Pianist 92

CONTENTS

October-November 2016 The next issue of Pianist goes on sale 25 November 

70

82

8

12 4

Editor’s Note

6

Readers’ Letters

8  News Competition results, a chance to visit the August Förster factory, Howard Shelley explores Mozart and more 12   Alexandre Tharaud e French 12 pianist talks to Jessica Duchen about interpreting Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto and bringing magic into music 16 How to Play Masterclass Masterclass 1 Mark Tanner Tanner on fluency 19 How to Play Masterclass Masterclass 2 Graham Fitch on deconstructing the score 22 How to Play 1 Melanie Spanswick on the first movement of Clementi’s Sonatina in C op 36 no 1 (Scores pages 34) 23 How to Play 2 Janet Newman on Fuchs’s Dear little sister  (Scores  (Scores page 36)

27   The Scores  A pull-out 27 pull- out section sect ion of 40 pages of sheet music for all levels. Plus, three scores from Schott’s Piano  Anthology series 67 Master & pupil To celebrate his 60th birthday, Melvyn Tan presents a ‘Master and pupil’ programme with a new disc and a Wigmore Hall recital 68   Understanding Theory  A series to 68 help you build your knowledge of theory. is issue: Introducin Introducingg harmony  70 Eric Wortham Wortham II Editor Erica Worth talks to her near-namesake – the pianist, songwriter and producer who tours with the likes of Adele and loves to improvise 72   Composing Tips For those still eager 72 to enter the Pianist  Composing  Composing Competition, Inge Kjemtrup talks to three expert composers for some hot tips

24 How to Play 3 Lucy Parham on Scriabin Etude op 8 no 12 (Scores page 59)

74 Pick and Mix  As the popular p opular Schott Sc hott Piano Anthology series nears its 10th anniversary, Erica Worth speaks to Nils Franke, editor and devisor of the series

27   Composing Competition  Win a 27 Kawai piano worth £3,350! Plus the  winning score sc ore will featured f eatured inside insid e Pianist  and on the covermount CD

76   Advertorial  e Pearl River Piano 76 Group celebrates its 60th anniversary and 25 years in the United Kingdom and Ireland with Intermusic

Cover photo: © Marco Borggreve. Images this page, clockwise from top left: © Yamaha Entertainment Group; Marco Borggreve Notice: Every effort has been made to secure permission for copyrighted material in this magazine, however, should copyrighted material inadvertently have been used, copyright acknowledgement will be made in a later issue of the magazine.

78 78 Tales out of school It was once thought that national schools moulded the way in which pianists played – was this ever true and is it valid today?  John Evans does his research 82 By any other name Gez Kahan tries to bring clarity to the fuzzy terminology surrounding ‘hybrid pianos’ 85   Subscribe  today for just £4.50 an 85 issue by Direct Debit and receive an M&S gift voucher or a Lang Lang  book  Piano Method  book  86   CD Reviews  Nelson Goerners pips to 86 the post with his ‘Hammerklavier’ Sonata, but Peter Donohoe, Barry Douglas and Rarities from Husum aren’t far behind 88 Sheet Music Review  Includes the new  ABRSM  ABRSM piano syllabus, Trinity’s Trinity’s ‘Raise the Bar’, Brahms waltzes and more 89 Classifieds 89  Classifieds

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Editor’s note

 W 

hat would my piano playing playin g be like today had I grown up in Russia? Or France? Would it be so very different fro m my ‘British’ way of playing? In fact, my two main teachers were Russian and American – so does that make the way I play part British, part Russian, part American? It’s a little baffling. This ‘national ‘national schools of playing’ topic is one that has long fascinated me and  we’re re finally finally featuring an article article about about it. On page page 78 John Evans considers techniques and styles ascribed to national na tional schools of playing – from French perlé touch to Russian tone to Asian precision – and speaks to pianists and pedagogues of today to see what they think. Can we really  tell  tell a pianist’s nationality by the  way they play? Can we really tell that cover artist Alexand Alexandre re Tharaud is of Fre French nch origin when we listen to his Scarlatti and Chopin on this issue’s issue’s covermount CD? Here’ss another mystery: Here’ myst ery: why is there such su ch a fine line between a piece that’s th at’s  just perfect perfect for our capabilitie capabilitiess and one that’ that’ss either either a little too easy easy or a tad too demanding? It’s simple, really: we’re all different. Some of us find playing do uble octaves in G sharp sh arp minor to be plain sailing, whereas others find the mere idea to be a nightmare. Nils Franke, curator of the Schott Piano Anthology series, addresses our different yet subtle levels of playing in his interview on page 74. He talks about the repertoire choices he has made for each volume, and how he bases his choices on so many technical aspects – not to mention the challenge of finding pieces that are wonderfully appealing. I’m sure pianist Eric Wortham Wortham doesn’ does n’t think too much about a bout his nationalistic natio nalistic piano style. s tyle. He’s been touring with Adele, and when I spoke with him, he told me it’s all about playing from the heart. (See the interview on page pa ge 70 and learn Adele’s hit single ‘Make You You Feel My Love’ Love’ on page 46 of the Scores.) Sco res.) If things aren’t so black and white about playing styles, s tyles, they certainly cer tainly aren’t aren’t so clear-cut clear-cu t in the everchanging world of new piano types either. What’s a hybrid piano, for starters? Hybrids are the rage these days, but do we really know what they t hey are and what they do? I asked Gez Kahan to come co me up with a good definition of the hybrid h ybrid piano (page 82), 82 ), and guess what? what ? It’s It’s not so cut and dry dr y. Lastly, you still have time to enter our o ur Composing Competition. If you’re you’re wondering how to get started s tarted  with writin writingg a piece, turn to page page 72, where Deputy Editor Inge Kjemtru Kjemtrup p asks asks three successfu successfull composer composerss for for their advice on how to create a winning composition – there are definitely enough ideas to get you inspired!

ERICA WORTH, EDITOR

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5• Pianist 77

 Readers’    Letters Get in touch WRITE TO:The TO: The Editor, Pianist, 6 Warrington Warrington Crescent, Lond on, W9 1EL, UK OR EMAIL:  EMAIL:  [email protected] STAR LETTER wins a surprise CD. Letters may be ed ited.

Treasured Sibelius S ibelius I would like to thank John Evans for his article in issue 91 on the piano music of composers not immediately associated with the instrument. I’m sure I speak for many pianists when I say that  while I love the music music of Brahms, Chopin and and Mendelssohn, it is nice to see the spotlight fall on some of the lesser-known corners of the repertoire. I was particularly pleased to see the inclusion of Sibelius, who wrote a large body of music for the piano that has always been decried as unpianistic and unworthy of the composer’ composer’ss better-known orchestral masterpieces. I have always felt this to be a rather unfair appraisal. e piano music is certainly more intimate than the symphonies and the orchestral suites but is still imbued with his unique harmonies and is most definitely a product of the same soundworld. Indeed, many pianists including Glenn Gould, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Håkon Austbø and Annette Servadei have held it in high enough regard to perform and record it. I hope Mr Evans Evans’s ’s article will encourage readers to seek out some of these composers’ neglected piano works.  Joseph Briggs-Ritchie, Briggs-Ritchie, Oxford  Joseph and other readers who have a passion for lesser-known repertoire may be interested in the article on page 74 in which Schott’s Schott’s Nils Franke talks about his rare repertoire findings.

Misty and more I only started to study the piano seriously in 2008,  when I found a local teacher, upon upon whose advice I purchased my first edition of your magazine and became an avid reader. I have been working hard ever since but never played for anyone other than my teacher and wife until two years ago. I was on a visit to Dunster Castle, and there in the large stairwell was a magnificent Blüthner grand – I was fascinated by it. One of the custodians touched me on the shoulder and told me I could play it if I wished, providing I could

do something better than Chopsticks ! I had been  working all summer on my first Rachmaninov, Rachmaninov, the Prelude op 23 no 5, and could just about remember the first section. So I sat down and played, in retrospect too loudly and too sl owly owly.. I managed a linking chord and went straight in to the Pianist  version  version of Gershwin’s Gershwin’s ‘Embraceable  You’  Y ou’ – I must must admit I add a few notes here and there and play the right hand an octave lower lower.. On completion I received a rapturous applause with people hanging over the banisters all the way up the stairs – so embarrassing but secretly satisfying. at experience gave me the confidence to play in public more often. Since then I have played for fundraising afternoon teas, at other stately homes, in hotels  where I stay, stay, and on street pianos. Your Your ‘Street Cred’ article the last issue really struck a chord (no pun intended). A street piano was placed in a local shopping centre recently, and yes I did have a go! My current challenge is playing the large pipe organ for services at my church. Pianist  magazine’s  magazine’s arrangements of popular music are an important part of my repertoire. My favourite of all time is Misty  is  Misty , from issue 20. I do hope you will do some more p opular songs soon. David Kay, Doncaster Bravo to you for playing in public – it sounds like you are delighting many people with your music. As for  popular songs, this issue’s issue’s Scores includes ‘Make Yo You u Feel My Love’, Love’, a hit for many singers, not least Adele.

Consonant vs dissonant Nigel Scaife’s excellent exposé in Pianist  No  No 91 (Understanding eory: Intervals) prompts my question. I note Scaife’s caveats on subjectivity and the emancipation of the dissonance, but am struggling with judgments on harmoniousness. Given that two intervals that use the self-same notes (at least on equal temperament keyboards) keyboards) can be spelled in various ways (e.g. a major 3rd and a diminished 4th), it’s hard to believe an audience

STAR LETTER

Bringing harmony to polyrh pol yrhythms ythms I was thumbing through back issues of Pianist , and came across Graham Fitch’s article on polyrhythms in issue 89. It reminded me of something one of my piano teachers once said on the subject. She told me to not think of two against three, or three against four, but rather two with three, three with with four  four etc. She felt that the word ‘against’ implied some kind of battle between the hands, in the way that two football teams play against each other. Whereas, the word ‘with’ implied two hands working together to achieve the desired outcome. Brian Fletcher, Edinburgh at’s’s clever advice from your teacher! anks for sharing it. A surprise CD is on its way to you. at 6• Pianist 92

Right up my street In Pianist  No  No 91, at the end of an article on street pianos, we asked readers to send in photos of street pianos near them. Here’s our favourite photo, which came from Pete Wolfenden from Gloucestershire – he’s playing one of the street pianos in Cheltenham during the recent music festival there. anks for the great photo, Pete, and thanks to all the other readers who sent in heart-warming stories and images.  would be able to hear hear them in some sense differently. If all perfect intervals, and the major 3rd, are considered consonant while all diminished and augmented ones count as dissonant, can a major 3rd sound consonant if spelled as such, but dissonant if spelled as a diminished 4th? Likewise it seems unfeasible that anyone would be able to pick up the difference in a composer’s intentions between spelling an interval as a diminished 2nd and spelling it as a straightforwar straightforward d unison. On the other hand I might just about imagine a composition where a melody descends to a G  while its accompaniment accompaniment comes to rest rest on an F. With thanks for a most illuminating article. P.S. I’m still unsure whether Mr Scaife would assess the minor 3rd as consonant or dissonant.  John Cardinal, Folkestone Folkestone Nigel Scaife responds: I think it’s it’s important to distinguish between the notational and aural aspects here, between how intervals are written and talked about in theoretical terms and the way they actually sound. e way in which intervals are perceived is dependent on both us as individual listeners and the musical context in which they appear. Harmoniousness is not so much something that we make logical judgements about as a facet of music that we feel and respond to emotionally. e concept of dissonance and consonance, rather than being binary, is one in which there is a continuum – so the degree of harmoniousness of any given interval is never something that can be measured like a temperat temperature. ure. e way in which an interval is perceived is unrelated to the way in which it is notated and so I agree that the aural impact of two intervals that sound the same but are notated differently, such as the augmented 2nd and the minor 3rd, is not going to be different. On the topic of whether the minor 3rd is theoretically theoretical ly consonant or dissonant, I can report that it is usually deemed to be an imperfect consonance! 

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News 

 All the latest news from the world of the piano

piano PROFESSIONAL series

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SCHUMANN MYSTERIES AND MIND-BODY MIND-BO DY CONNECTIONS Regular Pianist  contributors  contributors Jessica Duchen and Mark Tanner have just been released two very different yet equally enthralling books. Duchen serves up a musical mystery in Ghost Variations . e book is a fictional retelling of the real-life quest by the famous Hungarian violinist Jelly d’Arányi to find the manuscript of Schumann’s Schumann’s long-lost violin concerto. After gaining some clues from the beyond at a séance in 1933, d’Arányi narrows her search to Berlin – but will the Nazis find the manuscript first? Sounds like Indiana Jones , but  without the bullwhips and with a lot more music. music. Ghost Variations  is  is the latest from the multi-talented Duchen,  Alicia’s’s Gift  and the author of the novels  Alicia  and Hungarian Dances  and biographies of Korngold and Fauré. If you are an admirer of Mark Tanner’s how-to-play columns for Pianist , you may want to seek out his new book, e Mindful Pianist . e concert pianist, composer, teacher and examiner applies the concept of mindfulness to the piano in the new book, that explores the connection between mind and body. e Mindful Pianist  is  is part of Faber’s Faber’s EPTA Piano Professional series, and, as the press release notes, it aims to present ‘amateurs and professionals with a thought-provoking, entirely fresh perspective on playing and performing.’ Ghost Variations (Unbound; ISBN: 978-1-78352-982-7 [paperback], -983-4 [e-book]); e Mindful Pianist (Faber  Music; ISBN: ISB N: 978-0-571-53963-5) 978-0-5 71-53963-5)

COMPETITION ROUND-UP

Results from Cleveland, Bergen and Chicago  While a competition report report usually starts with information about the first-prize winner, winner, since Ukrainian pianist Dinara Klinton appeared as ‘One to Watch’ Watch’ in last issue’s News, we will make an exception. Klinton came in third at the Cleveland International Piano Competition in early August. First prize ($75,000, recordings, concerts and management) went to 27-year-old Russian pianist Nikita Mndoyants (pictured, left) and second prize to 20-yearold Italian pianist Leonardo Colafelice.  At the International Edvard Edvard Grieg Grieg Piano Competition, Competition, held in Bergen in September, September, 32-year-old Ah Ruem Ahn from South Korea (pictured, right, with Pianist  Editor  Editor Erica  Worth)  W orth) took took first prize, followi following ng her performa performance nce of the Schumann Schumann Concerto Concerto with the the Bergen Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Pianist  Editor  Editor Erica Worth, who attended finals, says, ‘All three finalists had something musical to say – and for a change, it was nice to see musical personality preside over technical perfection. For me, it was a close call between Ahn and second prize  winner Zhenni Li from from China. China. e e latter took more more risks risks with her Beethove Beethoven n No No 4, which which was was full of excitement. Ahn’s account of the Schumann Concerto was full of grace and tenderness. I would have been happy with either as first place.’ Canadian Ben Cruchley came third. One of the most dynamic non-professional piano competitions, the bienniel Chicago  Amateur Piano Competition, Competition, took place in late August. August. Chicago Amateur Amateur runs two competitions simultaneously: a two-round competition for pianists who do not have the repertoire to play for one hour and a three-round competition for those who do. First prize in the three-round competition went to physician Michelle Steffers of Musicaux  opus Rochester, who played Schubert’s Moments Musicaux   opus 94 in the final. Second and third places went to two other physicians, respectively, Noah DeGarmo of Dallas, TX and David Swenson of Pittsburgh, PA. e winners of the two-round competition are Yinuo Tang Tang (first), Noriko Masuhiro (second) and Jaime Frias (third). Pianist  contributor  contributor Melanie Spanswick, a jury member, remarked, ‘e competition afforded a wonderful opportunity to hear a whole range of piano playing, some of it approaching professional level. e atmosphere was lovely, lovely, and my fellow fell ow judges a delight to work with.’ Read Erica Worth Worth’s’s review of the Grieg Competition finals at pianis tmagazine.com A full report on this competition will appear in a future issue.

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One of classical music’s most charismatic communicators presents a fascinating  journey in two hours through through seven centuries of Western music, from the 1300s until the present day.

£24 / concessions £23 Friends £21.60 / students £12

NIKOLAI LUGANSKY Tuesday 18 October 8pm

The Russian pianist’s performs Schubert’s Four Impromptus as well as music by two of his compatriots – selections of Tchaikovsky’s character pieces representing months of the year, and Rachmaninov’s Moments Musicaux.

£24 / concessions £23 Friends £21.60 / students £12

IMOGEN COOPER Tuesday 15 November 8pm

A programme shot through with poetic nuance, Imogen Cooper opens with three folksong-inspired folksong-inspire d miniatures from Janáček’s On an Overgrown Path , moves through the striking emotional contrasts of Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze, and closes with Albéniz’s virtuoso evocations of Spain.

£24 / concessions £23 Friends £21.60 / students £12

MEET THE MAKER: AUGUST FÖRSTER FÖRSTE R FACTORY FACTORY TOUR    )   t    h   g    i   r  ,   r   u   o   t   r   e   t   s   r    ö    F    (   n   o    i   t    k   u    d   o   r    P   r   e   t   s   r    ö    F   t   s   u   g   u    A    ©   ;    )    8   e   g   a   p  ,   s   t   n   a   y   o    d   n    M    (    i   n   n   a    i   o   r   t   s   a    M   r   e   g   o    R    ©

Visit the German piano factory in October along with Peregrine’ Peregrin e’ss Pianos

MITSUKO UCHIDA

 When it comes come s to pianos by August Förster, one of th e world’s oldest piano manufacturers, London dealer Peregrine’s Pianos can rightfully claim to have first-class expertise after having been voted ‘e best August Förster dealer worldwide 2015’. So if you’re interested in Förster pianos or even in seeing how a piano is built, you can join Peregrine’s Pianos on a tour of the factory in Saxony on 25-26 October. e tour will start in Dresden, to better understand the piano maker’s heritage and culture, with a look at the beautiful Baroque city and a concert in the Dresden Piano Salon, a hall in which both Robert and Clara Schumann performed. e next day the tour group will be shown the 150-year-old factory in Löbau and entertained as guests in the Förster Villa.  All meals, ac commodation and transport are arranged. Onl y 20 spots are available, so sign up soon if you’re interested. To join the tour or for more information, go to peregrines-pianos.com

A welcome return to Turner Sims for the world-renowned pianist, Mozart’s well-loved Sonata in C major opens the programme, followed by Schumann’s Kreisleriana and his passionate Fantasie in C.

Thursday 12 January 8pm

£26 / concessions £25 Friends £23.40 / students £13

Turner Sims is provided by University of Southampton and gratefully acknowledges the support of Arts Council England.

Box Office 023 8059 5151

[email protected]

turnersims.co.uk

News 

 All the latest news from the world of the piano PLAY PLA Y BEETHOVEN BEE THOVEN STREET PIANOS GET DIGIT D IGITAL AL

Comedian Bill Bailey hits the keys of a Roland LX-7 at St Pancras station Elton John isn’t the only celebrity who has tinkled the ivories of a St Pancras station piano in the last year – comedian Bill Bailey (pictured) joined the ranks in July playing a Roland LX-7 piano. It’s It’s another indicator of the growing popularity of pianos in public places, a trend that we pointed up in an article in Pianist  No  No 91. ere’s more to this story than just a celebrity keyboard moment. e LX-7 was at the London station all July – but afterwards it didn’t go back to its sponsor, Roland UK. Instead, it went to the winner of a competition that asked visitors to play the piano, film their performance, and then upload the video. e best performer, as  judged by Roland UK, UK, was Davide Davide Stramaglia, Stramaglia, a pianist/songwriter pianist/songwriter from from London. e LX-7 is the first digital piano to be placed on the station’s station’s piano-rich concourse. e digital piano boasts Roland’ Roland’ss SuperNATURAL Piano Modeling technology.. e LX-7 can connect via Bluetooth technology to smart devices s o technology you can hear your music-making apps or online piano l essons – though it’s likely that Bill Bailey wasn’t wasn’t having a lesson les son when he sat down to play.

WITH A NEW PIANIST  DIGITAL DIGIT AL RELEASE RELEAS E Pianist ’s ’s latest digital exclusive is Play Beethoven, which is jam-packed with scores, lessons, masterclasses and more, all about one of the g reatest composers of keyboard music. Pianist  Editor  Editor Erica Worth has carefully curated the content of the Play Beethoven special, which includes the score for all three movements of the ‘Moonlight’ Sonata – a piece that pianists of all abilities love. Plus, there’s there’s a step-by-step lesson on its profound and much-loved first movement by Janet Newman. Play Beethoven also contains two beginner pieces, an arrangement of the moving Allegretto from the Symphony No 7 for beginner/intermediate level and the Bagatelle op 126 no 4, for more advanced pianists. You You can listen to all these scores performed by Chenyin Li, and take heed of practical advice on a masterclass by Graham Fitch, ‘Getting technical with the Beethoven Sonatas’. Go to Pianist’s website, pianistmagazine.com, to download the Play Beethoven digital exclusive today.

SEASON PREVIEW: TURNER SIMS CONCERT HALL

Global keyboard stars shine in Piano Series Turner Sims Concert Hall, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2014, goes from strength to strength, as the impressive line-up of its Piano Series 2016-17 demonstrates. Following the season opener with Jeremy Denk, Nikolai Lugansky (pictured left, bottom) plays a programme featuring June-December of Tchaikovsky’s Seasons , selections from Rachmaninov’s Moments Rachmaninov’s  Moments Musicaux  and  and Schubert’s Four Impromptus D935 (18 Oct). Later in the season, Barry Douglas plays the Brahms Paganini Variations and the Intermezzos op 117 and Peter Donohoe performs Prokofiev’s three ‘War’ sonatas (Nos 6-8) in his recital. Two great women of the keyboard are in recital at the Southampton venue: Imogen Cooper (centre), in a programme of bon-bons including Debussy, Albéniz and Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze  (15 Nov), and Mitsuko Uchida (top) playing Mozart and Schumann (12 Jan). British pianists Paul Lewis and Benjamin Grosvenor also feature in the series. To find out more about the Turner Sims Piano Series 2016-17, go to turnersims.co.uk 

MOZART EXPLORED BY HOWARD SHELLEY AND FRIENDS

Lunchtime series at St John’s John’s Smith Square, London, starts third season Howard Shelley and the London Mozart Players (LMP) continue their exploration of Mozart’s piano concertos for a third season of concerts at London’s St John’s, Smith Square. Shelley’s introductions to the concertos and lively performances have made these lunchtime events popular. Shelley has had a long association with the LMP and is now their conductor laureate.  Well-known for his Rachmanin ov ov,, he is also a devoted admirer of Mozart and his many keyboard concertos. ‘ese heavenly pieces represent arguably the greatest of all concerto cycles written by any composer in the history of classical music,’ Shelley says, ‘and mark the coming of age of the piano concerto as we know it today.’ e Mozart Explored series launched in September with an audience-choice concerto (Concerto No 20 in D minor K466) and takes place once a month through February. For more about the Mozart Explored series, go to sjss.org.uk  10. Pianist 92

   )    P    M    L    (   y    d   a   r    B   y   n   n   e    J    ©   ;    )   y    k   s   n   a   g   u    L    (   t   o    l    l    i    M   e   t   s    i   t   p   a    B    n   a   e    J    ©   ;    )   r   e   p   o   o    C    (   g   r   u    b    l    h    A   e    i   s   s   u    S    ©   ;    )   a    d    i    h   c    U    (   y   e   r    f   m   u    P   n    i   t   s   u    J    /   a   c   c   e    D    ©

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INTERVIEW

The magic touch  Whether he’s playing Scarlatti, Chopin, Bach or Rachmaninov, French pianist Alexandre Tharaud conjures up a unique brand of musical magic. Jess  Jessic ica a Du Duch chen en meets him

 A  WATCH ▲

Tap the play button to watch Alexandre Tharaud play ‘The Man I Love’

WATCH ▲

Tap the play button to watch Alexandre play and discuss Bach’s Goldberg Variations

lexandre Taraud gives a wide, rueful smile when I ask him what he’d be if he were not a pianist (see Up Close box, opposite). ‘A magician,’ he declares. ‘But a particular type of magician.’ Te word he uses is prestidigitateur  is  prestidigitateur ,  which is generally translated into Engli sh as ‘conjuror’, but more accurately refers to the super-fast movements entailed in working illusions through sleight-of-hand. sleight-of-hand. Prestidigitateur  is not a bad description of Taraud’s brand of piano magic, if you hear him play Rameau and Couperin with their brilliance of detail, or marvel at the jewelled sonic colours he creates in his recording of the complete Ravel piano music. Yet there is far more to this 47-year-old French French pianist than digits that go hey, presto! ry, for a start, the conceptual totality that he can bring to works such as Bach’s Goldberg Variations or Chopin’s 24 Préludes. Beneath the wealth of imagination lies something darker: a thread of existential angst that offers a unique angle on the music. Taraud lives in his native Paris, in a flat close to the river Seine, and takes great delight in showing off the view from his balcony – you can see the Eiffel ower. Not that he is often at home. He does not have a piano in the apartment, preferring to keep his home a haven separate from

‘work’. He practises at friends’ flats or, more surprisingly, a nearby police academy. ‘You have to find the balance between real life – being at home and going to the dentist or buying bread – and a soloist’s life, always in new hotels, aeroplanes and trains,’ he reflects. ‘And it’s difficult to find that balance, because when you stop the tension you can get sick! My grandfather was a violinist and he told me: “You know, Alexandre, when I stop the violin I  will die.” And whe n he sto pped, it was just five days before he died.’ Taraud’s whole family was steeped not only in music but also in theatricality of various types. His father was a singer – ‘not of opera, but of opéra comique and operetta’ – and his mother was a ballet dancer at the Opéra de Paris, though she gave up her performing career in favour of teaching after having children. Tere’s a dancer’s look about Taraud himself: the vivid, sensitive features, the long limbs, the cat-like precision of movement. ‘I remember we had an upright piano, very old, and as all children do, I wanted to play,’ he says. ‘Also I was attracted by the gramophone. If I record a lot I’m sure it’s because when I was very young I was fascinated by LPs and the sound system. I started piano at four years old with a wonderful teacher, Carmen accon-Devenat,  who was li ke my sec ond mother.’  And from his very first lesson, Taraud says, he felt the piano was a brother to him. ‘More than a brother,’ he adds. ‘When you are a child a piano is a game, but you can talk with it, you can have a dialogue. Later,  when you’re a teenager, it’s like a secret garden: you can talk to him and say, “Oh, I’m not happy.” And then you discover the stage and the audience: your piano begins to be your partner on stage. So the role of this instrument is different, depending on the period of your life.’ If music and the piano went straight to the boy  Alexandre’s heart, so did the s ense of the theat re, of performance and the adrenaline rush that goes with it. ‘I love the circus,’ he declares. ‘Not animals, but everything else. For me it’s a really artistic life. Every day it’s new, it’s danger, the audience is very large and you travel; it’s also like a family. If you want to be a real artist you have to work in a circus.’ Of course his studies were nothing like that. Taraud did not much enjoy his time at the Paris Conservatoire, and he hated competitions, despite winning prizes at competitions in Barcelona, Senigallia and Munich. ‘I did not feel good and I started to be scared on stage,’ he remembers. ‘After the conservatoire I was totally alone: without teacher, without concerts,

 without CD label, without w ithout mone y and  without ag ent.’ Ouf  . Taraud, however, was able to turn all of that to his advantage. ‘It was a good time because I was able to discover new repertoire, to think about my future, to compose a little bit and to listen to different pianists. I listened to a lot of CDs, sometimes five or six hours a day, and I discovered a lot of pianists: Claudio Arrau, Glenn Gould, Marcelle Meyer (she’s my idol, she’s incredible), Clara Haskil, Emil Gilels, Rudolf Serkin. With hindsight I think they  were also my teacher s.’ Nevertheless Nevertheless it took a long time for things to start to move in his career. ‘I had nothing for six or seven years at the beginning so I didn’t know how can I play. I didn’t want to have a big career, that’s not interesting for me; I just wanted to play, to be on stage, to live in a theatre, even a small theatre, even without fee. I wanted to play in front of an audience. An artist, if he has no audience, he dies. So it was very difficult – but it was a good time for me for all those other reasons.’ Ten he caught the attention at last of the record label Harmonia Mundi: ‘My three first CDs for Harmonia Mundi – Rameau, the complete Ravel and the Italian Concerto by Bach – were very well received and so it became a basis for my career. Ten, slowly, I decided to choose my own way forward.’

‘When  you walk wa lk onto ont o the stage with a new  piece, there is the fever f ever and the fire and you’re afraid, but at the same His way forward has been driven, as time you’re happy much as anything else, by the sheer because you know thrill of performing: it’s an important the lure of the circus, perhaps. Taraud likes to moment’  perform a newly composed Fever and fre

piano concerto every year. Earlier this year he premiered Hans Abrahamsen’s concerto for the left hand, and continues to tour it this autumn. Next, the Argentinian composer Oscar Strasnoy is writing him a new concerto. Tierry Pécou has written a piece for him, and Taraud says he is talking to Georges Aperghis for a future project. Tis fabulous feed of new  works for the reper toire is also tremendously trem endously exciting for the soloist, as Taraud reveals. reveals. ‘When you walk onto the stage with a new piece,’ Taraud enthuses, ‘there is the fever and the fire and you’re afraid, but at the same time you’re happy because you know it’s an important moment. Te composer is in the concert hall and the audience is waiting to hear what it is like. For me, daily life is pale compared to a concert or theatre. I like the fire on stage. I like the danger. If you play a premiere it’s major because you’re responsible for the piece. And I like the idea of having a discussion between a composer, ▲ soloist, orchestra, maybe conductor, to say 13• Pianist 92

 c  l  o  s  e   U  p  c  If you could play only one piece in the whole repertoire from now on, what would it be? The Bach Goldberg Variations, of course. If you could play only one composer from now on, which would it be? Bach. One pianist, dead or alive, you’d travel long and far to hear? Sergei Rachmaninov. One concert hall that you’d love to play in? The Boston Symphony Hall. I love it. Any technical struggles? No. The piano is a really easy instrument to play and the easiest thing is virtuosity. But life can be heavy and stressful. If you have a bad technique the reason is not the piano: the reason is your life. What would be your advice to amateur pianist about how to improve? To follow his own desire. If you weren’t a pianist, what would you be? A conjuror. In French we say prestidigitateur . One person you’d love to play for? Maybe Frédéric Frédéric Chopin. I would like to tell him that he’s a genius, that we love him and that he doesn’t have to be so sad. One composer you’re not quite ready to tackle? Prokofiev. What other kind of music do you like to listen to? Chansons français. I’m a fan of singers such as Jacques Brel, Barbara, Edith Piaf, Juliette Gréco.

INTERVIEW

LISTEN Tap the play buttons to hear our bonus tracks performed by Alexandre Tharaud

▲

▲

SCARLATTI

CHOPIN

SONATA IN C K72

MAZURKA IN C MINOR OP 63 NO 3

 Alexandr  Alex andree Thara Th araud ud on... o n... Rachman Rach maninov  inov ' s  s Piano Pi ano Concert Conc ertoo No 2 It’s been a dream for me to record Rachmaninov’s Second Concerto. I first played it 25 years ago, and for a young pianist it’s wonderful.  You  You feel you’re the king of t he world! Now I’m 47, and although I still enjoy the virtuosity, I think I play it in another way, because this concerto, this masterpiece, is more than that. It’s also the mirror of a dark time for Rachmaninov. He wrote it while depressed, and it’s two things at the same time: the story of his depression and also the story of his recovery – by hypnotherapy, but I’m sure also by writing this concerto. So it’s placed between the dark, horrible depression and a new time. It’s an extraordinarily popular concerto and was established as a masterpiece within its first few performances. Everyone knows it, so how to approach it now? My approach is via my own experience. I am not depressed now, but I was 20 years ago and I know what is

the desire to die, the desire to stop life, to build some walls around me. When you fall off, you fall off everything: you have no desire. It’s a very strange sensation – a sensation that you are nothing, so you can’t have a link between you and the world. And that is very interesting in this concerto. Sometimes in the last movement (the hushed, meandering theme that rises into trills) it’s as if Rachmaninov says to himself: ‘I die now, or I wait? Is now the end?’ Of course a lot of people play this piece, the Goldberg Variations and other pieces I have recorded in the past, so I just have to be honest with myself, with Rachmaninov and with the audience. Te only way is to find the best orchestra, the best conductor, the best team for the sound, and to work a lot – but on the day of the recording recording to feel free, to forget everything and to play as if the music  was written th is morning.

maybe we could create a project, a new 2, in which Taraud is partnered by concerto; we talk together and slowly the the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Alexander Vedernikov. project comes out. It’s really interesting for me – I need creation in my life!’ (See the box above for more about Taraud’s Taraud’s thirst for live performance doesn’t extremely personal approach to this concerto.) Taraud rounds off the all-Rachmaninov mean recordings take a back seat. He has to his name an eclectic discography numbering disc with Morceaux with  Morceaux de f antaisie  opus  opus 3; wo Pieces for Piano, Six Hands  (he’s  (he’s joined some 30 discs, involving solo works, chamber music and concertos – from S carlatti sonatas, in this by Aleksandar Madzar and Alexander Couperin, Rameau and the Bach Goldberg Melnikov, which makes it one Alexandre, one Aleksandar and two Alexanders all Variations through Chopin and Ravel to themed albums of the music of 20th-century on one disc); the Romance in A major,  which uses the same the matic materi al as France. Each in its own way involves a coherent thread from start to finish. the concerto’s slow movement; and the ‘My idea for all my CDs and recordings is Vocalise , in its original version for soprano, a big arch,’ he says. ‘I try to find not so much sung by Sabine Devieilhe. ‘All his life a concept as a good programme for all my Rachmaninov was inspired by the human CDs, and I like, if possible, that the audience voice,’ Taraud points out, ‘so I was eager to have an actual voice in this recording.’ Tis can hear the CD from the first note until the last, not just three minutes at a October he will play the concerto twice in Liverpool with the RLPO and its principal time. For me it’s like giving a concert in my living room, a private concert between me, conductor Vassily Petrenko. the orchestra of course and the person Taraud may have had a slow start to his career, but that is a distant memory. oday I don’t know. It’s a very direct connection.’ Te latest addition to his discography is astonishing experiences experiences seem simply to line up for him. Quite apart from all the a new CD for Erato featuring that perennial favourite, Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No concerts, a few years back he was 14• Pianist 92

recommended for, and accepted, a cameo role in Michael Haneke’s film Amour  film  Amour , which starred Isabelle Huppert, Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis rintignant. Te movie was showered with awards and Taraud was amazed to find himself at the Cannes Film Festival. More recently a track from his recording of the Goldberg Variations popped up in the playlist of Fifty Shades of Grey  – though he is quick to remark that he hasn’t read the book.  And there’s no end to the surp rises in t he in-box. ‘Sometimes I get letters from people  who want to te ll me that t hey make love  while list ening to my re cordings,’ Taraud says. ‘I think it’s okay to record a CD if it can make some people happy!’ Maybe that could only happen in Paris. But in the UK too, we look forward to hearing this musical conjuror work more of his scintillating black magic. ■  Alexandre Ta raud’s recording o f Rachmaninov Rachma ninov is out now on Erato (0190295954697). He performs the Piano Concerto No 2 with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Vassily Petrenko on 20 and 23 October at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

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  play  HOW TO

Building fluency and control  WITHOUT WITHO UT HESI HESIT TATION

Is your playing too often fragmented, stumbling and ‘note by note’? Pianist and teacher  Mark Tanner offers six practical ideas for bringing momentum, condence and uency into your playing

M

eaningful called upon to shift position. Tese are piano playing the kind of places where internal is by definition  warfare can begin as you unconsciously unconsc iously fluent playing. anticipate the stress of the upcoming In the same shift and thereby wreck the moment  way that it i t can you are actually playing. be easy to lose Begin slowly, and come off the keys the gist of a sentence if you chop it up by several inches between shifts, pausing into its individu individual al syllables, you will for a couple of seconds each time, wrists quickly confound the syntax in a completely floppy, as though you are a musical phrase by hesitating, however robot being operated by remote control. momentarily. Your audience will not Tis freeze-frame approach gives the persevere for long if you ask them to mind and hands a chance to recuperate, endure stumbling, fragmented playing, having executed each little fragment no matter how nuanced your turn of perfectly. Tis can be highly effective at phrase may be elsewhere. very slow speeds, but at least as helpful  A note-by-note note-by- note appearance appe arance in music m usic up to performance speed. Enjoy the (what I call the ‘stop-and-search feeling of not having to pounce on the syndrome’), while more forgivable when next fragment of music – simply take you are sight-reading, quickly costs your time, place your hands in their a performance its sense of connectivity, new positions and continue onwards direction and – vitally – rhythm rhythm..  when ready. You You will soon find yourself yo urself Bereft of rhythm, the music is left with  wanting to narrow the gaps g aps between betwee n randomly placed notes and chords, pauses, but make sure you move just as  which in most m ost piano music will render it calmly into position for each subsequent utterly lifeless and uncompelling. shift. In no time at all you will have It can prove surprisingly difficult to successfully garnered a fluent musical sustain momentum in piano playing, despite the fact that the piano, being a percussion instrument, has rhythm TOP TIPS designed into it. In one sense, we REMOVING THE STUMBLING BLOCKS might feel inclined to forgive ourselves  when the musical thread t hread breaks o n Practise building in breaks between shifts in hand position: occasion, for we often have so many pause briefly, lift the wrists high from the keys, calmly notes to play, and yet this is one area in reposition for the next fragment, and continue.  which I believe we should expect exp ect more from ourselves. A good variant on the first tip is to continue onwards by one note, thus practising the tricky link between each fragment. Here are six practical ideas to help you keep your playing afloat and This approach will respond magnificently to a variety of minimise the risk of your audience speeds, whether hands separate or together, and rhythms, yawning and fiddling with their such as from straight to dotted quavers. iPhones as you play.

5  1

 2 

Mind the gap

Tis may sound counterintuitive, but by practising deliberately splitting up a passage which is giving you difficulty, and working to make each fragment fully functional, you can improve its rhythmic flow while at the same time stem the anxiety associated with what is coming up next. o do this, take any piece you are working on (Chopin’s Fantaisie-Impromptu  or Bach’s C minor Prelude, Book 2 are two good examples) and search out passages where either, or preferably both, hands are regularly

3

Learn (and ideally memorise) from the back to the front of a piece. It will make you more inclined to leap forwards when errors arise, which can keep your performance flowing, never retrenching.

4 

Reading further ahead in a piece, depending on the complexities and speed of the music, will help ensure you are not caught off guard and can move your hands into the positions needed to achieve fluency.

5 

Listening skills underpin all of the above: your mental metronome needs to be wound up and ticking reliably if you are to monitor and counteract the tendency to hurry or slacken off the pulse. Aim to be your most attentive audience. 16• Pianist 92

Mark Tanner is a pianist, composer, writer, examiner, and international presenter for ABRSM. He co-authored Teaching Notes  for  for ABRSM’s 2017-18 piano syllabus. This year Mark presented in China; examined in Korea, Japan and the USA; adjudicated at the EPTA Composers’ Competition and the Singapore music festival; festiva l; and taught at his Piano Summer School at Jackdaws, Somerset, and at Chetham’s Summer School for Pianists.His new book, published by Faber Music, is The Mindful Pianist  (see this issue’s News).

passage, confidently up to speed, free from neuroses and desperate jolts of the hands. If at any point you feel the rot beginning to settle in again, simply go back to the method described, slow the playing down a few notches and patiently recalibrate your playing. Reversal Rever sal of fortune

Tink about how many of us typically set about learning a piece: we start at the beginning, toil away at a section until it can limp along reasonably well, then only do we dare to look at the next passage, and so on. It seems we have become so accustomed to doing things in the ‘correct’ sequence that  we rarely co nsider an alternative. al ternative. (Most textbooks, on any subject, gradually build in complexity, obliging the student to start at the the beginning and work steadily forwards.) Tere are two undesirable consequences of learning a piece from the start to the end: one is the well-docume well-documented nted fact that bars 1-16 will necessarily receive more attention than bars 88-102. Te other is possibly even more debilitating, and is twofold: when we stumble, we go backwards and attempt to ‘correct’ the error; in doing so, we take far, far longer to memorise a piece. However, by working backwards from the end of your piece, and indeed perhaps memorising section D before section C, section B before section A, your gut instinct will always be to leap forward  leap  forward , not back, when you

MASTERCLASS

encounter a splodge or memory slip. By tackling the music in this way, there are other fringe benefits too, one of  which is that you will be forced f orced to deal  with the climax or high point poi nt of a piece before tackling the approach to it! is is a little like discovering who the murderer is in a whodunnit by reading chapter 27 without having to wade through all the character development in the earlier chapters. It can be enormously helpful when building a convincing performance performance to have a fix on  where you are headed.

teachers of strings, brass and woodwind instruments often seem to do this instinctively with their novice pupils – first the player is encouraged to really commit to the sound (which can result in an initially hard-edged, overly loud sound, though this is merely short-term collateral damage); then, gradually, they are shown how to add a little finesse and ease off a little with the volume. In short: volume equals confidence. Read the road ahead

 Advanced drivers are trained to t o look much further ahead of them on the road Tricking fingers, train the brain than the rest of us usually do when we Many pianists already know that it is take the wheel. By spotting that the sometimes advisable to play a ‘straight’ car that is six ahead of them has begun passage with dotted rhythms, or perhaps to apply its brakes, they are already vice versa – however, in my experience, anticipating that the vehicle immediately few pianists really grasp why this is so. in front must soon slow down, too. ough improving evenness is certainly  A rather similar situation s ituation arises ar ises when one potential advantage of doing this,  we play the t he piano – the further fur ther we dare da re to my mind the principle benefit lies to look ahead (the near distance, i.e. in the way we tie up the small fragments adjacent notes, the middle distance, of music in the manner I described i.e. a couple of bars, and the longer  just now. distance, i.e. a line or two further on) Taking the aforementioned Chopin the more information we have to help or Bach examples, or indeed other us negotiate what lies ahead. Reading repertoire involving continual shifting ahead equals thinking  ahead.  ahead. is, in of the hand(s), play each hand itself, is a great means of avoiding separately with dotted rhythms, but ‘syllabic’’ piano playing, the curse of ‘syllabic instead of pausing at  the  the shift, as I many a floundering amateur pianist. suggested before, carry on further by one note; then then pause.  pause. is effectively Listen with new ears papers over the cracks in the playing  All of the above ideas ide as undoubtedly undoubte dly and will encourage you to knit together  work, but with one rather important imp ortant those tricky, often perilous shifts; in this caveat: we must listen listen to  to what we are  way, each hand rehears es its shift doing. Hearing and listening are of systematically, but without the burden course two quite different things. Latch of playing what comes next. on to your chosen tempo, perhaps using a metronome if it suits your style of practice, and aim to be as anchored in Playing louder for confidence I have always felt that continuity and your pulse as the music warrants. Pay progression in piano playing are placed extra care when ornaments are being on a knife-edge when the fingerwork is played, for these often outstay their permitted to become frail. is is  welcome, or when the th e intensity intensit y of a because a chain of events commonly passage is so palpable it brings about an occurs: we inadvertently feel the need to unwarranted and unwitting shift in  work ‘harder’ to overcome non-speaking tempo; from here, the risk of calamitous notes, and invariably tense up in the breakdowns or error-corrections process; when tense, we build in undoubtedly increases. increases. e trick is to sticking points in our playing and know what is coming up in bar 20 before too long, we are stuttering and  without allowing al lowing these thes e things to trip stalling all over the place. you up in bar 19; breathe calmly as you  A way out of this vicious cycle c ycle is to read ahead, soak in what there is to see, attack the keys with all the force you then get on and play it. can muster, without becoming tense or Reading ahead of where we are is bearing down from the shoulders. quite different from getting  from getting  ahead   ahead of Practisingg with a high finger action Practisin ourselves, for this is often what causes  will require a slower pace pac e of practising, pr actising, us to scurry away. Furthermore, for but this all helps to build confidence in most of us, the machinery of our  what you are doing. Ultimately, Ul timately, you playing will only function reliably if  will feel fee l you can ease off the t he volume, kept within a fairly narrow range of speed up the finger movements and speeds – go beyond these, in either yet play just as fluidly and confidently. direction, and we increase the risk of Brisk, quiet passages respond encountering breaks in continuity. impressively well to this treatment Lapses in musical flow are surely (Debussy’s Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum among the most irritating of bugbears, or Bach’s Prelude in D minor Book 1 both for pianists and for audiences. In are good examples). Incidentally, an exam situation shortcomings in 17• Pianist 92

GO WITH THE FLO FLOW W Mark Tanner shows Tanner shows you how to bring connectivity and ease to 3 pieces in this issue’s Scores

1

Maykapar Prelude [Scores page 30]: This delightful, gently lilting Prelude, subtitled ‘syncopated pedal ’, was cleverly composed so as to minimise shifts in hand position. Capitalise on this as you learn it, following the suggested fingerings attentively. At first, stitch together the melodic lines in isolation from the accompaniment, taking care to pass them smoothly and elegantly, with as much shape as you dare, from the RH to the LH (at bar 17), to the RH (at bar 24) and back to the LH once again (at bar 31). It is important to listen intently to the tune and to ensure the lift of the pedal occurs precisely as marked, i.e. the instant each RH melody note is struck (and, of course, vice versa when the roles become switched round).

2

Stanford Scherzo [Scores Scherzo [Scores page 32]: Taken Taken too swiftly, this attractive Scherzo Scherzo will sound as if it’s in 6/8, as opposed to the Allegro 3/4 indicated. If the music is kept at a controlled ‘jocular’ pace, it will be immeasurably easier to add dabs of pedal to assist the joining-up of the LH dotted-minim accompaniment. You You could tr y practising the RH in two-bar fragments, even though the notes are kept within a single hand position, or indeed by adding one note to each fragment, thus taking you from bar 1 to the G of bar 2 etc. Think ‘cheeky’, rather than ‘racy’, to ensure the enjoyable staccato details all emerge crisply and lightly (at beat 3 of alternating bars).

3

Scriabin Etude op 8 no 12 [Scores 12 [Scores page 59]: Hands-separate practice is surely a prerequisite for this splendidly intense Etude. Written in the ‘unfriendly’ key of D sharp minor, it nevertheless benefits from many footholds at the extremes of the register (think how much harder it would be to play, if not perhaps to read, transposed down a semitone i nto D minor). To To all intents and purposes, the piece is in 12/8, save for the fact that the RH melody, rendered all the more emphatic throughout by being in octaves, has a recurring semiquaver figure built into it. The ‘ta-daa’ rhythm out of which this main tune springs at every reappearance, need not be too much cause for consternation if practised out of context, unhurried and with the most supple wrist imaginable. The LH in particular will benefit from the sectionalised practice descri bed in the article. Why not tackle the last seven bars first, marked ff fff  f , for this is where the music is so obviously headed. Then begin working your way back, page by page, towards its more enigmatic opening – your performance will come together more quickly and mindfully by this approach.

fluency can make the all-important difference, too. ey are like the annoying TV commercial breaks that chop up our enjoymen enjoymentt of a programme  just when we were getting gett ing into the plot. plot . Music’s temporal thread – its unfolding in time – is entirely dependent upon sustaining control in our playing, which means doing our utmost to airbrush out hesitations by the methods suggested. More than perhaps any other gremlin in the works, issues with continuity and flow can be kept to a minimum if you tackle the problems head-on. is requires you to become more aware of a) what is going wrong in your playing, and b) why . For each of us the issues may be subtly different, so you need to interrogate your playing at regular intervals, perhaps record yourself if you are unsure what is going wrong, and resolve to make hesitant playing a thing of the past. ■

  play  HOW TO

Te bare essentials  DECONSTRUCTING THE SCORE Knowing what’s most important in a piece will help solve technical issues and improve memory, says teacher and performer Graham Fitch, who explains how to build up by tearing down

M

usic is made up of three main elements – melody, harmony and rhythm. As we begin work on a new piece, it isn’t isn’t always easy to make a path through the forest of notes and other information to clarify these elements. Tere is little a composer can do to help us to distinguish between the foreground, background, and middle ground of a work, apart from adding grace notes and ornamentation (traditionally printed in smaller notation or indicated by signs and symbols). I have often thought that publishers of educational music should experiment printing scores using different colours and font sizes so that melody lines and structural basses were bigger and bolder, and accompaniments and figuration smaller and greyer – the learner would then be able to see at a glance the hierarchy of the musical picture. In this article I would like to suggest some ways in which we can learn to do this in our imagination by exploring how to deconstruct the score as we practise. Tis aids perception as we learn notes, and can also help us solve technical problems and bolster the memory memory.. Let’ss begin with one of the most basic ways to deconstruct: temporarily Let’ omitting or simplifying one element of the score while we attend to other elements. If we are intent on mastering the second theme from the first movement of Beethoven’s ‘Pathétique’ Sonata, for example, we will be better able to focus on accurately measuring measuring the distances as the right hand (RH) hops from one register to another if we don’t also have to worry about the let-hand (LH) repeated chords. Begin by reducing the LH accompaniment to its bare essentials, as blocked chords. Blocking the LH chord shapes not only allows us to feel the rate of harmonic change (very slow actually – one harmony lasts for four bars) but also enables us to focus our attention on the challenges of playing the RH. Here is the section as written: 1

2

3

4

1

2

3

4

5

2

3

Pianist, teacher, writer and adjudicator Graham Fitch gives masterclasses and workshops on piano playing internationally, and is in high demand as a private teacher in London. Graham is a regular tutor at the Summer School for Pianists in Walsall and also a tutor for the Piano Teachers’ Teachers’ Course EPTA (UK). He writes a popular piano blog, www.practisingthepiano. com and will soon be launching an online piano academy.

Have you ever looked at a new score and struggled to figure out what is going on? When playing pieces with a lot of surface detail, it can be very useful to strip the music down to its essentials and practise a variety of simplified versions. I call this process ‘finding the hull’. Te dictionary defines ‘hull’ as the main body of a ship, without the masts, superstructure, rigging, engines and other fittings. Finding the hull does not involve writing anything down or committing to anything, but coming up with sketches or rough drafts at the piano as we practise. Tere is no one right version and a  whole lot of possible poss ible ones. ones . We don’t don’t need to create creat e the same sam e hull each e ach time;  we can be flexible by adding or subtracting s ubtracting different things thi ngs as we explore. Let’s look at the beginning of the slow movement of Mozart’s Sonata in F K332 and then three possible simplified versions. First, the original:

1 3

2

1

2

3

4

4

3

3

3

1

legato

 And now as blocked bl ocked chords: cho rds:

Te first things to strip away are the ornaments and the passing notes and appoggiaturas from the melody line. Ten you can block the Alberti bass patterns in the LH. As you experiment, you might find it helpful to play around with the tempo; the simplest of hulls often make more sense if they are made faster than the fully embroidered original. With each successive skeleton, add more detail, and each version gives us a slightly different  viewpoint of the musical content. As you progress in learning the piece, if you notice you are obsessing with the surface detail to the detriment of the bigger gesture you can return to your hulled versions from time to time – to keep ▲ things in perspective. urn urn the page for three possible simplified versions: 18• Pianist 92

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Piano Winners Domonkos Csabay Image credit: R J Baddeley

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Join us in Birmingham’s Town Town Hall for a Piano All-Nighter, 7.30pm-7.30am, Friday 3 March - Saturday 4 March 2017

19• Pianist 92

Ashok Gupta Image credit: Nick Rutter

MASTERCLASS

a)

Ten either add a few more notes to this:

b)

c) Or do something different, thus:

Deconstruction can also help us refine motor skills in technically demanding situations, such as passagework. Let’s take a small section from Mozart’s ‘Rondo alla turca’ (the last movement of the Sonata in A K331): 3 4

3

2

1 1

4

5

Be aware of the finger you will be starting on each time. Tis might not be written in the score, either by the editor or by you, because it would be obvious in the context. However, if you are deliberately interrupting the flow like this, it might be worth writing in additional fingering so you don’t confuse your muscular memory by doing something different or arbitrary. It is my firm belief that you should always practise with the fingering you’re going to use in performance. (Please see my video demonstration.) I chose this example because it is very simply constructed: the RH spinning My next example is the start of the coda from Chopin’s G minor Ballade. patterns are made from turns and scale passages over a L H chord progression. My detailed practice deconstructions have helped my students make this Te process I demonstrate involves playing the LH intact and complete at all famous passage feel very comfortable indeed. indeed. Te principle is to see the times, impeccably shaped and articulated, and up t o speed. Make the first three-note chords in the RH as being made up of three parts (top, middle, note in each bar somewhat firmer than the repeated chords, and feel the shape bottom), and to isolate these in your practice (complicated to explain but of the harmonic progression. Once you have built the LH to your satisfaction, you will see how it works from my examples and my video demonstration). deconstructions at a variety of speeds, from slow to up to speed, add pre-selected parts of the RH. Tis way of practising not only allows you Practise the deconstructions to see different aspects in the landscape of the passagework, but also gives  with the RH alone and then hands together. You will gain f rom practising pract ising  wonderful security s ecurity in i n performance. perform ance. Should Shoul d the unth unthinkable inkable happen hap pen and lightly as well as at Chopin’s ff Chopin’s ff marking; when playing at the designated dynamic level, remember that while the accented notes are strong, other you break down, you will have practised carrying on with the other hand, rejoining it at strategic points along the route. If you intend to play this from RH notes do not need as much emphasis. I stress again the importance of using performance fingering in the exercises. memory,, practise the skeletons from memory (challenging but well worth it!) memory  We might start with the upbeat to every other oth er bar, stopping stoppi ng on the first beat of the next bar: 3

2

3

1

Presto con fuoco 2

5 1

2

3

@

GET IN TOUCH TOUCH

Graham Fitch would like to hear from readers who have piano-playing questions – whether about a certain technique or [email protected].. a passage in a piece of music. Please write to the editor at [email protected] 20• Pianist 92

  play  HOW TO

SCRIABIN  Etude in D sharp sharp minor op 8 no 12 One of Scriabin’s most famous pieces, this study throws up many challenges. Concert pianist and professor Lucy Parham presents a detailed guide for making your way through it with panache  Ability rating Info Key: D Key:  D sharp minor empo: Patetico empo:  Patetico Style: Late Style:  Late Romantic

Advanced

Will improve your Octave playing of forte  3Stamina 3

3 Gradation

Lauded by such geniuses as olstoy and Diaghilev and influenced in his early years by Chopin, Scriabin never achieved the same popularity in the concert hall as his contemporary, Rachmaninov. Scriabin’s extensive piano repertoire ranges from the very melodic early préludes and études to the mystical and technically demanding later études and sonatas. Te étude we are looking at here is the famous opus 8 no 12 in D sharp minor. Tis study for octaves heaps considerable challenges upon the performer; these include large left-hand (LH) stretches of up to an eleventh as well as huge leaps and a requirement for an unrelenting energy. Tis piece has been a popular encore for many years and was often played by Vladimir Horowitz. It’s safe to say that it is a real audience favourite. My first piece of advice is to learn the LH part on its own first. Y first.  You ou will really need to master the LH before you can think of adding the right hand (RH), which requires a different technique and sound quality. My top tip is to remember that the levels of  are numerous in this piece. At the  forte  are same time always have the climax (from around bar 44) in mind, as you will need to reserve your biggest sound for here. In learning the LH first you will also be able to create a skeleton outline of the piece. It will be easier to register mood and key changes.

  n    i   e   t   s   n   r    A   n   e   v    S    ©

Lucy Parham performs her Debussy wordsand-music programme Rêverie  with  with Henry Goodman in the Kings Place London Piano Festival on Oct 9. She presents her Rachmaninov sh ow ow,, Elégie , with Henry Goodman at S t George’s Bristol (Oct 23) and the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre (Nov 19), and with Alistair McGowan at the Apex Bury St Edmunds (Oct 30). A special performance of Beloved Clara  will  will take place in London on Nov 9 with Jeremy Irons and Jane Asher; it will also be at the Galway Festival on Nov 24. For full details, go to www.lucyparham.com

ry building the LH up seven quavers at a time. In other words, play the seven quavers a half a bar at a time, always stopping on either the third beat or the downbeat. Keep your thumb close to the keyboard at all times as  what you are trying to t o avoid is jumping around too much. You need close contact at all time, fitting your octaves around your hand like a glove.  When you begin to study the RH, the basic way of practising octaves, thumbs alone followed by fifths alone, will be vital. In bar 2, the semiquavers need to be ‘thrown’ in one movement rather than played as four separate semiquavers. semiquav ers. Within the first few bars make sure you are heading for bars 7 and 8, and then when the melody returns at bar 9 drop the tone a little. Every time you encounter the RH octave jump (as in the case in the opening of the piece), try to throw it in a single movement. You could practise this octave jump in all keys; it needs to be secure as it recurs frequently. In bar 8 make sure the inner notes in the RH are all sounding.  At the second secon d repetition of the main ma in theme in bar 9, you’ll see that the LH begins to acquire even more notes. Look at the fifth quaver in bar 11, for instance. Again, it is possible to put these notes into the RH. ake your time in the second half of bar 14 as you approach the first climax at bar 15. Tis concludes the opening section and should have a sense of finality about it before you enter this new section at bars 16-17.

 You will notice  You no tice there are a re number of places where you can ‘cheat’. By ‘cheat’ I mean slipping one of the LH notes into the RH, when the particular note is closer in the RH. How and when you do so will depend on the size of your hand as well. Tere is no point trying to stick exactly to the written hand arrangementt if it is going to hinder the arrangemen tempo. You can see an obvious example of this is in bar 2 – the LH fifth quaver (A  ) fits perfectly into the RH, the RH having already played that note with the second finger, so it would be mad not to make the swap here!

In bar 16 pay attention to the LH G to C and subsequent C to F progression. Really try to sink into these octave quavers, as they form the harmonic basis of this bar. In bar 17 you can take the LH F (fifth quaver) in the RH.  We now begin a new sectio n, so try tr y to find a warmer tone. Highlight the top (fifth) finger of your RH and always stay close to the keys. Tis needs to be as melodic as possible. In bar 19 I suggest you use fingering of 5-4-5-4 for the descending RH octaves for the optimum legato. Crescendo through bars 19-21 and notice the subito  piano (after a small decrescendo) at bar 22.  Again, point p oint the top finger, fing er, imagining it is made from steel! Even within the octaves you are always searching for a real cantabile. Te last beat of

Learning Tip Learn the left hand first on its own. You need to master it before adding the right hand.

bar 22 (three semiquavers and a demisemiquaver) should be thrown in one movement, rather than trying to play each note separately. Tis whole section is building gradually. It is important to resist the temptation to concentrate only on the RH because the descending harmonic progressions in the LH are crucial. Really sink into those changing bass notes and try to keep a certain flexibility in the wrist. Sink into the diminished RH chord in bar 29 and then drive through the following bars with as much sweep as possible, as you are aiming to keep one long line. We are looking for a long sweep. Tis is now ff   now  ff   in dynamic but bear in mind that you need to keep something in reserve for the following page.  When you reach bar b ar 32, make ma ke sure  you balance the t he accompanying accomp anying quavers in the RH (in the second half of the bar). Continue to highlight your fifth finger. ake a small ritardando in bar 33 as you ease into bar 34 where the main theme returns. Again, pay attention the accompanying RH quavers here (first half of the bar this time);

24• Pianist 92

TRACK 14

 S S  M I S  ’T M  ’T  ’S A M  HA  H  D O N PA R  Y P  Y  L U C  S  O N  E  P I E C  L E S  IS P  H IS  T  E  O N A G

 Alexander SCRIABIN (1872-1915)

ADVANCED

Etude in D sharpminorop8 no 12

 P  4  2

Thisétudeisthelastinthe firstvolumeofétudesbyRussiancomposer Alexander Scriabin,anddatesfrom1894.HorowitzlovedScriabin’sdense,comple xmusicand thisparticularétudewasafavouriteencore. Playingtips : tips : Remember that this is an etude, and a difficult one at that, so be preparedtotakesometimetomaster it.TheLHusesawiderangeof thekeyboard andneedstobetotallysecure,withhandsclosetothekeysat alltimes.Thesamecan besaidfortheRH–withlotsofoctaveplayingtoboot.Again,thehandshouldremain

asclosetothekeyboardas possible(noflyingaround!).IfyoulistentoChenyinLi’s performanceonourCD,youwillnoticethatitdoesn’thavetobecrazilyfast.‘Patetico’ doesnotmeanfast– itmeans‘withfeeling’.AndLucyParham’slessonwillsurely  encourageyoutoembarkonlearningthisturbulentandpassionateetude. Pedaltips :Therearenomarkingsonthescore,butatthisadvancedlevel,wearesure :Therearenomarkingsonthescore,butatthisadvancedlevel,wearesure thatreadershaveagoodunderstandingofhowtousethepedal. ReadLucyParham’sstep-by-steplessononthispieceonpage24.

4  5

Patetico

= 100 -112

FULL SCORE ON O N PAGE PAGE 59 1

2

3

2

2

 3

c

c.

c

c.

5

cresc.

59•

P59 SCORES Scriabin-FINAL.indd

you can grow through them now as they have assumed more power. Note that the leaping LH from the last beat of bar 34 to the first beat of bar 35 is now an octave; these leaps between bars need a specific emphasis as they are highlighting the bass line, which becomes like an insistent, resounding bell. In order to vary the tone you need to be searching out different sonority levels. If you don’t, the danger is that it can become ‘thumpy’ rather than mighty as it should be.  At bar 39 Scriabin asks for the t he accented quavers in both hands. Tough it’s not marked, at bar 40, you need to subtly drop the tone in order to achieve a monumental crescendo in the following bars. Use your whole shoulder and arm weight to make this possible, and sit right back rather than hunch over the keys.  You  Y ou need to find the full-bodied full-bodied sound of a symphony orchestra. Bar 41 is one long drive to the end. Tere is a sense of precipitando (‘pushing’), and it is helpful here to think of the LH as the leader – the driving force. You really need to know the LH ‘blind’. Close your eyes and see if you can play the last page and a half. Te RH triplets need a vibrato technique. Tink of literally ‘shaking them out’ of the keyboard. It is important to keep close to the keys here. Te higher you are above the keyboard the greater the risk of

Pianist92

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hitting wrong notes! Always think of travelling horizontally.  When you reach bar ba r 46 pay particular attention to the LH chords (i.e. the octaves that are not single octaves but filled in). I in).  I would suggest practising them alternately  without the thumb and then subsequently without the fifth finger.  You  Y ou need to grip gr ip each chord as each has a real harmonic significance. Make as much of a crescendo as possible now. You are heading for the final climax and reiteration of the main theme at bar 49 – this is also the first time we see  fff   in this piece. From bar 52 to the end there is a natural accelerando. As accelerando. As you can see on the Pianist  score,   score, the last two bars are marked fortiss marked  fortissimo imo,, and that’s how I like to play the ending to this piece. But it’s worth noting that some editions mark the last two chords – the minim and the semibreve – as  piano.. o  piano o me, that doesn’ does n’tt seem to  work musically. musicall y. And most pianists that I’ve heard play this étude will play fortiss play  fortissimo imo right  right through to the very end of the piece. Drop the tone in bar 52 to allow for a final precipitando. Reserve some energy – one of the key tests of this piece is pacing of stamina! Tis étude  will undoubtedly improve improve your octave technique. Be patient in practising this piece, as you will definitely get out of it what you put into it! ■

Scriabin on disc If you’ve fallen for Scriabin, here are some benchmark recordings to sound out: Complete Etudes – Piers Lane (Hyperion, CDH55242) Complete Mazurkas – Eric Le Van (Music & Arts, CD1125) Complete Poèmes – Pascal Amoyel (Calliope, 9360) Complete Sonatas – Marc-André Hamelin (Hyperion, CDA67131/2, 2 discs) Complete Préludes – Piers Lane (Hyperion: Vol 1 CDH55450, Vol 2 CDH55451) 24 Préludes op 11 (with Sonatas Nos 4 & 10) – Mikhail Pletnev (Erato, 5099962865128)  (plus solo piano works) – Vladimir Ashkenazy (Decca 478 8155) Vers la flamme  (plus Piano Concerto – Yevgeny Sudbin, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Andrew Litton (BIS, SACD BIS2088) Scriabin Edition (complete works) – Various artists (Decca, 478 8168, 18 discs)

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26• Pianist 92

Pianist 92

 Scores 

October - November 2016

EXCLUSIVE COMPETITION

Contents

 IS T IA N S  THE P  A  EN TER  T

 NG  N  S I PO  M  CO  N O  I    T T  I  T  E P  M  CO  W A I

SPEER

 

Aria

29

HEUMANN

 Modern Prelude 30

 A ND WIN A K A 

 ,350  3  3 £ R   E  V O  H  T R   WO

28

MAYKAPAR

Pedal Prelude No 5 32

STANFORD

Scherzo, No 2 from Six from Six Sketches

P L  LU    S  U    S

T he w i  i nni ng pi ec e w i  il l be f eat u  u r  re  d i nsi de t he P  i  a  ni   n  i  s     t  t  Sc or es and o n t he c ov er mou nt  C D  D! 

34

CLEMENTI

Sonatina in C op 36 no 1, first movement 36

FUCHS

Dear little sister  op  op 32 no 14 38

42

KOŽELUCH Sonata in E flat P.XII: .XII:42, 42, first movement CRAMER

Praeludium and Andantino 43

CZERNY

Andante op 453 no 32

N

ow’s your chance to be creative! Compose your own piece of music. It can be any style that you like – modern, Classical, Romantic, jazz, boogie-woogie and so on. And it can be extremely simple or incredibly i ncredibly complex. All we ask is that it’s an original!

THE PRIZE

The winner will receive the elegant Kawai upright acoustic Model K-15E (pictured above), worth over £3,350. It comes in the smart, ever-popular polished ebony finish. Plus, the winning composition will be heard and played by thousands of readers, as it will feature inside the Scores in a future issue and on the covermount CD, recorded by concert pianist Chenyin Li.

The winner will also be interviewed by Pianist  Editor  Editor Erica Worth for a feature article to appear in the same issue. Deadline for entries is 4 Novembe November, r, so you still have time to get creative!

To find out ou t how ho w to enter, e nter, visit vis it our ou r website: webs ite:

pianistm.ag/composing92

44

BORODIN

Nocturne op 1 no 7 46

BOB DYLAN

 Make You Feel My Love 49

NAZARETH

Turbilhão de beijos – Valsa lenta 54

GRIEG

Rigaudon from Holberg Suite 59

SCRIABIN

Etude in D sharp minor op 8 no 12 Typesetting by Spartan Press  Musicc Publish  Musi Publishers ers Ltd

Quick guide to UK/North UK/ North American note value terminology

semibreve/whole note semibreve/whole minim/half minim /half note /quarter note crotchet/quarter crotchet quaver /eighth /eighth note semiquaver /16th /16th note /32nd note demisemiquaver /32nd demisemiquaver 

Daniel SPEER (1636-1707)

TRACK 1

BEGINNER

 Aria  The life of this composer, music theorist, political agitator and writer would make for an exciting film. Born in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland), Daniel Speer worked as an itinerant musician all over Europe, penned three autobiographies, was imprisoned for his political activities, composed, wrote practical treatises on music, and ended his days as a church cantor in Göppingen, Germany. Germany.

Moderato 1

Playing tips : Try Try to phrase over four-bar sections, always aiming to make the first beat stronger than the second. The crotchets in the LH don’t don’t need to be legato and pedal is certainly not required. Notice the dynamic markings and don’t don’t force the  forte  too  too much in bar 5. Take a look at the technical tips within the score.

Choose a steady moderato pulse. Count the beats of two beats per bar inside your head before you begin.

3

 As a gener general al rule rule for the RH, put the the emphasis emphasis on the first quaver of each bar. ba r. Feel the down/up motion motio n of the hand. 1

2

Key of D minor.

(   )

2

Notice the ‘p’ inside the brackets . That means when you repeat these four bars, repeat them with the dynamic of ‘p’ instead instead of ‘mf ’.

The LH notes do not need to be legato. They should move steadily and be in perfect time. ti me.

This second section starts resolute and loud. There is a lot of repetition, so try to phrase the melody – we suggest 4 bars to every phrase.

5

Repeat the first four bars, this time softly. sof tly.

From bar 5 to the end, the RH articulation should be slightly detached, but not staccato. Somewhere in between staccato and legato!

4

3

1

1

2

5

1

2

2

Create a small rit. r it. from here to the end.

 Make a sudden sudden change change in dynamic to ‘p’ below.

9

 Make sure that you you get get the dotted rhythm below spot on!

rit.

3

1

3

1

2

cresc.

5

2

5

2

1

2

Build the crescendo through to the final bar. 28• Pianist 92

3

1

On the first beat of this bar in the LH, there’s a fingering of 3-1 on the  A. This This means means you should silently move from the third finger to the thumb on that note .

Hans-Günter HEUMANN

TRACK 2

BEGINNER

 Modern Prelude  Prelude  Hans-Günter Heumann composed this prelude exclusively for Pianist . Playing tips : This evocative, dreamy piece should sound effortlessly seamless. The listener should not be able to notice the ch ange between the hands at all! To To maintain

‘Easy’ key of C major.

Dynamics – there t here are no dynamic indications indi cations on the score, s core, apart from the ‘p’ at the start.You need to create a calm and dreamy atmosphere, atmosph ere, with a minimalist quality. However, movement is needed, or it will come ac ross a bit lifeless and static. Think in four-bar phrases. Observe the crescendo and decrescendos at the very end.

q = 120

 & 43

rhythmic stability, you should make a slight emphasis on the first beat of the bar. Don’’t forget that the piece needs to be repeated. Pedal markings are on the score. Don Take a look at the technical tips within the score.

1

(*1955)

3

 œ  œ  œ  œ  œ  œ  œ  œ  œ  œ œ  œ œ  œ œ  œ œ  œ œ  œ  p  œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ  ? 43 œ œ

{

2

ø

1

ø

3

1

3

 simile

The pedalling is just one change per bar, on beat one .This is legato pedalling. pedal ling.

Notice how the RH notes change only slightly throughout the piece. The LH leads the way with the changes of notes, so bring out the bass line LH notes. no tes. They drive the piece. p iece.

6 

 &

œ œ œ œ

{

œ b œ  ?

œ œ œ œ œ # œ 4

1

œ œ œ œ œ œn

2

4

1

œœœœ

{

 ? bœ œ 4

œœœœ bœ œ

2

3

œ œ œ œ

œ # œ

11

 &

1

œ œ œ œ œ œ

2

2

œœœœ

œœœœ

œœ

œœ

5

4

2

When playing the piece the first time around, this is the bar that takes you back t o the beginning (ignore the 2. bar next to it.)

1.

1

The second time around, a round, skip past the 1. bar and go straight into 2. Remember to rit. and then have your hands over the notes of the last chord in order to gracefully arpeggiate it.

2.

U  & œ œ œ œ œœœœ œ œ œ œ ˙˙ ™ ™ ™ U˙˙ ™ ™ œœ  ? œ œ  ™ ™ œ œ 15

1

3

2

 ™ ™

{

3

2

29• Pianist 92

rit.

1

4

              

Samuil MAYKAPAR (1867-1938)

TRACK 3

BEGINNER

Pedal Prelude No 5 Born in Taganrog, the Russian city that features in Chekhov’s stories, Maykapar studied piano with Theodor Leschetizky and became a professor at the St Petersburg Conservatory.. This piece comes from his 20 Conservatory his 20 Pedal Pedal Preludes  Preludes  op  op 38. Playing tips : Look at the long phrases, which generally cover eight bars. Create a build-up in the form of a crescendo to the climax within each phrase (usually around the fifth bar) and then diminuendo again. The LH takes over at bar 17. This will

Moderato

mean reducing the sound to pp to pp in  in the RH and then making the LH sing (dig deep into the keys). Observe the lovely long pause at bar 30 (count this bar silently) and make sure to slow down slightly before it, in order to prepare. The last three bars should be quiet and precisely in time. Pedal tips : This is a pedal exercise, so it’s crucial to follow the peda l markings which are all marked clearly on the score.

  = 136

2

2

3

molto cantabile

1 3

1 3 5

1 2 4

4

5

9

1 3 4

2

3

3

5

2

1 3

1 2 4

13

5

1 3 5

4

2

3

1 2 1 5

30• Pianist  92

1 3 5

1 5

Samuil MAYKAPAR MAYKAPAR (1867-1938)

TRACK 3

BEGINNER

Pedal Prelude No 5

17 

4 3 1

4 2

4 2 1

3 2 1

cresc.

4

4

 21

5 2

2 1

dim.

4

poco rall.  25

3

1 3

1 2 4

a tempo 4 2 1

 29

4 2

 poco calando

3

1

31• Pianist  92

Charles Villiers STANFORD (1852-1924)

TRACK 4

BEGINNER/ INTERMEDIATE

Scherzo, No 2 from Six Sketches   A dominan dominantt (and dominat dominating, ing, by some reports reports)) figure in turn-ofturn-of-the-century the-century British music life, Stanford was a composer and teach er who taught Vaughan Vaughan Williams and Holst, among others. Six Sketches  dates  dates from 1918. Playing tips : This light, sweet piece is good for working on your RH legato and staccato. In nearly every bar you will have to use both touches (there are a few

exceptions, of course). In the second and fourth bars (and in similar places), feel the ‘down-up-up’ ‘dow n-up-up’ motion of the hand. Remember to keep the rhythm even, allowing the LH to be the accompanying pulse. Aside from a crescendo in bar 22, most of this piece is piano is piano,, so keep it light throughout. Pedal tips : Pedalling not required.

 Al le gr o

5

9

13

1

1

2

3

2

2

2

1 5

4

1

1

1

2

2

2

4

2 1

4

1

1

2

32• Pianist  92

2

2

4

4

4

TRACK 4

Charles Villiers STANFORD (1852-1924)

BEGINNER/ INTERMEDIATE

Scherzo, No 2 from Six Sketches  17 

 21

5

2 1

5

2

1

3

5 3

3

4

2 1

3

3

3

4

cresc.

1

 25

1

1

2

1

2

dim.

3

 29

4

1

3

3

4

1

2

2

1 2

3

33• Pianist  92

1

1

Robert FUCHS (1847-1927)

TRACK 6

 op Dear little sister  op 13

4

4

4

2

1

INTERMEDIATE

32 no 14

4

1

4

2 2

5

3

1

1

1

2

4

5

3

1

2

4

1

4

16

4 5

5

2

2

2

1

1 2

4

2

1

1

2

1

2 5

5 1 5

19

4 1

5 1

4

5 2

4

2

4

2

5

4

1

1

2

3 4 5

5

 22

1

2

2 4

5

5

3

1

( 3

2

1 )

2

4

4

4

1

4

4

2

3 2 1

2

5

3

1

2

4

1

1

37• Pianist  92

3 2 5

4

Leopold KOŽELUCH (1747-1818)

TRACK 7

INTERMEDIATE

Sonata in E flat P.XII:42, first movement

 As a young man, Czec Czechh composer composer Leopold Ko�elu Ko�eluch ch had had to choose between his law law studies and his growing success as a composer. co mposer. He chose the latter, and enjoyed a long career as a pianist, composer, teacher, music publisher and conductor, taking on musical duties in the Habsburg court in Prague. Playing tips : It’s important to decide on your tempo tem po first. A good way of doing this thi s is by examining the ‘busy’ bars – such as bars 9 and 10 – and seeing what wh at tempo works well in those bars. The RH has a calm, regal melody, which needs to project and also

to flow – with the Adagio tempo marking, there’s a danger that your playing can become static. The LH is the accompanimen accompaniment,t, although it sometimes takes on the melody (e.g. at bar 17). Pay attention to the dynamics and also to the fingering suggestions – the key of E flat major is quite an easy key when it comes to fingering. Notice the wonderful harmonic progression between bars 5-7 – that’s what made the editor decide to feature this moving Classical work! Pedal tips : Dabs here and there at the ends of phrases should you wish.

 Ad ag agio io 1

5

1

5

4

1

4

2

5

1

3

2

2

5

1

3

2

2

3

3

1

8

11

3

5

5

3

3

1

38• Pianist  92

1

1

3

2

3

3

Leopold KOŽELUCH (1747-1818)

TRACK 7

5

14

17 

2

3

1

3

5

4

2

1

3

4 2

1

4

2

1 1

 20

5

3

2

5

 23

 26

INTERMEDIATE

Sonata in E flat P.XII:42, first movement

2

3

3

5 1

4 1

5 1

3 1

39• Pianist  92

4 1

3 1

5 2

4 1

5 1

Leopold KOŽELUCH (1747-1818)

TRACK 7

INTERMEDIATE

Sonata in E flat P.XII:42, first movement

 30

2

1

 34

 37 

 40

 43

2

4

1

1

3

3

4

1

2

40• Pianist 92

1

3

2

1

1

Leopold KOŽELUCH (1747-1818)

TRACK 7

 46

1

 49

52

2

1

5 4

1

3

3

3

3

3

2

2

3

1

4 2

55

59

INTERMEDIATE

Sonata in E flat P.XII:42, first movement

5 5

1

1

41• Pianist 92

1

3

1

3

READ THE ARTICLE ON PAGE PAGE 74 FOR MORE INFORMATION INFORMATION ON THIS PIECE

Carl CZERNY (1791-1857)

TRACK 9

INTERMEDIATE

 Andante op 453 no 32  What most of us know about Czerny Czerny is that he was Beethoven’ Beethoven’s pupil and Liszt’s Liszt’s teacher, and he wrote many difficult pedagogical pieces. This gentle piece comes from

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1

1

4

2

5

his 110 easy and progressive exercises for pianoforte . We think you will enjoy learning it. Read Nils Franke’s Franke’s tips on how to play this piece on page 74.

4

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3

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2

1

1

5

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4

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© 2011 Schott Music Music Ltd London

3

43• Pianist  92

   

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READ THE ARTICLE ON PAGE 74 FOR MORE INFORMATION INFORMATION ON THIS PIECE TRACK 10

 Alexan  Ale xande derr BOROD BORODIN IN (18 (183333-188 1887) 7)

INTERMEDIATE

Nocturne op 1 no 7  A membe r of the Russi an ‘Migh ty Handf ul’ of compos ers, Borodi n is best remembered for his two string quartets, his symphonies and the opera Prince Igor .

This beautiful Nocturne is the final piece in a collection entitled Petite Suite . Read Nils Franke’s tips on how to play this piece on page 74.

44• Pianist 92

  n   o    d   n   o    L  ,    d   t    L   c    i   s   u    M   t   t   o    h   c    S    9    0    0    2    ©

READ THE ARTICLE ON PAGE PAGE 74 FOR MORE INFORMATION INFORMATION ON THIS PIECE P IECE TRACK 10

 Alexa  Al exande nderr BOROD BORODIN IN (18 (183333-188 1887) 7) Nocturne op 1 no 7

45• Pianist 92

INTERMEDIATE

Bob Dylan (b. 1941)

TRACK 11

INTERMEDIATE

 Make You You Feel My Love  This romantic song was included on Bob Dylan’s 1997 album a lbum Time Out of Mind , but The bass notes should sound like soft, sof t, sonorous bells. The musical writing can come Billy Joel released his version one month before Dylan and enjoyed the first chart across as a bit repetitive, and you’ll you’ll see there are no dynamic markings, so you will success. In 2008 British singer Adele released her recording, which was an instant hit , need to be inventive – you can always try to sing the lyrics as you play! Die away at and no wonder, with the heartfelt and powerful simplicity she brings to the song. the end, with a subtle ritardando. Playing tips : This song is quite slow, so we suggest you find a good pulse before Pedal tips : Ample, legato pedalling can be applied. As a general rule, change the pedal you start. You You need to feel that certain swing or swaying feeling. Bring out the top  when you see a new new chord symbo symboll above above the score (i.e. when the harmon harmonies ies change). melody, keeping the lower parts hushed. Try Try to keep the minims and the semibreves semi breves Turn to page 70 to read our editor’ editor’ss interview with Eric Wortham II, the pianist held in the RH, while playing the melody, melody, even if you can be aided by ample pedal. who has played on Adele’s tours. = 76 3 2

1

5

2

5

2

1

5 4

2

4 2 1

2

2

9

3 1

is blow - ing  1. When the rain 2. When the eve - ning  shad - ows and the

2

in your face, stars ap - pear,

and

and the whole there is one

1

12 5

4 1

2 1

on dry

your your

case, tears,

I I

could could

of  - fer hold you

46• Pianist 92

you for

a a

warm mil

-

em - brace lion years

world there

is to

 .    d   e   r   u   c   e    S   t    h   g    i   r   y   p   o    C    l   a   n   o    i   t   a   n   r   e   t   n    I  .    d   e   v   r   e   s   e    R   s   t    h   g    i    R    l    A  .   c    i   s   u    M   r   e    d    i    R    l   a    i   c   e   p    S    7    9    9    1   t    h   g    i   r   y   p   o    C    ©   n   a    l   y    D    b   o    B   y    b   c    i   s   u    M    &   s    d   r   o    W  .   e   v   o    L   y    M    l   e   e    F   u   o    Y   e    k   a    M

Bob Dylan (b. 1941)

TRACK 11

INTERMEDIATE

 Make You You Feel My Love  1.

2.

15

5 1

to

make you

feel

my

love.

to

make you

feel

my

love.

17 

3 1

4 2

I The

know storms

you are

have rag  -

n't ing 

made on

your the

mind roll

up ing 

-

yet, sea,

5

19 3

3 1

1

but and

I would nev - er on the high - way

do of 

you re

-

wrong. gret.

I've known it from The winds of  change

2

 22

( 2°

)

4 3

2 1

that wild

we and

met; free;

no doubt you ain't

in

my mind where you seen noth - ing  like

be me

-

long. yet.

 25

3. 4. I could

I'd make

go you

hun hap

-

gry, py,

I'd make

go your

2

black dreams

1 47• Pianist 92

and come

blue, true,

the mo - ment are blow - ing 

Bob Dylan (b. 1941)

TRACK 11

INTERMEDIATE

 Make You You Feel My Love   27  3

2 1

2

I'd

go crawl - ing    down the

noth - ing  that

I

would

av -

-

e  -

nue.

n't

do.

Go

Know

there's

to

the

noth - ing    that ends

of 

I the

To Coda  30

would earth

-

n't for

do you

to to

make you make you

feel feel

my my

love. love.

2

 33

D. S. al Coda  37  4

5

2

rit.  41

Coda

to

1 48• Pianist 92

make y ou ou

f ee l

my

love.

3 1 5

Ernesto NAZARETH (1863-1934)

TRACK 12

INTERMEDIATE

Turbilhão de beijos – Valsa lenta  Composer and pianist Ernesto Nazareth was inspired by the music of his native Brazil, a heady mix of African, Indian and European styles. Turbilhão de beijos  –  – ‘whirlwind ‘whirlwin d of kisses’ – dates from around 1911. Playing tips : There are a lot of repeats within this piece, and we suggest that you listen to the CD in order to understand them and to be sure you know where the final bar is! You can have fun with rubat o here; it needs to sound ‘sexy’ and expressive.

Notice where there are accelerated moments too, as well as rallentandos. Like a Chopin  waltz, this piece piece gives the RH the melody melody,, which move movess around around the keyboar keyboard d a lot, lot, and the LH the oomp-pah-pah accompaniment. ac companiment. The LH needs to be really solid: we advise ‘blind’ practising (where you jump to the notes, but don’t look at the keyboard). This will be fun to play – so persevere with slow, hands separate practice! Pedal tips : See markings on the score.

Expressivo e lento 1

1

3

2

1

1

murmurando

4

5

1

4 3 1

5

2

3

4

1 2

1 2

2

1

3 1

4

4

5 1

9

2

1

3 1

1

suave

accel. 1

5

2

1

4

cresc.

1 2 4

5

13

2

2

5 3

1

5 5

4 1

2

1

4

1

2

2

4

dim.

49• Pianist 92

1

4

1

2

1

Ernesto NAZARETH (1863-1934)

TRACK 12

INTERMEDIATE

Turbilhão de beijos – Valsa lenta  17 

ped. sim.

 21

 25

suave

cresc.

al Coda al Fine  29

accel.

1.

2.

2

animato  34

5 2

1

4 2

4

3

5

4

2

5

4

50• Pianist 92

2

 

4

3

1

4

3

1

4

3

Ernesto NAZARETH (1863-1934)

TRACK 12

INTERMEDIATE

Turbilhão de beijos – Valsa lenta 

 38

molto expressivo

5 3

sim.

rit.

 42

 46

50

animato

54

51• Pianist 92

WATCH CHENYIN LI PLA P LAY Y THIS PIECE PIEC E AT AT WWW.PIANISTMAGAZINE. WWW.PIANISTM AGAZINE.COM COM INTERMEDIATE/ ADVANCED

Edvard GRIEG (1843-1907)

TRACK 13

Rigaudon from Holberg Suite 

This is the fifth and final movement from the Holberg Suite  op  op 40 by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. Written Written in 1884 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of the important Scandinavian literary figure Ludvig Holberg, Holberg, it points back to music of Holberg’s time, such as this French Baroque-style Rigaudon. Playing tips : This movement has a lovely Baroque feel to it. You will need great finger articulation (practise slowly with fingers raised) and a good sense of pulse and forward drive. One of the trickiest technical parts will be the run of octaves in

 Al le g ro co n br io 3

bars 37-38. We suggest working backwards, first tackling the last octave, then addi ng to it, one octave at a time. This is a great way of practising octave scales. When  working on this, keep the hand light, held in a firm position but without the wrist tensing up – and feel f eel that the in the th e end, the movement is like one. one . The Trio middle section at bar 41 allows for a bit of a breathing space. Pedal tips : As you will see, little pedal is needed. But in the Trio, Trio, even though it is not marked, you can allow for more pedal.

 = 144

4

2

2

1

4

3

2

2

1

2

3

1

2

4

5

4 3

2

1

1

2

2

3

2

3

1

2

9 3

3

2

1

1 2

2

1

4

2

2

cresc.

1

2

4

3

2

3

4

2

12

5

4

2

1

5

1

54• Pianist 92

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4

2

2

3

4

2

3

2

3

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Edvard GRIEG (1843-1907)

TRACK 13

Rigaudon from Holberg Suite 

16

3 3

1

 20

3

3

1

2

3 2

3 2

1

5

5

4

3

2

4

3 2

5

3

2

2

1

1

4

3

2

1

1

3

2

2

1

2

4

5

1

2

2

2

1

1

5

5

 28

2

2 1

4

2

3

1

1

2

4

3 1

1

2

4

 24

5 4

1

2

2 1

4

3

3 1

3 2

2

4

5

 32

3 2

1

1

55• Pianist 92

2

5

2

4

3

5

3 2

5

WATCH CHENYIN LI PLA P LAY Y THIS PIECE PIEC E AT AT WWW.PIANISTMAGAZINE. WWW.PIANISTM AGAZINE.COM COM INTERMEDIATE/ ADVANCED

Edvard GRIEG (1843-1907)

TRACK 13

Rigaudon from Holberg Suite 

81

2

2

3

4

5 4

3

4

2

1

4

85

3

4 4

5

2

3

1

3

3

3

1

90 4 3 3

3

94

3

3

cresc.

3

3

3

 

molto

4 2

5

2

2

3

3

4 3

4

1

DC al Fine

mo l t o t ra n qu il l o

98 2

3

r it . 3

3

4 2

2

1

58• Pianist 92

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4

4

ma senza repetizione 3

2

TRACK 14

 S S  I S  T MA M ’ S  ’ T  H  R  D O N A  Y P  L U C  E C E  S P I E  I S  H  T  E  O N  G

 S O N  L E S

 Alexan  Ale xander der SCR SCRIAB IABIN IN (18 (187272-191 1915) 5)

ADVANCED

Etude in D sharp minor op 8 no 12

 PA 4  2

This étude is the last in the first volume of études by Russian composer Alexander Scriabin, and dates dat es from 1894. Horowitz loved Scriabin’s dense, complex music and this particular étude was a favourite encore. Playing tips : Remember that this is an etude, and a difficult one at that, so be prepared to take some time to master mast er it . The LH uses a wide range ra nge of the keyboard and needs to be totally secure, with hands close to the keys at all times. The same can be said for the RH – with lots of octave playing to boot. Again, the hand should remain

as close to the keyboard as possible (no flying around!). If you listen to Chenyin Li’s performance on our CD, you will notice that it doesn’t have to t o be crazily fast. ‘Patetico’ does not mean fast – it means ‘with feeling’. And Lucy Parham’s lesson will surely encourage you to embark on learning this turbulent and passionat e etude. Pedal tips : There are no markings on the score, but at this advanced level, we are sure that readers have a good understanding of how to use the pedal. Read Lucy Parham’s Parham’s step-by-step lesson on this piece p iece on page 24.

4

Patetico

1

5

= 100 - 112

2

3

2

 3

5

cresc.

59• Pianist 92

2

TRACK 14

 Alexan  Ale xande derr SCR SCRIAB IABIN IN (18 (187272-191 1915) 5) Etude in D sharp minor op 8 no 12

7 

9

11

13

60• Pianist 92

 -ADVANCED