Articles, papers, program notes

ARTICLES & PAPERS:

Performance practice issues in Russian Piano Music

ABSTRACT The nineteenth and twentieth centuries witnessed the rapid growth of musical culture in Russia. This resulted in a large repertoire …

PROGRAM NOTES:

Anton Arensky: Trio in D minor for violin, cello, and piano (op. 32)

I. Allegro moderato II. Scherzo: Allegro molto-Meno Mosso-Allegro molto III. Elegia: Adagio IV: Finale: Allegro non troppo Accounts of Arensky …

Claude Debussy: Rêverie

Fromont published Rêverie years after Debussy had given it to them. By this time, Debussy’s opinion of it had changed: …

Claude Debussy: Suite Bergamasque

I. Prélude II. Menuet III. Claire de Lune IV. Passepied The term “bergamasque” refers to the ancient city of Bergame, …

Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2, Op. 67

I. Andante-Moderato II. Allegro non troppo III. Largo IV. Allegretto Having recently finished his Eighth Symphony, Shostakovich stated work on …

Eugène Ysaÿe: Violin Sonata No. 4

Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931) was a Belgian violinist, conductor and composer. Carl Flesch described him has “the most outstanding and individual …

Franz Joseph Haydn: Piano Trio (Hob. XV, No. 25) “Gypsy Trio”

I. Andante II. Poco Adagio III Rondo all’Ongarese Chamber music in the eighteenth century was written for and performed for …

Franz Schubert: Six Moments Musicaux (Musical Moments), op.94

(i) Moderato (C major) (ii) Andantino (A-flat major) (iii) Allegro moderato (f minor) (iv) Moderato (c-sharp minor)/ (v) Allegro vivace …

Frédéric Chopin: Nocturnes

Op. 9, no. 2 (Eb major)Op. 15, no. 3 (G minor)Op. 27, no. 1 (C-sharp minor)Op. 27, no. 2 (Db …

Jean Sibelius: Bagatelles (op. 97)

(i) Humoresque I (ii) Song (iii) Little Waltz (iv) Humorous March (v) Impromptu“Never write an unnecessary note. Every note must …

Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonata for violin and obbligato keyboard in A major (BWV 1015)

I. Dolce II. Allegro assai III. Andante un poco IV. Presto Prior to J. S. Bach, the harpsichord in ensemble …

Maurice Ravel: Menuet sur le dom d’Haydn; Menuet Antique; Pavane pour une infante défunte; Sonatine

Ravel’s style — elegant, and refined — was highly influenced by eighteenth classicism (e.g., Mozart) and the early French keyboard …

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Featured Content

Difficult music is the easiest to play
Scriabin’s fiery D#-minor Etude, with its relentless triplets and huge leaps, used to just fall under my fingers, while the Lento final movement of the Copland Sonata was a minefield of wrong notes. Why is that? Is it just because we practice hard music 20 times as much as easy music, or is it psychological, […]
The voice of life
“Is there not an art, a music, and a stream of words that shalt be life, the acknowledged voice of life?” – William Wordsworth, writer Cited at QuotationsBook  
Saint-Saens on Bach and Mozart
“What gives Sebastian Bach and Mozart a place apart is that these two great expressive composers never sacrificed form to expression. As high as their expression may soar, their musical form remains supreme and all-sufficient.” – Camille Saint-Saëns, from a letter to Camille Bellaigue, 1907 Cited in: Fisk, Josiah (ed.) (1997) Composers On Music: Eight […]
Let My Tongue Be Silenced – Psalm 136 (137)
Title: Let my tongue be silenced Text: Psalm 136 (137) Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: SATB and piano (unison verses) Product medium: PDF score and part Sample:    
Freedom for music
“In order for music to free itself, it will have to pass over to the other side – there where territories tremble, where the structures collapse, where the ethoses get mixed up, where a powerful song of the earth is unleashed, the great ritornelles that transmutes all the airs it carries away and makes return.” […]
Malcolm Sargent on Vaughan Williams’ Sixth Symphony
Conductor Malcolm Sargent on Vaughan Williams’ Sixth Symphony: A frightening symphony. For a symphony to be frightening is perhaps a good thing. Here we have the complete testament of a man who, in his seventies, looks back on the human sufferings of his time. I never conduct the Sixth without feeling that I am walking […]
The King’s Entrance
Title: The King’s Entrance Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: Piano duet Level: Piano I –  1 (five finger position) Product medium: PDF score and MP3 accompaniment track (Audio sample of accompaniment track only)
Streisland’s instinct
[Barbara Streisand’s] early voice training amounted to one lesson with a voice teacher. At that session Ms. Streisand sang “A Sleepin’ Bee,” the Harold Arlen song that she performed in her first television appearance, on “The Jack Paar Show” in 1961, just before turning 19. During the lesson Ms. Streisand got as far as the […]
Sanctuary (The Boy and the Heron)
Composer: Joe HisaishiArranger: Greg SmithTitle: “Sanctuary”, from The Boy and the HeronInstrumentation: Piano Solo Available from Sheet Music Direct and Sheet Music Plus.
Lord, Let Your Mercy Be On Us – Psalm 32 (33)
Title: Lord, let your mercy be on us Text: Psalm 32 (33): 4-5, 18-19, 20-22. R. v.22 Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: SATB and piano Product medium: PDF score and part Sample: