Several years ago, Mr. Kalichstein hired a young music student who kept reaching across the score to turn pages from the bottom right corner, in the process obscuring several measures of the concerto. “Take it from the top!” the frustrated Mr. Kalichstein finally hissed; reflexively, the page turner flipped the score back to the beginning. […]

PERFORMANCE BIOGRAPHY GREG SMITH Certifications and degrees: – 1996: Associate of Music, Australia (A. mus. A.) in piano performance – 1998: Licentiate of Music, Australia (L. mus. A.) in piano performance – 2001: Bachelor of Music, with honours, class I (University Medal).  University of Newcastle.  Double major in piano and composition. – 2003: Master of […]

Title: A Light Rises in the Darkness Psalm 111 (112): 4-9 Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: SATB and piano Product medium: PDF score and part.

John E. Borland described in a paper of June 1897: It was customary to commence with a Bach prelude and fugue (usually perverted from one intended for the organ), a Beethoven sonata (choice limited to four or five), some Chopin pieces (there were about twelve orthodox ones to select from), and a Liszt rhapsody. These […]

‘The following is an account of the conductor Hans von Bülow: Young composers whom Bülow decided to feature in the concerts were encouraged to present themselves at the rehearsals, and even to direct the orchestra themselves, whenever it was deemed to be helpful.  We can only admire the resourcefulness of the budding symphonist who, in […]

Any artist knows that the space between the stage where the work is too unformed to have committed itself and the stage where it is too late to improve it can be as thin as a needle.  Genius perhaps consists in opening out this needle-like area until it covers almost the whole of the working […]

Title: Impromptu (Op. 97, no.5) Composer: Jean Sibelius (arr. Greg Smith) Instrumentation: Trombone and piano Product medium: PDF score and part

“Technique is not music. Music is the thousandth of a millisecond between one note to the other—that’s where the music is.”  — Isaac Stern, in an interview with Mark Stryker Cited in: Green, Barry (2003) The Mastery of Music: Ten Pathways to True Artistry. New York: Broadway Books, p. 2.

Schumann described Chopin’s works as “cannons buried in flowers”.  Contained in Chopin’s music are painful moments, suffering, longing and much drama. Similarly to Mozart, the external impression may be one of pure beauty, elegance, exuberance or joy but, deep down, there is something else entirely, a sort of imprecise discomfort, a certain malaise. The contrast […]

American composer Steve Reich on his compositional process: When I compose, I notice I’m the only one in the room. (laughs) I tend to be a somewhat self-critical person. I use my emotional faculties to judge whether I want to hear something again. Basically I have no one in mind except pleasing myself. And my […]