Contemplations: Piano: Instrumental Album

Did you know that Bruckner wrote for the piano? Or that Liszt wrote some pieces that are not fiendishly difficult? Contemplations is selection of fascinating pieces for intermediate-level pianists. The music is drawn from a wide range of periods and styles creating intriguing juxtapositions of pieces by well-known and lesser-known composers. Bernstein's tribute to Sondheim rubs shoulders with Erik Satie; Bartók Benjamin and Bortkiewicz are bedfellows; Mozart and Tchaikovsky are represented alongside their contemporaries Koželuh and Cui. There are some thoroughly accessible new pieces too by contemporary masters.Piano Moods is an exciting new piano series from Boosey & Hawkes.Each volume is devoted to a particular mood. The pieces chosen draw on Boosey & Hawkes' extensive collection of wonderful music as well as lesser-known gems from the past - some of them from surprising sources - and newly composed works.

Intermediate-Level 4 Piano Solo-This lyric 'night piece' inspires artistic attention to balance and tone production. It is a study in contrasts with its passionato middle section and a beautifully hypnotic coda. The rubato pedaling and contemplative nature make this nocturne ideal preparation for Chopin.

Quirky New Piano Pieces-'In choosing to call this set of 25 pieces The FitzTanner Collection I make a tongue-in-cheek allusion to the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book.The FitzTanner Collection doffs its cap in the direction of this seminal ancient tome by borrowing some of the more fanciful and suggestive titles from which it is comprised but beyond this there is no musical connection with the original pieces at all. And yet stirred into the mix is my fondness for melding together bygone musical styles. Hence this album of piano pieces pitched at the more robust intermediate pianist combines quirky originality with older musical styles drawinginspiration not just from Renaissance dances and fantasies but from more elaborate Baroque and Classical styles too. That said the music is conceived very much with the qualities of the modern piano in mind and hence requires a good many pedal effects dynamics and plenty of expression. What emerges is I hope a collection of attractive piano pieces which cheerfully bear the traces of a time when the modern piano was but a twinkle in the eye.There is an enjoyable charisma to the Old English spellings of these pieces (as well as a healthy margin for idiosyncrasy I might add) and to my own creations I have taken great delight in adding a few light-hearted directions which I trust won't cause too much consternation. Not all of the Fitzwilliam titles are easily fathomed but the playful risqué and politically incorrect overtones are sometimes quite striking leading me to contemplate a similarly unserious vein in my own writing. To what (or indeed to whom) you may ask does 'Quodlings Delight' refer? I'm not sure I'd recognise a Quodling if it crawled out of my porridge (and likewise who the eponymous Barafostus might have been is anybody's guess). Perhaps on balance the music is best left to speak for itself and regardless of how many ways an old title can be reworked it will always come down to living breathing

Hal Leonard Student Piano Library Showcase Solo Level 3/Late Elementary-In this highly original solo the performer assumes the role of the two players in a checkers game each contemplating their next move. Sure to encourage student-teacher discussion and to pique the performer's interest. (To aid increativity the notes for the red player are printed in red!)

From the bold and energetic rhythms of Autumn Winds to the gentle contemplative Winter Moonlight Kevin Olson manages to capture the magic of each season. Contents include: Autumn Winds; Winter Moonlight; Spring Showers; Summer Vacation.

L'édition officielle des partitions de l'album du même nom « Piano Songbook » chez Sony Classical. Elle contient des arrangements et des fantaisies sur des œuvres populaires, du baroque au romantisme, ainsi que des compositions originales de Martin Stadtfeld. Niveau de difficulté facile à intermédiaire - idéal pour les jeunes et ceux qui se remettent au piano.
« Les œuvres rassemblées dans ce volume m'ont accompagné toute ma vie. Dans des périodes difficiles, cette musique m'apporte du réconfort et de la certitude.
Les arrangements sont en partie libres et subjectifs, distillant ce qui est essentiel pour moi. La devise était : le moins de notes possible. C'est également ce que je revendique pour mes dix propres compositions dans la troisième partie. Ainsi, la plupart des pièces peuvent être jouées dans des cours de piano. Même ceux qui se remettent au piano après une longue période peuvent commencer avec ces pièces. Je souhaite que beaucoup de gens, lorsqu'ils les joueront, ressentent ce que j'ai ressenti lorsque j'ai écrit ce volume : contemplation, approfondissement, force intérieure. »
(Martin Stadtfeld)
Part I, 10 piano songs after Händel, Bach, Beethoven and Schumann: I Hymn (after Händel’s “Zadok the Priest”)
II Never alone (after Bach’s “Bist Du bei mir”)
III Shepherd’s song (after Bach’s “Schafe können sicher weiden”)
IV Nature song (after Beethoven’s “Pastorale”)
V Organ piece I (after Bach’s “Toccata in C”)
VI Study (after Schumann’s “Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne“)
VI Organ piece II (after Bach’s “Sonata No. 5”)
VIII Choral (after Schumann’s “Aus meinen Tränen sprießen”)
IX Siciliano (after Bach’s “Erbarme Dich”)
X Hymn II (after Händel’s “Zadok the Priest”)
Part II, 10 piano songs after Bach, Dvorak, Schubert, Vivaldi, Purcell, Beethoven and Mozart: I New song (after Bach’s “Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied”)
II Folksong (after Dvořák’s “Dumka from piano quintet”)
III Passacaille (after Bach’s “Crucifixus”)
IV Night song (after Schubert’s “Nachtstück”)
V Aria (after Vivaldi’s “Sovente il sole”)
VI Bach meets Vivaldi (after Vivaldi’s “Sovente il sole”)
VII Canon (after Bach’s “Ich folge Dir gleichfalls mit freudigen Schritten”)
VIII Lamento (after Purcell’s “When I am laid in earth”)
IX Folksong (after Beethoven’s “Eroica”)
X Variation (after Mozart’s “Marsch der Priester”)
Part III, Ten Piano Songs: I Lullaby
II Choral
III Old song
IV Passacaille
V Minuet
VI Eichendorff song
VII Natural loud
VIII Choral
IX March
X Lullaby
Encore 1: Eroica Dance (after Beethoven’s “Eroica”)
Encore 2: Jesu my joy (after Bach’s “Jesu bleibet meine Freude“) / Partitions classique / Piano - instruments à clavier / Piano / SCHOTT