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(S4) TOCCATA "HYGAGAN," OPUS 229by Dianne Goolkasian RahbeeFrom the FJH Contemporary Keyboard Sheets, Toccata "Hygagan" by Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee is an engaging and virtuosic late-intermediate piano solo.Born in Massachusetts, Rahbee is a first-generation Armenian American. She was a piano major at Juilliard, and a self-taught composer who b...
ROMANCE:THE PIANO MUSIC OF CLARA SCHUMANNIsata Kanneh-Mason, pianoDecca[Total Time 76:00]www.deccaclassics.comContributing to this year's bicentennial celebration of Clara Schumann's birth is the debut album of the twenty-three-year-old British pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason. In 2015, while a student at the Royal Academy of Music, Kanneh-Mason, al...
MUSIC FOR YOUNG CHILDREN (MYC) is a piano-focused music curriculum designed for age-based classes of up to six children (ages 3–9).Founded in Canada by Frances Balodis program's focus on group learning and parental involvement. in 1980, it was most recently revised in 2015, and is now an international&nb...
(S4-5) PIANO PIECES by Otilie SukováVery little is known about the composer Otilie Suková (1878–1905), yet a great deal is known about her famous father, Antonín Dvorák. Nonetheless, Bärenreiter Urtext has presented pianists with a gem: a collection of four short piano pieces by this relatively unknown composer. The pi...
In Transformational Piano Teaching: Mentoring Students from All Walks of Life, Derek Kealii Polischuk provides an overview of various student populations we might encounter as piano teachers, and offers snapshots of how to work with and engage these seemingly disparate groups. "The book examines the role of mentor, a r...
FARRENC: VARIATIONS FOR PIANOBiliana Tzinlikova, pianoPaladino Music PMR 0088[Total Time: 53:02]www.paladino.atThis is a significant new recording of Louise Farrenc's piano works. The program consists of four sets of variations, all written in the 1830s, including Air russe varié (on the composer's own theme), one on the cavatina "Nel veder la...
Review by Ann DuHamelDebussy's Paris: Piano Portraits of the Belle Époque, by Catherine Kautsky. The first time I heard Professor Catherine Kautsky speak at a conference, I was utterly entranced: she gave a captivating, lively, and energetic session that I still remember years later. Her enthusiasm for French music was palpable, and she provid...
(S2) Bastien New Traditions All In One Piano Course, 2B, 3A, 3B, by Lisa, Lori, and Jane Bastien.In a grand family tradition, these materials continue the recently published Bastien New Traditions All In One Piano Course by Lisa, Lori, and Jane Bastien. As with the first five levels in the new series (Primer A through 2A), Lessons, Theory, Techniqu...
D'Albert was a prized student of Liszt and his piano transcriptions of Bach's organ works bear the influence of his master. Unlike some transcribers, who sought to glorify Bach by embellishing his works in grandeur, both Liszt and d'Albert stayed largely reverent to the original works. One exception here is d'Albert's version of the Passacaglia and...
The Contemporary Piano: A Performer and Composer's Guide to Techniques and Resources, by Alan Shockley. The introduction to Alan Shockley's The Contemporary Piano: A Performer and Com- poser's Guide to Techniques and Resources indicates that the "book is designed as a resource for composers writing for the piano and for pianists int...
Music teachers who collaborate with other equally busy musicians, must find creative ways around full schedules and unusual working hours. Email, text message, and social media platforms are cumbersome when communicating about team teaching, shared events, and group organizations. Consider a new tool to facilitate shared correspondence: Slack...
(S1-3) Imaginations Books 1 and 2, by Kevin Olson. Kevin Olson has a knack for creating fresh and original sounds at every teaching level. While incorporating the reading, rhythmic, and technical skills needed to advance the piano student, Imaginations offers a wide variety of appealing pieces. With titles like "Android Attack," "Penguin...
The two leading piano manufacturers in Paris during Chopin's lifetime were Érard and Pleyel. Chopin preferred Pleyel's instruments, praising what he heard as a more compelling cantabile, and subtler tonal palette. The 1847 Pleyel here possesses remarkable clarity, due in part to its quick decay time. Rutkowski's prowess with convincing agogic expr...
By Stephen Siek: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017, $89.98 After the excellent reception for his biography of Tobias Matthay (England's Piano Sage, Scarecrow Press, 2011), Stephen Siek took on a different challenge: writing a piano dictionary. The word "Modern" in Siek's title does not refer to pianists who play contemporary music, but ...
Managing Stage Fright: A Guide for Musicians and Music Teachers, by Julie Jaffee Nagel. Julie Nagel possesses a rare combination of skills. She has two music degrees from The Juilliard School, three psychology degrees from the University of Michigan, and further training at the Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute. I often joke with stu...
(S3-4) Nocturnes in Minor: An Artistic Intermediate/Late Intermediate Collection for Solo Piano, by Jeanne Costello. As a young pianist, I remember playing my first Chopin nocturne and thinking, "Now I'm really playing some difficult piano music." The piece left a lasting impression that, in many ways, hooked me on classical music, C...
(S3-4) Big Phat Jazz Piano Solos: 10 Big Phat Band Classics, arranged by Gordon Goodwin.(S3-4) If you're not familiar with the name "Gordon Goodwin," you probably haven't played in a high school jazz band in the last fifteen years or so. Goodwin's music has achieved near ubiquity in the jazz ed...
The Pianist's Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Concertos: An Invaluable Resource of Keyboard Concertos from Baroque through Contemporary Periods for Teachers, Students, and Performers, by Karen Beres and Christopher Hahn.Review by Kate Boyd. Susan Geffen, Editor The Pianist's Guide to Standard ...
New Music ReviewsEditor's noteHo, ho, ho! The holidays are on the horizon. We know how it is for piano teachers (we're teachers ourselves). We frantically run to the music store, hoping to snag our favorites before the teacher with 120 students cleans out the inventory.Clavier Companion is here to help. This issue's holiday reviews will help you ch...
