Pianodao

ABRSM: Spectrum 5

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

Spectrum launched in 1996 with the aim of commissioning serious solo contemporary works by distinguished composers, to be playable by talented amateur, student and professional pianists.

Since its inception, the series has produced six compilations for piano (including Spectrum for Piano Duet) and additional anthologies for cello, clarinet and violin, containing a total of 225 new works.

Playing French Baroque Music

Pianodao Articles • Full Archive

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Written by Andrew Eales

At a recent piano recital, I started with the very beautiful Chaconne in F major by the early French Baroque composer Louis Couperin (1626-61), uncle of the better known François Couperin “Le Grand” (1668-1731).

For most who were in the audience, it will have been their first encounter with the music of Louis Couperin, and even those with an interest in the early French Baroque will perhaps never have heard this music performed on a modern piano before.

Dating from the seventeenth century, this music was originally written for the harpsichord (or clavecin as the French knew it) and while later Baroque music such as the keyboard works of J.S.Bach and Domenico Scarlatti have found their way into the piano repertoire, the music of earlier composers is rarely heard outside of specialist “Early Music” circles.

Elena Kats-Chernin’s Piano Village

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

Elena Kats-Chernin (born 1957) is an Australian composer, who was born in Uzbekistan (at the time part of the Soviet Union).

Kats-Chernin has won numerous prizes, and her music was featured in the opening ceremony’s of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Her output includes 6 operas, the popular ballet Wild Swans, numerous orchestral and instrumental works, film scores and a large amount of piano music.

Piano Village brings together 25 of her piano solos in a single gorgeously presented volume recently published in the UK by Boosey & Hawkes.

And it’s a stunning book! So here’s the Pianodao review…

Sit up and Shut down

Pianodao Wellbeing • Mind, Body, Soul

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Written by Andrew Eales

Here is a simple qigong practice that provides an easy hack for diminishing the effects of anxiety in our lives. It can help before performing, taking an exam, or simply enable us get through the basics of daily life.

Anxiety. It seems to be the curse of the modern age, inflicting and blighting so many of our lives. As pianists we often talk about “performance anxiety”, but the truth is that our anxiety about performing is often one element of a bigger picture, and shouldn’t lightly be isolated…

June Armstrong: Safari

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

Composer June Armstrong has now published more than a dozen collections of original solo piano music through her business Pianissimo Publishing, and is especially known for Toy Box (aimed at beginner to pre-grade 1 standard) and its sequel Paint Box (pre-grade 1 to grade 1), the most popular of her previous collections.

Aimed at “beginner to pre-grade 1 standard”, Safari revisits the level of Toy Box. So let’s grab some insect spray and go on an adventure…

Fantasy Piano: 20 Enchanting Easy Pieces

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

With the new term getting underway at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, now is surely a good time to mention Hans-Günter Heumann‘s magical collection ‘Fantasy Piano’, recently published by Schott Music.

Opening the Chest

Pianodao Wellbeing • Mind, Body, Soul

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Written by Andrew Eales

Opening the Chest is the second movement from the 18 Taiji Qigong Shibashi form, and extends the Open and Commence movement previously shared here.

This stretch can be used to expand your routine, and offers further support to help those who have benefited from the first exercise.

Before practising “Opening the Chest”, be sure to spend time practising Open and Commence first, as this next exercise assumes that you are familiar and comfortable with that movement.

8 Great Piano Duet Books

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

The Piano Duet is a musical genre that I have explored too little with my students in the past, so a few years ago I decided to stock up on a few duet books.

Finding excellent material for more advanced students was easy enough, given the wonderful works for “One Piano Four Hands” by such classical greats as Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, Debussy, Poulenc et al. But finding good material for beginners and intermediate players proved far more difficult.

Fast forward to 2016 and that gap in the market has been addressed by a succession of simply great publications over the last few years. Here is my selection of some of the best, which I hope you will go ahead and explore for yourselves!