Elena Cobb – Pianodao

22 Nocturnes for Chopin

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A few months ago I brought exciting news of a project developed by Elena Cobb of EVC Music and RNCM final-year student Rose McLachlan. A “Call to Women Composers” was extended worldwide, with a brief to compose a new piano piece inspired by the beloved Nocturnes of Chopin.

You can read all about it here. And you will learn in that post that I was subsequently invited to Chair the Selection Committee which also included the concert pianist and teacher Kathryn Page, recording artist Anna Heller, and ISM President Vick Bain.

Having played a role in this project, I cannot of course review the resulting publication with the same independence of perspective that I usually offer.

Nevertheless, I am pleased to let you know that the resulting publication is now available worldwide, and makes an exciting addition to the Pianodao Music Library…

A ‘Call to Women Composers’

Some months ago I was approached by Rose McLachlan, a gifted pianist who is currently studying at the Royal Northern College of Music. Rose wanted to discuss an idea she was developing with EVC Music founder Elena Cobb…

’22 Nocturnes for Chopin’ would be a new collection of piano miniatures written in the spirit of the great composer’s works, suitable for players at advanced level (around UK Grades 6-8), and to that end Rose and Elena would extend a “call to women composers” around the world, inviting submissions for consideration.

The eventual selection would be performed by Rose and published by EVC Music. Some half dozen pieces would be commissioned from established composers, while the rest would be previously unpublished.

Rose and Elena were keen for me to help with the selection process, and I had soon agreed to Chair the Selection Committee, which came to include the concert pianist and teacher Kathryn Page, recording artist Anna Heller, and ISM President Vick Bain.

Grooves for Piano Dudes

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Heather Hammond is well established as one of the best-loved educational composers in the UK today, with more than 100 publications in print (piano and woodwind) from a variety of publishers.

The last time I took a good look at Hammond’s music was in my review of her Ballads Without Words, brought to us by EVC Music. In this review, I’m considering a contrasting series of her music from the same publisher.

Grooves for Piano Dudes currently includes three volumes, including one with a special Halloween theme. All are suitable for intermediate players, and between them offer 37 fresh Hammond compositions in jazz, rock, blues and boogie styles…

Donald Thomson’s Halloween Piano Tunes

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Having only just reviewed the Willis Music’s Halloween anthology Spooky Sounds here’s another dastardly publication, this time from EVC Music and scaring us with 19 original pieces from the excellent Donald Thomson.

I have previously praised Thomson’s Celtic Piano Music (reviewed here), and am equally enthusiastic about this collection. Let’s open it up to find out what’s lurking within…

Blues, Boogie, Jazz & more…

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Paul Birchall is a veteran keyboard and piano player with a career in commercial music spanning four decades of touring the world with the likes of M People, Jim Diamond, Snake Davis and Wang Chung. Now based in Manchester, he composes for TV, film, theatre, and for his own record label.

Some readers may know of Birchall’s Daily Expressions, previously published by the enterprising EVC Music. Now he’s back with a brand new publication. Blues, Boogie, Jazz & More (again from EVC Music) offers a superb mix of nine pieces in contemporary popular styles with full backing tracks, suitable for intermediate piano players…

Ballads without words

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Heather Hammond is one of the UK’s most widely respected and published educational composers, responsible for a string of popular titles that notably include the Cool Piano, Cool Clarinet, Funky Flute and Super Sax series from Kevin Mayhew. She is also much admired for her work with writing partner Karen Marshall; together they created the Get Set! Piano method series (Collins Music) and Intermediate Pianist (Faber Music).

Hammond’s most recent music, published with vision and panache by EVC Music, has further consolidated her growing international reputation, and EVC now brings us the combined Ballads Without Words, a compilation of two previous best-selling titles (suitable for upper intermediate players around UK Grades 4-5), joined by two brand new pieces…

Elena Cobb: Recital Piano Solos

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Elena Cobb is without doubt one of the single most inspiring educators and committed visionaries that I have ever had the privilege of meeting.

A musical force of nature, she has made a global impact in music education through her Star Prize events at London’s Royal Albert Hall which attract young players from around the world, her festival and awards sponsorships, online networking (her Facebook community for Russian-speaking teachers has more than 10,000 members) and her music publishing.

Building her publishing business EVC Music from scratch, the last decade has seen Cobb supporting new music, in the process launching and expanding the careers of several excellent educational composers. It would be easy to overlook that Cobb is herself an outstanding composer.

Having recently signed to Hal Leonard as global distributors for EVC Music, her music is once again in the spotlight, and there’s never been a better time to remind readers of two excellent collections which showcase Cobb’s own, brilliant creative voice…

Sam Wedgwood’s ‘Next Level’

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Sam is the latest member of the Wedgwood clan to be making a big name for himself as a composer of well-crafted and catchy piano pieces suitable for intermediate students.

Following the popularity of the two Sam Wedgwood’s Project books from EVC Music, the publisher’s latest release is his new collection of solo and duet pieces, Next Level.

Here’s the Pianodao review…

Piano Tales for Peter Pan

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In the few years that I have been reviewing music publications on Pianodao, there have been a few standout releases which have gone on to become real favourites with my own students.

An obvious winner in this sense is the brilliant Piano Tales for Alice, composed by Nikki Iles and published by EVC Music, which I reviewed here in 2018.

Hot off the press, the much anticipated sequel Piano Tales for Peter Pan is out now, and for those who have been keen for its arrival I have good news:

Nikki Iles has done it again! Piano Tales for Peter Pan delivers another equally delicious mix of wit, imagination, and jazz-tinged brilliance. So let’s take a look…

Andrew Higgins: Seasons

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From time to time I review a music book here which subsequently establishes itself as a favourite with my students; such a book was the brilliant Birds: Études-Tableaux composed by Andrew Higgins, which I reviewed here.

I was therefore naturally pleased to receive Higgins’ latest collection, Seasons, which is again published by the forward-looking publisher EVC Music, whose many recent useful and eye-catching publications have made such a positive mark on the pedagogic repertoire in recent years.

Rather than lazily giving us more of the same, Seasons is quite a different proposition from Higgins’ last book, so let’s take a closer look…