Faber Music – Page 2

Debbie Wiseman • Ten

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

By happy coincidence, in the same week that Pianodao celebrated the site’s tenth anniversary, so too Debbie Wiseman’s new piano album Ten appeared. It was a special pleasure to attend the launch event hosted by Presto Music in partnership with publishers Faber Music, at which the composer introduced and performed from the collection.

Debbie Wiseman is undoubtedly one of Britain’s most popular and distinguished living composers. This year she celebrates ten years as Classic FM Composer in Residence, and her new solo piano album brings together ten of her best-loved compositions in new arrangements, together with a brand new ‘bonus’ piece, Ten Years Forward.

The recording is now available from Silva Screen, and can be streamed online on major platforms. Faber Music’s sheet music publication to tie in with this is both an accurate transcription, and suitable for intermediate players.

Subtitled “Memories for solo piano”, I suspect the music book may prove to be one of the year’s most essential and popular new repertoire titles…

Lang Lang • Piano Book

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

When The Lang Lang Piano Book appeared in 2019 as a deluxe hardback publication from Faber Music, I described it as ‘sumptuous’. In the years since, several who come for lessons with me have enjoyed Lang Lang’s outstanding selection of popular classics and lesser-known pieces.

The original Artist Approved Collector’s Edition is now being replaced by the new Encore Edition, including scores of four additional pieces which appeared on the extended version of Lang Lang’s DG recording of the same name. This review similarly replaces my original one with an update that considers the publication in its new form.

The full list of pieces will appear later in this review (see below). But let me say from the outset that it’s a great list, and that I am sure that many will enjoy the Lang Lang Piano Book and welcome it as a strong anthology for early advanced players, the bulk of the material suitable at around UK Grades 6-8.

Piano Player • Movie Soundtracks

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Faber Music’s Piano Player series has established a strong identity since the first volume, celebrating British Classics appeared back in 2022. The series is aimed at adult players at intermediate level, each tastefully presented title offering an imaginative selection of around 20 pieces (a mixture of originals and arrangements) around a specific concept.

Originally, seven titles were advertised, each sporting the artwork of Edward Bawden on its cover (and as a mini posted pullout included within), but somewhere along the line a Christmas Time collection was added and now, bringing the list up to nine titles thus far, a new collection of arrangements of film music.

This arrival is clearly an indication of the popularity these publications have already gained, and as always it delivers an interesting and appealing selection of music…

Piano Day • The Collection

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

“Piano Day” takes place on the 88th day of the year, in reference to the standard number of keys on the instrument being celebrated. Established in 2015, it has grown a global following, each year providing a focal point for concerts, onstage and online, as well as radio shows, podcasts, and piano-based playlists.

You can discover the albums and playlists associated with this annual event, and find out more about this year’s live performances, on the Piano Day website here.

The goal of Piano Day is simple: to raise the profile of the instrument, inspire more people to develop their skills, and in particular to encourage piano playing in public spaces. According to its key founder and organiser, the pianist and composer Nils Frahm,

“Why does the world need a Piano Day? For many reasons. But mostly, because it doesn’t hurt to celebrate the piano and everything around it: performers, composers, piano builders, tuners, movers, and most importantly, the listener.”

Celebrating the event’s first ten years, Piano Day: The Collection is an official bumper anthology that has been personally curated by Frahm, and now published by Faber Music. The 128-page volume brings together 35 atmospheric works for solo piano, inspired by, created and included in Piano Day playlists over this first decade.

Suitable for intermediate pianists and featuring music by such popular figures in contemporary piano music as Ólafur Arnalds, Hania Rani, Ludovico Einaudi, Olivia Belli, and of course Nils Frahm himself, Piano Day: The Collection is billed by the publisher as “a celebration of the piano in the 21st century”, and certainly highlights the scope of this popular event.

The Women Composers Piano Anthology

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Arriving just in time for International Women’s Day, the latest addition to Faber Music’s popular line of bumper piano anthologies focuses on music by women composers.

This is Faber Music’s second ‘women composer’ anthology, following in the footsteps of Karen Marshall’s Herstory, which I reviewed here. But while Herstory focused on forgotten classical composers, accompanied by its author’s teaching content, this new collection offers a more cosmopolitan range of music that encompasses contemporary styles.

The format of Faber Music’s Piano Anthologies will by now be familiar to readers, and I have reviewed the whole series here, so let’s jump straight in and consider the music on offer here.

Matthew Hindson • Sad Piano

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Matthew Hindson is one of Australia’s most dynamic, successful, and widely-performed composers. His atmospheric soundworld is both immediate and direct, and his orchestral and ballet music have been performed by many of the world’s leading orchestras.

For his latest project, Hindson has turned to the piano. Sad Piano offers 13 captivating solo pieces, published last year by Faber Music, and recently followed by a recording featuring his compatriot, the pianist Andrea Lam.

I have been dipping into Faber’s handsome publication for several months, but with the arrival of Lam’s mesmerising recording, this is a perfect time to take a closer look…

Piano Player • Classical Pieces

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Faber Music’s The Piano Player series, which launched in Summer 2022, has been a highlight of the last couple of years, delivering a succession of themed anthologies that have enjoyed wide appeal with adult enthusiasts.

The eighth and latest title in the series is now with us, stylishly complementing the set with a collection of beloved (and in a few cases lesser-known) classical pieces from the eighteenth to early twentieth centuries.

I have reviewed all the previous titles in the series, and in this post I will take a look at this new addition…

Pam Wedgwood: Piano Dreaming

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Recognised the world over as one of our most prolific and successful composers of contemporary repertoire for developing instrumentalists, Pam Wedgwood was recently awarded the Art of Piano Education Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her significant impact on piano education over the course of her career.

Rather than resting on her laurels, Wedgwood now returns with a brand new collection of enchanting piano pieces for intermediate players. With Piano Dreaming she has branched into fresh musical territory, bringing us an album of 12 original pieces in a “neoclassical style”.

Let’s see whether this new collection is the dream…