Pianist

When Pianist hit the newsstand 20 years ago, nobody had heard of Daniil Trifonov (he would have been ten at the time). Here he is now, an instantly recognizable face on the cover, the model of a modern virtuoso. How much has changed (for all of us) s

To celebrate Pianist’s 20-year anniversary, one lucky reader will receive five free digital issues of their choice (issue 55 onwards). Simply answer the question below and enter online. Deadline for entries: 15 November Which pianist featured on the

I will go out on a limb and say that only one pianist – ever – has given equally accomplished performances of Rachmaninov, late Bach and Stockhausen. The pianist I’m talking about is Daniil Trifonov, and two summers ago, in July 2019, he was sitting

When is an accompaniment not an accompaniment? Unless we’re talking about a pattern-based sequence of notes, such as an Alberti bass, the answer is often not so clear-cut. And though we might be tempted to glance first at the bass line for confirmati

Pianists tend to complain that their left hand doesn’t feel as strong as their right, and students often ask me if they should be practising special exercises for the left hand alone to help their weaker hand catch up. Is it possible, though, for the

MELANIE SPANSWICK is a pianist, writer, teacher and composer. As an author, she is published by leading publishing houses, and has written a three-book piano course for those returning to piano playing; Play It Again: PIANO (Schott Music). Melanie te

Key B flat major Tempo Andantino Style Romantic Will improve your ✔Cantabile ✔LH chords ✔Leaps This beautiful miniature contains a joyful if not slightly sentimental character. The RH part consists of a florid, lyrical melody which is combined with a

Key G major Tempo Andante tranquillo Style Romantic Will improve your ✔LH voicing ✔Pedalling ✔Awareness of the LH’s capabilities On Wings of Song is the second of Mendelssohn’s Six Songs Op 34. Published in 1836 and using words by Heinrich Heine, it

Key E flat Tempo Andante Style Late Romantic Will improve your ✔LH control ✔Counterpoint between melodies ✔Phrasing This gem of a Prelude held a very dear place in Rachmaninov’s heart. He composed it just after the birth of his first daughter. The wo

Although born in Rome, Clementi made his home in England. In addition to being a pianist and composer, he was a conductor, composer and piano manufacturer. Admired by Haydn and Beethoven (both of whom he met), he was not so popular with Mozart: the t

Born in Hamburg, Reinecke was influenced by both Mendelssohn and Schumann and, as a successful pianist, teacher and conductor, he became an influential figure in the musical life of Leipzig. The ‘pastorale’ effect of this piece is created by the dron

Bach’s Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach (in German, Notenbüchlein für Anna Magdalena Bach) refers to either of two manuscript notebooks that the composer presented to his second wife, Anna Magdalena. Comprising minuets, rondos, polonaises, sonatas, m

Gurlitt’s Album Leaves for the Young is a set of 20 short pieces, first published in 1880, aimed at the young student. Some of the pieces are rather moving, such as this tender Lament (‘Klage’ in German). Playing tips: The notes might seem simple eno

DON’T MISS MELANIE SPANSWICK’S LESSON ON THIS PIECE Chopin wrote this short Cantabile in 1834, though the work wasn’t published during his lifetime. As it doesn’t have an opus number, it is usually referred to by its Brown catalogue number, B84. Like

German Romantic composer Ferdinand Hiller was a remarkable talent. He began his career as a musical prodigy and later became a celebrated piano virtuoso, successful composer, conductor, writer on music and impresario. With his social skills and artis

Little is known of American composer, writer and music critic, Wilson G Smith. Graduating from the University of Cincinnati, he continued his studies in Berlin where he was taught by Scharwenka, Kiel, Moszkowski and Raif. He wrote over 1,000 composit

As a child, the French composer, organist and teacher César Franck showed great talent for the piano. In 1837 he enrolled into the Paris Conservatoire, but abandoned a career as a piano virtuoso and turned his attention to teaching the organ. In 1871

Notes from the composer: My piece, Follow the Birds, is written over a basic 12-bar blues chord progression. Musicians that play by ear often ‘jam’ together over these chords: C-C-C-C-F-F-C-C-G-F-C-C, with each musician taking turns to solo over them

DON’T MISS NILS FRANKE’S LESSON ON THIS PIECE Virtually unknown today, German composer Arnoldo Sartorio was remembered by past audiences chiefly for pedagogical pieces written for his piano students to play. Many of these were issued under pseudonyms

Hermann Berens was a German-born Swedish Romantic composer, famous mainly for his piano music, some of which is included in the Stockholm Royal Conservatory of Music’s syllabus. Berens mainly gained his popularity as a teacher and author of instructi

CPE Bach was the fifth child and second surviving son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach. This feisty Allegro is the first movement of the Sixth Sonata from his Keyboard Sonatas Wq63. Playing tips: What a great, energetic piece this is!

Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin was an American pianist and composer. Born in Pennsylvania, he began playing the piano by the age of four, although he needed cushions piled on the pedals to enable him to reach them! His father provided his son with both v

WATCH CHENYIN LI PLAY THIS AT WWW.PIANISTMAGAZINE.COM Beethoven’s six Bagatelles Op 126 were published late in his career, in 1824, and were dedicated to his brother Nikolaus Johann van Beethoven (who even knew he had a brother!). Beethoven was obvio

The Venezuelan-born French composer, conductor, music critic, and singer Reynaldo Hahn is best known for his songs, of which he wrote more than 100. This dreamy piece comes from a collection of solo piano works entitled ‘Le rossignol éperdu’ (the bew

DON’T MISS LUCY PARHAM’S LESSON ON THIS PIECE Rachmaninov’s ten Preludes of Op 23 were completed in 1903. The most often performed of the set, the No 5 in G minor, was completed as early as 1901. The Op 23 were composed at the same time as Rachmanino

Kathryn Page has appeared in concert and on television as a soloist and in chamber music. She is a teacher, adjudicator and administrator for Chetham’s International Summer School and Festival for Pianists, as well as the Manchester International Con

With a smiling Leif Ove Andsnes on the cover, Pianist burst onto the scene in late 2001, hitting the newsstands on 19 October. In the editorial for the first issue, I outlined the magazine’s ambitions. ‘Every two months, Pianist will bring you closer

The story of piano music for the left hand alone has so far been linked to debates about injury, or the loss of the right hand (or arm), thereby focusing on the circumstances of individual performers rather than the music’s aesthetic qualities. In th

If you search for Cziffra videos on YouTube, some of his performances come with a health warning. Take Liszt’s Grand Galop Chromatique for example. My goodness, the technique he displays: it’s positively frightening. But he goes off-piste too. He add