The concert piece Paganini Jazz by Fazil Say, which was inspired by classical, modern and jazz styles, is reminiscent of the music of such greats as Scott Joplin, Art Tatum, Gershwin and Bernstein, and was originally designed as a charming encore work (1988). following the appreciative response of music lovers and, in particular, that of music critics, it was transformed over a perion of time into a more substantial work for piano. Briefly, the piece was rewritten and expanded a number of times between 1988 and 1995. We can evaluate the work as having taken its inspiration from Paganini's renowned 24th Capriccio, transforming it into variations on jazz requiring virtuoso rendition as well as being a creation open to the addition of improvisations and a variety of arrangements.
Throughout music history a number of composers have written various works inspired by the 24th Capriccio. We can count among them Liszt, Brahms, Rachmaninov and Lutoslavski. In Say's work, however, .a different aspect must be noted: the composer is prepared to add various developmental passages and transitional improvisations while interpreting this work in concert. Furthermore, when the work is considered as a short encore piece, it is abbreviated in a manner deemed suitable by Say.

The Italian Giovanni Sgambati received music tuition from an early age and gave his first public concert performances as a child. When Liszt came to Rome in 1861, Sgambati became his student. At the opening of the Sala Dante in 1966 he conducted Liszt's Dante Symphony and later travelled with him to Munich, where he also became acquainted with Richard Wagner's music. Sgambati's first song album was published by Schott in 1870, followed by many piano works, chamber works, symphonies and church music compositions. The transcription 'Melodie de Gluck', published in 1881 (plate number 23209), is dedicated to the 'Dance of the Blessed Spirits', a ballet in the second act of the opera 'Orfeo ed Euridice', and is still a popular encore piece by pianists including Evgeny Kissin and Yuja Wang.

Peteris Vasks occupies a special position in the circle of Baltic composers. He is not only the most significant and popular composer ever to come out of Latvia. he always speaks to his listeners with a fervent intensity that seems to point to something higher. This higher aspect is without a doubt something that stands above the world of humanity but is also present within each person: divine nature.

"I am deeply rooted in nature, in the nature of the North. It influences all of my music. The nature we know is also quite various. we have four very distinct seasons. The winter is very long, the summer very short and therefore all the more beautiful and longed for. The seasons in between are quite dramatic."

The first of Peteris Vasks's Seasons pieces was not written with the intention of forming a complete cycle. For his friend, Talivaldis Deksnis, he composed in 1980 Balta ainava - White Landscape (Winter), in 1981 Rudens muzika - Autumn Music, and in 1995 the Pavasara muzika - Spring Music. In 2008, Zala ainava - Green Landscape (Summer) came into being, the piece which completed the cycle.

In 2009, as a kind of "encore", Vasks wrote Vasaras vakara muzika - Music for a Summer Evening based on old sketches. this, of all the pieces, is the one most anchored in tradition. Only the two newest pieces - both of which have to do with summer - have a fixed metrical structure. The three earlier works are metrically free, notated without bar lines, which gives them an improvisatory character.

Vasks says of the individual pieces in the cycle: "In Balta ainava everything is white. A new year begins. It is a quiet meditation, a new beginning, with only two themes.

Pavasara muzika. Quasi una Sonata - the most demanding piece in this cycle - is intense, an impressive development. Spring comes slowly, with much drama. It is like a battle, until it is simply there. This multi-faceted piece, with its bird songs, lives from conflicts and dramatic intensification and ends in ecstatic rapture. Zala ainava is based on two themes. Our summer is very brief and offers a respite after the battles. And it is so beautiful! The music reflects joy and contentment. The first theme brings a kind of pure energy. the second is more devoted to tone painting. At the end, a five-note quotation from a well-known Latvian folksong about a drunkard is heard.

Rudens muzika begins pianissimo on a quiet September day, in a peaceful, sunny atmosphere. Now the autumn storms sweep over the land. a gentle sadness settles on the people and on nature, which surrenders its splendor. After a last great storm, the snow comes again as a symbol of purified conclusion and a new beginning. Vasaras vakara muzika takes place at the quiet end of a summer day. The sun sets. Slowness. Memories of previous experiences surface. With the memories' appearance comes an increase in intensity. Towards the end, a kind of folksong is heard: 'We have survived the time of tyranny and retained our identity'. The ending is quiet, everything is asleep."

Christoph Schluren

Translation: John Patrick Thomas and W. Richard Rieves

Summertime Variations is the third arrangement I have made of Gershwin's Summertime - and the first for solo piano. It begins and ends very quietly and cantabile with a meditation on the well-known opening motif. The complete melody then forms the basis for the swinging and extremely virtuoso Presto Variations of the central section.

The work was composed as a concert piece for my classical solo recitals, but I alos play Summertime Variations as an encore in my regular performances in jazz festivals such as in Montreux. (Fazil Say).

English ? German.

To mark its 250th anniversary, the Schott publishing house has dug up and reedited treasures from its historical publishing archives. This anthology is aimed at professional musicians and advanced amateurs interested in interesting new discoveries off the standard repertoire. It mainly contains works from the Romantic era: virtuoso pièces de résistance and encores, expressive character pieces, gems of salon music or elaborate arrangements of well-known (opera) melodies. Many of the original compositions and arrangements were written by major piano virtuosos of the 19th century. "The book has been excellently produced?the clarity of the notation is exceptional?Schott?s Joy of Music will surely appeal to any advanced player looking for less familiar gems, delivering rarified treasures aplenty!" ? Andrew Eales, Pianodao.

Great for encores!

Suppose the great American jazz composer Duke Ellington and classical music giant Beethoven meet in heaven. They would find they have a lot in common. Both epitomize their musical time, place, and culture. Both are powerful pianists widely admired for their improvisational abilities. They decide to collaborate. Beethoven insists on creating the introduction and a cadenza (the point near the end of concertos where the featured musician tries to squeeze in as many notes as possible into a small amount of time). Ellington agrees to handle the main theme allowing room for improvisation along the way. Together, they hammer out a piece sadly destined only for celestial ears unless some mortal can be found to perform it for earthlings. I'm the lucky one they choose. This is the result.

The 12 Etudes for piano are conceived as concert etudes. Stylistically, they are oriented towards classical modernism, but influences from jazz, Latin (and even rock) are also present. In Etude No. 7, for example, one can definitely recognise a post-Romantic influence, but on closer listening salsa rhythms are also perceptible throughout. In Etudes No. 2 and 3, on the other hand, classical modernism can be heard, while in others jazz rock (No. 10), ragtime (No. 6) and other influences are discernible. Finally, as an 'encore', there is Etude No. 12 'The Hornet' so that this insect, apart from the omnipresent bumblebee, is given due attention for once.

I composed the piano piece, Daybreak, a few years ago and it is still one of my favorites to play. It is a short but lively song with a consistent pattern in the left hand and an elegant melody in the right. The dramatic ending will leave your audience shouting for an encore. My inspiration for the title comes from its definition as the beginning appearance of light in the morning. To me, daybreak signifies new beginnings and fresh starts. The sun sets and takes the day?s worries and troubles with it. But when a sliver of golden daylight peaks above the horizon there is freedom to start anew. This freedom is the emotion I tried to evoke when composing this piece.

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/j3QSBHvkSrQ